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Indonesia Country Guide
Explore Indonesia in Asia
The terrain features mostly coastal lowlands with larger islands have interior mountains. The average density of population is approximately 124 per km². The notable climate conditions in Indonesia can be described as tropical with hot, humid and more moderate in highlands. Potential natural disasters are occasional floods or severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes or forest fires.
To reach someone in Indonesia dial +62 prior to a number. There are 33,958,000 installed telephones. And there are 159,248,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800/3G MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".id". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 127/230V - 50Hz.
About the flag and history of Indonesia
Two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; the colors derive from the banner of the Majapahit Empire of the 13th-15th centuries; red symbolizes courage, white represents purity note: similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red.
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan's surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. A period of sometimes unruly parliamentary democracy ended in 1957 when President SOEKARNO declared martial law and instituted "Guided Democracy." After an abortive coup in 1965 by alleged Communist sympathizers, SOEKARNO was removed from power. From 1966 until 1988, President SUHARTO ruled Indonesia with his "New Order" Government. After rioting toppled Suharto in 1998, free and fair legislative elections took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world''s third most populous democracy, the world''s largest archipelagic state, and the world''s largest Muslim-majority nation. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, reforming the criminal justice system, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, addressing climate change, and controlling infectious diseases, particularly those of global and regional importance. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in Aceh in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face low intensity armed resistance in Papua by the separatist Free Papua Movement.
National administrative regions of Indonesia
- Aceh
- Bali
- Bangka-Belitung
- Banten
- Bengkulu
- Central Java
- Central Sulawesi
- Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta
- East Java
- East Kalimantan
- East Nusa Tenggara
- Gorontalo
- Indonesia (general)
- Jakarta Raya
- Jambi
- Kalimantan Tengah
- Lampung
- Maluku
- Maluku Utara
- North Sulawesi
- North Sumatra
- Nusa Tenggara Barat
- Papua
- Riau
- Riau Islands
- South Kalimantan
- South Sulawesi
- South Sumatra
- Sulawesi Barat
- Sulawesi Tenggara
- West Java
- West Kalimantan
- West Papua
- West Sumatra
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: Asia Neighbours: Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Malaysia Capital: Jakarta |
| Size | 1,919,440 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 741,099 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
| Population | 237,512,000 |
| Currency | Name Rupiah, Currency Code:IDR |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .id |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +62 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 159,248,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 33,958,000 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,904,569 (sq km) | 15 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 251,160,124 | 4 |
| Population growth rate | 0.99 (%) | 116 |
| Birth rate | 17.38 (births/1,000 population) | 107 |
| Death rate | 6.31 (deaths/1,000 population) | 155 |
| Net migration rate | -1.19 (migrant(s)/1,000 population) | 149 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 220.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 51 |
| Infant mortality rate | 26.06 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 72 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 71.90 (years) | 138 |
| Total fertility rate | 2.20 (children born/woman) | 104 |
| Health expenditures | 2.60 (% of GDP) | 184 |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.20 (%) | 99 |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 310,000 | 19 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 8,300 | 27 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 4.80 (%) | 160 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 19.60 (%) | 36 |
| Education expenditures | 3.00 (% of GDP) | 141 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | 22.20 (%) | 48 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 1,237,000,000,000 | 16 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.20 (%) | 43 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 5,100 | 158 |
| Labor force | 118,000,000 | 5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.10 (%) | 58 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 36.80 | 80 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 36.70 (% of GDP) | 9 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 18.70 (% of GDP) | 173 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -1.90 (% of GDP) | 84 |
| Public debt | 24.80 (% of GDP) | 121 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.50 (%) | 123 |
| Central bank discount rate | 6.46 (%) | 56 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 12.40 (%) | 67 |
| Stock of narrow money | 90,240,000,000 | 37 |
| Stock of broad money | 355,400,000,000 | 29 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 323,000,000,000 | 34 |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 390,100,000,000 | 24 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.10 (%) | 72 |
| Current account balance | -20,730,000,000 | 182 |
| Exports | 188,700,000,000 | 28 |
| Imports | 179,000,000,000 | 28 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 103,800,000,000 | 22 |
| Debt - external | 251,200,000,000 | 33 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 125,800,000,000 | 32 |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 48,570,000,000 | 37 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 183,400,000,000 (kWh) | 24 |
| Electricity - consumption | 158,000,000,000 (kWh) | 24 |
| Electricity - imports | 2,542,000,000 (kWh) | 49 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 39,900,000 (kW) | 23 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 87.00 (% of total installed capacity) | 83 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 9.90 (% of total installed capacity) | 116 |
| Electricity - from other renewable sources | 3.10 (% of total installed capacity) | 47 |
| Crude oil - production | 912,100 (bbl/day) | 24 |
| Crude oil - exports | 371,400 (bbl/day) | 22 |
| Crude oil - imports | 265,400 (bbl/day) | 27 |
| Crude oil - proved reserves | 4,000,000,000 (bbl) | 29 |
| Refined petroleum products - production | 935,300 (bbl/day) | 22 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 1,322,000 (bbl/day) | 19 |
| Refined petroleum products - exports | 142,400 (bbl/day) | 39 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 407,700 (bbl/day) | 14 |
| Natural gas - production | 82,800,000,000 (cu m) | 12 |
| Natural gas - consumption | 41,350,000,000 (cu m) | 26 |
| Natural gas - exports | 41,250,000,000 (cu m) | 10 |
| Natural gas - proved reserves | 3,994,000,000,000 (cu m) | 12 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 402,100,000 (Mt) | 18 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 38,618,000 | 8 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 249,800,000 | 4 |
| Internet hosts | 1,344,000 | 42 |
| Internet users | 20,000,000 | 22 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 676 | 10 |
| Railways | 5,042 (km) | 35 |
| Roadways | 437,759 (km) | 14 |
| Waterways | 21,579 (km) | 6 |
| Merchant marine | 1,340 | 8 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 0.90 (% of GDP) | 130 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases
List of current world heritage sites
| Name | Since |
|---|---|
| Borobudur Temple Compounds This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a m ... | 1991 |
| Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy The cultural landscape of Bali consists of five rice terraces and their water temples that cover 19,500 ha. The temples are the focus of a cooperative water management system of canals and weirs, known as subak, that dates back to the 9th century. In ... | 2012 |
| Komodo National Park These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of around 5,700 giant lizards, whose appearance and aggressive behaviour have led to them being called 'Komodo dragons'. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists ... | 1991 |
| Lorentz National Park Lorentz National Park (2.35 million ha) is the largest protected area in South-East Asia. It is the only protected area in the world to incorporate a continuous, intact transect from snowcap to tropical marine environment, including extensive lowland ... | 1999 |
| Prambanan Temple Compounds Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated ... | 1991 |
| Sangiran Early Man Site Excavations here from 1936 to 1941 led to the discovery of the first hominid fossil at this site. Later, 50 fossils of Meganthropus palaeo and Pithecanthropus erectus/Homo erectus were found – half of all the world's known hominid fossils. Inhabited ... | 1996 |
| Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra The 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site comprises three national parks: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The site holds the greatest potential for long-ter ... | 2004 |
| Ujung Kulon National Park This national park, located in the extreme south-western tip of Java on the Sunda shelf, includes the Ujung Kulon peninsula and several offshore islands and encompasses the natural reserve of Krakatoa. In addition to its natural beauty and geological ... | 1991 |