Introduction

 
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

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: 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

Population:     241,973,879 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:           0-14 years: 29.1% (male 35,823,456/female 34,590,631); 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 79,447,560/female 79,449,399); 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 5,526,389/female 7,136,444) (2005 est.)

Median age:  total: 26.48 years; male: 26.03 years; female: 26.93 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:        1.45% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:      20.71 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:    6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:   0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:       at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:            total: 35.6 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 40.72 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 30.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:      total population: 69.57 years; male: 67.13 years; female: 72.13 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:    2.44 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:  2,400 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:   degree of risk: high; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever; vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and chikungunya are high risks in some locations (2004)

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: 87.9%; male: 92.5%; female: 83.4% (2002)

Government

Country name:           conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia; conventional short form: Indonesialocal long form: Republik Indonesia; local short form: Indonesia

former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies

Government type:     republic

Capital:          Jakarta

Administrative divisions:      30 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, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, 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

Independence:  17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed); 27 December 1949 (Netherlands recognizes 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 (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf 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 (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004);cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year terms by direct vote of the citizenry; last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2009); election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4%

Legislative branch:   unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching President and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy; 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 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50; note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the number of votes received by parties

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 or Makhama Konstitusi 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

Economy

Economy - overview: Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has restored financial stability and pursued sober fiscal policies since the Asian financial crisis, but many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia became a net oil importer in 2004 due to declining production and lack of new exploration investment. As a result, Jakarta is not reaping the benefits of high world oil prices, and the cost of subsidizing domestic fuel prices has placed an increasing strain on the budget. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took over 237,000 lives in Indonesia and caused massive destruction of property.

GDP:  purchasing power parity - $827.4 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:        4.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:      purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:          agriculture: 14.6%; industry: 45%; services: 40.4% (2004 est.)

Labor force:   111.5 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:            agriculture 45%, industry 16%, services 39% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 9.2% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:         27% (1999)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4%; highest 10%: 26.7% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):     6.1% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):     16.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:          revenues: $52.13 billion; expenditures: $55.88 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:    56.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:          rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, poultry, beef, pork, eggs

Industries:      petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:   10.5% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:        110.2 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:     92.35 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:  0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:        971,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:     1.183 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:  518,100 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports:  370,500 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - proved reserves:           4.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:      77.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:  55.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:           39.7 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:           0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:        2.549 trillion cu m (2004)

Current account balance:     $7.338 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:         $69.86 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:         oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber

Exports - partners:       Japan 21.8%, US 13.5%, China 7.5%, Singapore 7.4%, South Korea 5.9%, Malaysia 4.9% (2004)

Imports:         $45.07 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:         machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:    Japan 19.3%, China 11%, Singapore 9.2%, Thailand 6.8%, Malaysia 6.5%, US 5.7%, Australia 5%, Germany 4.2% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:     $35.82 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:         $141.5 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:      $43 billion; note: Indonesia finished its IMF program in December 2003 but still receives bilateral aid through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which pledged $2.8 billion in grants and loans for 2004 and again in 2005; nearly $4 billion in aid money pledged by a variety of foreign governments and other groups following the 2004 tsunami; money is slated for use in relief and rebuilding efforts in Aceh.

Currency (code):       Indonesian rupiah (IDR)

Exchange rates:        Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 8,938.9 (2004), 8,577.1 (2003), 9,311.2 (2002), 10,260.8 (2001), 8,421.8 (2000)

Fiscal year:    calendar year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with 2001, has been changed to calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:        7.75 million (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:           11.7 million (2002)