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Travel to Indonesia — Unbiased reviews and great
deals from TripAdvisorIndonesia
| Republic of Indonesia National
name: Republik Indonesia President:
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004)
Current government officials
Land area: 699,548 sq mi (1,811,831 sq
km); total area: 741,096 sq mi (1,919,440 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 234,693,997 (growth
rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 19.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 32.1/1000;
life expectancy: 70.2; density per sq mi: 335
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Jakarta, 13,194,000 (metro. area), 8,389,443
(city proper) Other large cities:
Surabaya, 3,038,800; Bandung, 2,733,500; Medan, 2,204,300; Semarang,
1,267,100 Monetary unit: Rupiah
Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch,
Javanese, and more than 580 other languages and dialects
Ethnicity/race:
Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%,
coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%
Religions:
Islam 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%,
Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1% (1998) Literacy
rate: 90% (2004 est.) Economic
summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $845.6 billion; per capita
$3,400. Real growth rate: 6.1%. Inflation: 6.3%.
Unemployment: 9.7%. Arable land: 11%.
Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa,
coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs. Labor
force: 108 million (2007 est.); agriculture 43.3%, industry 18%,
services 38.7% (2004 est.). Industries: petroleum and natural
gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical
fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism. Natural resources:
petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile
soils, coal, gold, silver. Exports: $118.4 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.): oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber.
Imports: $86.24 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and
equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs. Major trading
partners: Japan, U.S., Singapore, South Korea, China, Taiwan,
Malaysia (2006). Communications:
Telephones: main lines in use: 14.821 million (2006); mobile
cellular: 63.803 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM
678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998). Television broadcast stations:
54 (2006). Internet hosts: 559,359 (2007). Internet
users: 16 million (2005). Transportation: Railways: total: 6,458 km
(2006). Highways: total: 368,360 km; paved: 213,649 km;
unpaved: 154,711 km (2006 est.). Waterways: 21,579 km; note:
Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km,
Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km (2007). Ports and
harbors: Banjarmasin, Belawan, Ciwandan, Krueg Geukueh, Palembang,
Panjang, Sungai Pakning, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Priok.
Airports: 652 (2007). International
disputes: East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to
meet, survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the
boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the
sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai,
which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary; a 1997
treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of their
maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of
Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime boundary
in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostile
confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oil
block; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and
to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesia and
Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary
agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island;
Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create
repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy remains a problem
in the Malacca Strait.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia consisting of 17,000
islands (6,000 inhabited) and straddling the equator. The largest islands
are Sumatra, Java (the most populous), Bali, Kalimantan (Indonesia's part
of Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), the Nusa Tenggara islands, the Moluccas
Islands, and Irian Jaya (also called West Papua), the western part of New
Guinea. Its neighbor to the north is Malaysia and to the east is Papua New
Guinea.
Indonesia, part of the “ring of fire,” has the largest number of active
volcanoes in the world. Earthquakes are frequent. Wallace's line, a
zoological demarcation between Asian and Australian flora and fauna,
divides Indonesia.
Government
Republic.
History
The 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia were home to a diversity of
cultures and indigenous beliefs when the islands came under the influence
of Hindu priests and traders in the first and second centuries A.D. Muslim invasions began in the 13th century, and
most of the archipelago had converted to Islam by the 15th century.
Portuguese traders arrived early in the next century but were ousted by
the Dutch around 1595. The Dutch United East India Company established
posts on the island of Java, in an effort to control the spice trade.
After Napoléon subjugated the Netherlands in 1811, the British seized
the islands but returned them to the Dutch in 1816. In 1922, Indonesia was
made an integral part of the Dutch kingdom. During World War II, Japan
seized the islands. Tokyo was primarily interested in Indonesia's oil,
which was vital to the war effort, and tolerated fledgling nationalists
such as Sukarno and Mohammed Hatta. After Japan's surrender, Sukarno and
Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence on Aug. 17, 1945. Allied troops,
mostly British Indian forces, fought nationalist militias to reassert the
prewar status quo until the arrival of Dutch troops.
In Nov. 1946, a draft agreement on forming a Netherlands-Indonesian
Union was reached, but differences in interpretation resulted in more
fighting between Dutch and nationalist forces. Following a bitter war for
independence, leaders on both sides agreed to terms of a union on Nov. 2,
1949. The transfer of sovereignty took place in Amsterdam on Dec. 27,
1949. In Feb. 1956, Indonesia abrogated the union and began seizing Dutch
property in the islands.
In 1963, Netherlands New Guinea (the Dutch portion of the island of New
Guinea) was transferred to Indonesia and renamed West Irian, which became
Irian Jaya in 1973 and West Papua in 2000. Hatta and Sukarno, the
cofathers of Indonesian independence, split over Sukarno's concept of
“guided democracy,” and under Sukarno's rule the Indonesian Communist
Party (PKI) steadily increased its influence.
Sukarno was named president for life in 1966. He enjoyed mass support
for his policies, but a growing power struggle between the military and
the PKI loomed over his government. After an attempted military coup was
put down by army chief of staff, General Suharto, and officers loyal to
him, Suharto's forces killed hundreds of thousands of suspected Communists
in a massive purge aimed at undermining Sukarno's rule.
Suharto took over the reins of government and gradually eased Sukarno
out of office, completing his consolidation of power in 1967. Under
Suharto the military assumed an overarching role in national affairs, and
relations with the West were enhanced. Indonesia's economy improved
dramatically and national elections were permitted, although the
opposition was so tightly controlled as to virtually choke off
dissent.
In 1975, Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese half of the island of
Timor; it seized the territory in 1976. A separatist movement developed at
once. Unlike the rest of Indonesia, which had been a Dutch colony, East
Timor was governed by the Portuguese for 400 years, and while 90% of
Indonesians are Muslim, the East Timorese are primarily Catholic. More
than 200,000 Timorese are reported to have died from famine, disease, and
fighting since the annexation. In 1996, two East Timorese resistance
activists, Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta,
received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the summer of 1997, Indonesia suffered a major economic setback,
along with most other Asian economies. Banks failed and the value of
Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, plummeted. Antigovernment demonstrations
and riots broke out, directed mainly at the country's prosperous ethnic
Chinese. As the economic crisis deepened, student demonstrators occupied
the national parliament, demanding Suharto's ouster. On May 21, 1998,
Suharto stepped down, ending 32 years of rule, and handed over power to
Vice President B. J. Habibie.
June 7, 1999, marked Indonesia's first free parliamentary election
since 1955. The ruling Golkar Party took a backseat to the Indonesian
Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, the
daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's first president.
The ethnic, religious, and political tensions kept in check during
Suharto's 32 years of authoritarian rule erupted in the months following
his downfall. Rioting and violence shook the provinces of Aceh, Ambon (in
the Moluccas), Borneo, and Irian Jaya. But nowhere was the violence more
brutal and unjust than in East Timor. Habibie unexpectedly ended 25 years
of Indonesian intransigence by announcing in Feb. 1999 that he was willing
to hold a referendum on East Timorese independence. Twice rescheduled
because of violence, a UN-organized referendum took place on Aug. 30,
1999, with 78.5% of the population voting to secede from Indonesia. In the
days following the election, pro-Indonesian militias and Indonesian
soldiers massacred civilians and forced a third of the population out of
the region. After enormous international pressure, the government, which
was either unwilling or unable to stop the violent rampage, finally agreed
to allow UN forces into East Timor on Sept. 12, 1999. East Timor achieved
independence on May 20, 2002.
On Oct. 20, 1999, in a surprising upset, the Indonesian parliament
elected Abdurrahman Wahid as the new president of Indonesia, defeating
Megawati Sukarnoputri, the popular leader of the Indonesian Democratic
Party-Struggle. Wahid was a Sufi cleric as well as an adept politician
with a reputation for honesty and moderation.
Rioting, bombing, and growing unrest continued to plague Indonesia in
2000. On June 4, 2000, separatists declared Irian Jaya (also called West
Papua) an independent state. Wahid flatly opposed independence for the
province, which contains sizable copper and gold mines. Unlike East Timor,
there is little international support for an independent Irian Jaya.
In fall 2000, Suharto failed twice to show up in court to face
corruption charges of embezzling $570 million in state funds, but his
lawyers insisted he was too ill to stand trial. In July 2007, prosecutors
filed a civil suit against Suharto, seeking $440 million that he had
embezzled and $1.1 billion in damages.
In Sept. 2000, Suharto's playboy son, Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra, was
arrested for his role in a fraudulent multimillion-dollar land deal. He
fled and was finally arrested and jailed in November 2001 after a manhunt.
In July 2002, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted
of coordinating the murder of the judge who had sentenced him in the
corruption trial.
In the fall of 2000 and winter of 2001, President Wahid came under
increasing criticism for corruption and incompetence. He was blamed for
not stopping ethnic clashes and killings in Aceh, Irian Jaya, the Moluccas
Islands, and especially in Borneo, where the Dayak people turned against
Madurese immigrants, slaughtering hundreds. Wahid was forced from power in
July 2001, and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri assumed the helm.
A terrorist bombing on Oct. 12, 2002, at a nightclub in Bali killed
more than 200 people, mostly tourists. In 2003, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and
Imam Samudra, members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Islamic terrorist group
linked to al-Qaeda, were sentenced to death for their roles in the
bombing. But the radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, believed to be
the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, was only given a light three-year sentence
on lesser charges, causing some in the international community to question
Indonesia's commitment to fighting terrorism. Authorities arrested Bashir
in April 2004—on the same day he was set to be released from
prison—claiming they had new evidence that proved he is in fact the leader
of Jemaah Islamiyah and that he approved the Bali bombing. In March 2005,
he was found not guilty of terrorism charges in the bombings of Jakarta's
Marriott Hotel in 2003 and the Bali nightclub. He was, however, convicted
of a lesser charge—criminal conspiracy. That charge was overturned in Dec.
2006.
In May 2003, President Megawati declared military rule in Aceh and
launched an offensive intended to destroy the Free Aceh Movement. The
invasion marked the end of a cease-fire that was signed in Dec. 2002
between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatists. The government and
the separatists signed a peace treaty in Aug. 2005, ending the 30-year war
that had claimed the lives of 15,000 people. As part of the accord, the
rebels will surrender their arms and the government will gradually
withdraw its troops. In addition, the Acehnese agreed to give up their
demand for independence in exchange for the right to establish political
parties. The separatists disbanded their army in December, finalizing the
end to their insurgency.
Violence erupted again in the Moluccas Islands in April 2004, when more
than 40 people died in fighting between Christians and Muslims. The two
groups signed a cease-fire in 2002.
Megawati's PDI-P Party fared poorly in April 2004 elections, placing
second behind the Golkar Party of former president Suharto. In July,
retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono placed first in the country's
inaugural direct presidential elections, but he did not garner enough
votes to win outright. However, he soundly defeated Megawati in the
September runoff.
On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, whose epicenter was off
the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, caused a tremendously
powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean that devastated 12 Asian countries.
At least 225,000 people died in the disaster, and millions were left
homeless. Indonesia was the heaviest hit, with more than 150,000
casualties. Many of the deaths occurred in the war-torn province of
Aceh.
About two dozen people died in Sept. 2005 when suicide bombers attacked
tourist sites in Bali. The attack was eerily similar to the one that took
place two years earlier.
On May 26, 2006, more than 6,200 people were killed in a 6.3 magnitude
earthquake on Java. About 130,000 were left homeless. Just two months
later, on July 17, an earthquake and tsunami struck Java, killing more
than 500 people. It was the fourth major earthquake to strike the country
in 19 months.
Floods ravaged Jakarta in Feb. 2007, killing about 30 people and
leaving approximately 340,000 homeless.
In June 2007, police arrested Abu Dujana, a senior military leader of
the militant group Jemaah Islamiah who police suspect was involved in the
2003 bombing of the Marriott Hotel. Authorities hoped that his arrest
would strike a blow to the group's operations.
Suharto died on January 27, 2008, after spending most of the month in
the hospital for heart, lung, and kidney ailments. At his death, a civil
suit, which was filed in 2007 and sought $440 million that he had
embezzled and $1.1 billion in damages, was still pending. He was never
criminally charged for embezzlement or for the deaths of approximately
500,000 people who died in the purge of suspected Communists in the late
1960s. The United Nations has called Suharto the most corrupt contemporary
leader.
See also Encyclopedia: Indonesia
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Indonesia
Central Bureau of Statistics http://www.bps.go.id .
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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