Indonesia Country Profile

COUNTRY PROFILE

Indonesia, a Nations country profile of the largest archipelago in the world. The island country is located in Maritime Southeast Asia, between the Indian Ocean (to the south and west), the Timor Sea and the Arafura Sea to the south, the Bay of Bengal to the northwest, the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) and some other marginal seas, to the north.

Indonesia maintains land borders with Malaysia (on the island of Borneo), with Papua New Guinea (on the island of New Guinea), and with Timor-Leste (East Timor) on the island of Timor.

The country also shares maritime borders with Australia, India, Palau, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The country consists of five major islands and about 30 smaller groups. There are a total number of 17,508 islands, of which about 6000 are inhabited.

The largest islands are Sumatra, Java (with more than half of the country's population), Borneo (known as "Kalimantan" in Indonesia), Sulawesi, and New Guinea. Most of the larger islands are mountainous, with peaks ranging between 3,000 and 3,800 m.

The entire country lies in the southwestern arm of the "Ring of Fire," an extensive arc-shaped zone of prevalent volcanic activity, ocean trenches, fault lines, and plate movements that roughly parallels the coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

The islands of Indonesia are prone to earthquakes and even tsunamis. The island nation ranks third among countries with the most volcanoes, behind the US and Russia.

With an area of 1,904,569 km², Indonesia is the largest country consisting only of islands. The combined area of the archipelago is slightly smaller than Mexico or larger than five times the size of Germany.

The multi-ethnic country has a population of more than 271 million people (in 2021). It is by far the most populous island nation in the world. There are more than 1,300 recognized ethnic groups in Indonesia. The six largest ethnic groups are Javanese (40%), Sundanese (16%), Batak (4%), Sulawesi (3%), Madurese (3%) and Betawi (3%). [2]

The capital and largest city is Jakarta (app. population 12 million) on the island of Java ; other major cities are Bandung, Medan, Surabaya. The official language is Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). The main religion is Islam; almost 90% of the 270 million Indonesian population are Muslims, the majority are Sunnis.

What is Indonesia famous for?

• Being the fourth most populous country in the world.
• Islands, after all, the country consists only of islands.
• Volcanoes, the country has more than 120 active volcanoes, the most famous are Mount Merapi, Mount Bromo, Krakatoa, Tambora and Mount Kerinci, at 3,805 m the highest volcano in Indonesia. 
• Puncak Jaya, at 4,884 m, is the highest mountain in the country, located on the island of New Guinea. It is also the world's highest mountain on an island.
• Earthquakes - sitting on the Ring of Fire has its drawbacks. Indonesia rivals Japan as the country with the most earthquakes.
• Lake Toba is a large natural lake in North Sumatra occupying the caldera of a supervolcano; it is the largest volcanic lake in the world.
• Bali - the island is known for its beauty and the richness of its culture. 
• Borobudur - the Buddhist monument in central Java was built c. 800 CE and is a World Heritage Site. 
• The Komodo National Park is home to the Komodo dragon, the largest representative of the monitor lizard family. 
• The beauty of the Raja Ampat archipelago off the northwestern tip of New Guinea. The group of islands has the richest marine biodiversity in the world. 
• Aluk To Dolo, the stone-carved burial sites of the indigenous Torajan people of South Sulawesi.
• Batik (mbatik), an originally Indonesian technique for dyeing fabrics using wax to protect parts of the textile from the dye.
• Gamelan, a traditional Indonesian band with a large rhythm section. 
• Wayang Kulit, the Indonesian form of shadow puppet theater. 
• Orangutans, the great apes, native only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra.
• Nasi goreng - the rice dish is one of Indonesia's six national dishes, as is Satay or Sate, grilled meat on a stick.