|
Link to
Indonesia Pusaka
|
|
Unity in Diversity.
Over 13,000 islands with hundreds of different dialects, unified in one state, the
Republic of Indonesia, using one common
language, Bahasa Indonesia.
The country proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945, at the end of World War II, after centuries of Dutch colonialization.
Population 238 million (est. 2004)
Archipelago of over 13,000 islands
spread over a distance of more than 3,000 km from east to west
Capital: Jakarta, located in West-Java
Language: Bahasa Indonesia, local
dialects in different provinces and/or islands. The first President, Sukarno, succeeded in making Bahasa Indonesia the main language used in schools all over the archipelago,
unifying a nation speaking multiple languages and dialects with one common
language.
Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world.
It is predominantly Moslem but other religions like Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, have solid roots in diverse
areas.
|
| |
Introduction to Indonesia
Background:
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to
1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations,
recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the
world's largest archipelagic state. Current issues include: alleviating widespread poverty, preventing terrorism,
continuing the transition to popularly-elected governments after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing
reforms of the banking sector, addressing charges of cronyism and corruption, holding the military and police accountable
for human rights violations, and resolving armed separatist movements in Aceh and Papua. |
| Geography Indonesia |
|
|
| Location |
|
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean |
| Geographic coordinates |
|
5 00 S, 120 00 E |
| Map references |
|
Southeast Asia |
| Area |
|
total: 1,919,440 sq km |
| land |
|
1,826,440 sq km |
| water |
|
93,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative |
|
slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries |
|
total: 2,830 km |
| border countries |
|
East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km |
| Coastline |
|
54,716 km |
| Maritime claims |
|
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines |
| territorial sea |
|
12 nm |
| exclusive economic zone |
|
200 nm |
| Climate |
|
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
| Terrain |
|
mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains |
| Elevation extremes |
|
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m |
| |
|
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m |
| Natural resources |
|
petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal,
gold, silver |
| Land use |
|
arable land: 11.32% |
| permanent crops |
|
7.23% |
| other |
|
81.45% (2001) |
| Irrigated land |
|
48,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural hazards |
|
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires |
| Environment - current issues |
|
deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban
areas; smoke and haze from forest fires |
| Environment - international agreements |
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands |
| signed, but not ratified |
|
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography - note |
|
archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location
astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean |
| People Indonesia |
|
|
| Population: |
|
238,452,952 (July 2004 est.) |
| |
|
see also People |
| Nationality |
|
noun: Indonesian(s) |
| adjective |
|
Indonesian |
| Ethnic groups |
|
Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% |
| Religions |
|
Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998) |
| Languages |
|
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects,
the most widely spoken of which is Javanese |
| Literacy |
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| total population (2002) |
|
87.9% |
| male |
|
92.5% |
| female |
|
83.4% |
| Government |
|
|
| Country name |
|
|
| conventional long form |
|
Republic of Indonesia (August 17, 1945) |
| conventional short form |
|
Indonesia |
| local long form |
|
Republik Indonesia |
| local short form |
|
Indonesia |
| former |
|
Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies |
| Government type |
|
Republic |
| Capital |
|
Jakarta |
| Administrative divisions |
|
27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah
istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali,
Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan
Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara
Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara,
Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta* |
| note |
|
with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts or
regencies became the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services
note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for independence that was overwhelmingly approved by the
people of Timor Timur and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's national legislature, the name Timor Leste
(East Timor) was adopted as the name for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur; East Timor
gained its formal independence on 20 May 2002 |
| Independence |
|
17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence) |
| note |
|
on 27 December 1949 the Netherlands recognized Indonesian independence |
| National holiday |
|
Independence Day, 17 August (1945) |
| Constitution |
|
August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution
of 1950, restored 5 July 1959 |
| Legal system |
|
based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new
criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage |
|
17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age |
| Executive branch |
|
|
| chief of state |
|
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (since 20 October
2004) |
| note |
|
the president is both the chief of state and head of government |
| head of government |
|
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (since 20 October
2004) |
| cabinet |
|
Cabinet appointed by the president |
| |
|
Current: United Cabinet 2004 |
| |
|
Previous Cabinets |
| elections 2001 |
|
president and vice president previously were elected separately by the People's Consultative
Assembly or MPR for five-year terms;
next election held 20 September 2004; in accordance with constitutional changes, election of president and vice
president to be by direct vote of the citizenry |
| election results 2001 |
|
MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected president, receiving 591 votes in favor (91 abstentions);
Hamzah HAZ elected vice president, receiving 340 votes in favor (237 against)
note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives
(Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 195 indirectly selected members; it meets every five years to approve broad
outlines of national policy and also has yearly meetings to consider constitutional and legislative changes; constitutional
amendments adopted in 2001 and 2002 provide for the MPR to be restructured in 2004 and to consist entirely of popularly-elected
members who will be in the DPR and the new House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD);
the MPR will no longer formulate national policy
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members serve five-year terms |
| elections 2004 |
|
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%,
PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 57, PKB 52, PAN 52, PKS 45, others 49 |
| note |
|
because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the number
of votes received by parties |
| Presidental elections september 2004 results |
|
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono elected President with 915.594 votes (69.562%) versus Megawati
Sukarnoputri 400.632 votes (30.4379%). Next elections will be in 2009.
See Elections 2004 results
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Vice President Jusuf Kalla |
| Judicial branch |
|
Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of
candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court was invested by the president on 16 August
2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system
from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights |
| Political parties and leaders |
|
Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Democratic Party
or PD [Budi SANTOSO, chairman]; Functional Groups or Golkar [Akbar TANDJUNG, general chairman]; Indonesia Democratic
Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman];
National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Hidayat NUR WAHID, chairman];
United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ, chairman] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders |
|
NA |
| International organization participation |
|
APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW,
OPEC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
|
Flag description
|
|
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which
is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red |
Economy - overview
see also Indonesia Economy |
|
Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces economic development problems stemming from
recent acts of terrorism, unequal resource distribution among regions, endemic corruption, the lack of reliable
legal recourse in contract disputes, weaknesses in the banking system, and a generally poor climate for foreign
investment. Indonesia withdrew from its IMF program at the end of 2003, but issued a "White Paper" that
commits the government to maintaining fundamentally sound macroeconomic policies previously established under IMF
guidelines. Investors, however, continued to face a host of on-the-ground microeconomic problems and an inadequate
judicial system. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and
domestic investors, and strong global economic growth |
| Miltary |
|
|
| Miltary Branches |
|
Indonesia Armed Forces (TNI): Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL, including Marines, Naval
Air arm), Air Force (TNI-AU) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure |
|
$1 billion (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP |
|
1.3% (FY98) |
| |
|
Source: World Fact Book 2004
Last updated 10/19/04
|
|
| |
|
