Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
The archipelago was once largely under the control of Buddhist and Hindu rulers. By around the 7th century, a Buddhist kingdom arose on Sumatra and expanded into Java and the Malay Peninsula until it was conquered in the late 13th century by the Hindu Majapahit Empire from Java. Majapahit (1290-1527) united most of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia. Traders introduced Islam around the 11th century, and the religion gradually expanded over the next 500 years.
- Capital
- Jakarta
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 283,587,097
- Area
- 1,904,569 sq km
- Location
- Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
- Natural resources
- petroleum; tin; natural gas; nickel; timber; bauxite…
- Languages
- Bahasa Indonesia (official; modified form of Malay); English; Dutch…
- Religions
- Muslim 87.4%; Protestant 7.5%; Roman Catholic 3.1%; Hindu 1.7%…
- Independence
- 17 August 1945 (declared independence from the Netherlands)
- Administrative divisions
- 35 provinces (provinsi-provinsi, singular - provinsi), 1 autonomous province*, 1 special region** (daerah istimewa), and…
- Currency
- Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
- Export partners
- China 24%; USA 9%; India 8%; Japan 8%…
- Import partners
- China 29%; Singapore 8%; Japan 7%; USA 5%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain