Indonesia's republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status. Its capital is Jakarta, which is the second most populous city in the world; large urban agglomerations are also Bandung, Surabaya and Medan. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's third highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesia's major trading partners are Japan, the United States, China and neighbours Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders and Sufi scholars brought the now-dominant Islam, while European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism starting from Amboina and Batavia, and eventually all of the archipelago including Timor and Western New Guinea, at times interrupted by Portuguese, French and British rule, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II.
Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups, with the largest—and politically dominant—ethnic group being the Javanese. The population is unevenly spread throughout the islands within a variety of habitats and levels of development, ranging from the megalopolis of Jakarta to uncontacted tribes in Papua. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika", articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Indonesia's economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 7th largest by GDP at PPP. Indonesia is a member of several multilateral organizations, including the UN, WTO, IMF and G20 major economies. It is also a founding member of Non-Aligned Movement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós (Ἰνδός) and the word nèsos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands". The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, Malayunesians—for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago". In the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia; they preferred Malay Archipelago (Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde.
After 1900, Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and Indonesian nationalist groups adopted it for political expression. Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularised the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first Indonesian scholar to use the name was Suwardi Suryaningrat (Ki Hajar Dewantara), when in 1913 he established a press bureau in the Netherlands, Indonesisch Pers-bureau.
Fossils and the remains of tools show that the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by Homo erectus, known as "Java Man", between 1.5 million years ago and 35,000 years ago. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago. Austronesian peoples, who form the majority of the modern population, migrated to Southeast Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE, and as they spread through the archipelago, confined the indigenous Melanesian peoples to the far eastern regions.
Ideal agricultural conditions and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the 8th century BCE, allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century CE. Indonesia's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade, including links with Indian kingdoms and China, which were established several centuries BCE. Trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history.
From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism that were imported with it. Between the eighth and 10th centuries CE, the agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties thrived and declined in inland Java, leaving grand religious monuments such as Borobudur, Sewu and Prambanan. This period marked a renaissance of Hindu-Buddhist art in ancient Java.
Around the first quarter of the 10th century, the centre of the kingdom was shifted from Mataram area in Central Java to Brantas River valley in East Java by Mpu Sindok, who established the Isyana Dynasty. Subsequently, a series of Javanese Hindu-Buddhist polities rose and fell, from Kahuripan kingdom ruled by Airlangga to Kadiri and Singhasari. In West Java, Sunda Kingdom was re-established circa 1030 according to Sanghyang Tapak inscription. In Bali, the Warmadewas established their rule on the Kingdom of Bali in the 10th century. The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of Indonesia.
The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra, although Muslim traders first traveled through Southeast Asia early in the Islamic era. Other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, and it was the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java.
The first regular contact between Europeans and the peoples of Indonesia began in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolise the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC), and in following decades, the Dutch gained a foothold in Batavia and Amboina. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the company became the dominant European power in the archipelago.
Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalised colony. For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago was tenuous outside of coastal strongholds; only in the early 20th century did Dutch dominance extend to what was to become Indonesia's current boundaries. Japanese occupation during World War II ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Despite major internal political, social and sectarian divisions during the National Revolution, Indonesians, on the whole, found unity in their fight for independence.
A UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, Sukarno and Hatta, the influential nationalist leaders, declared Indonesian independence. After independence, Soekarno was selected as Indonesia's first president by the PPKI, accompanied by Hatta who had been elected as the first vice-president. In November, the Central Indonesian National Committee demanded the dissolution of the presidential cabinet, and a new cabinet was formed with Sutan Sjahrir as prime minister. The Netherlands tried to reestablish their rule, and an armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence (with the exception of the Dutch territory of West New Guinea, which was incorporated into Indonesia following the 1962 New York Agreement, and the UN-mandated Act of Free Choice of 1969).
Sukarno moved Indonesia from democracy towards authoritarianism, and maintained his power base by balancing the opposing forces of the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI). An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was countered by the army, which led a violent anti-communist purge, during which the PKI was blamed for the coup and effectively destroyed. Large-scale killings took place which targeted communists, ethnic Chinese and alleged leftists. The most widely accepted estimates are that between 500,000 and one million people were killed, with some estimates as high as two to three million.
The head of the military, General Suharto, outmaneuvered the politically weakened Sukarno and was formally appointed president in March 1968. His New Order administration was supported by the US government, and encouraged foreign direct investment in Indonesia, which was a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth. However, the authoritarian "New Order" was widely accused of corruption and suppression of political opposition.
Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. This increased popular discontent with the New Order and led to popular protest across the country. Suharto resigned on 21 May 1998. In 1999, East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia, after a twenty-five-year military occupation that was marked by international condemnation of repression of the East Timorese.
Since Suharto's resignation, a strengthening of democratic processes has included a regional autonomy program, and the first direct presidential election in 2004. Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, and terrorism slowed progress; however, in the last five years the economy has performed strongly. Although relations among different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, sectarian discontent and violence have persisted. A political settlement to an armed separatist conflict in Aceh was achieved in 2005.
Indonesia lies between latitudes 11°S and 6°N, and longitudes 95°E and 141°E. It is the largest archipelagic country in the world, extending 5,120 kilometres (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 kilometres (1,094 mi) from north to south. According to a geospatial survey conducted between 2007 and 2010 by National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping (Bakosurtanal), Indonesia has 13,466 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited. These are scattered over both sides of the equator. The largest are Java, Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Brunei and Malaysia), Sulawesi, and New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea). Indonesia shares land borders with Malaysia on Borneo, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea, and East Timor on the island of Timor. Indonesia shares maritime borders across narrow straits with Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Palau to the north, and with Australia to the south. The capital, Jakarta, is on Java and is the country's largest city, followed by Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and Semarang.
Indonesia average population density is 134 people per km2 (347 per sq mi), 79th in the world, although Java, the world's most populous island, has a population density of 940 people per km2 (2,435 per sq mi).
At 4,884 metres (16,024 ft), Puncak Jaya in Papua is Indonesia's highest peak, and Lake Toba in Sumatra its largest lake, with an area of 1,145 km2 (442 sq mi). Indonesia's largest rivers are in Kalimantan and New Guinea, and include the Kapuas, Barito, Mamberamo, Sepik and Mahakam; such rivers are communication and transport links between the island's river settlements.
Indonesia's location on the edges of the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates makes it the site of numerous volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. Indonesia has at least 150 active volcanoes, including Krakatoa and Tambora, both famous for their devastating eruptions in the 19th century. The eruption of the Toba supervolcano, approximately 70,000 years ago, was one of the largest eruptions ever, and a global catastrophe. Recent disasters due to seismic activity include the 2004 tsunami that killed an estimated 167,736 in northern Sumatra, and the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006. However, volcanic ash is a major contributor to the high agricultural fertility that has historically sustained the high population densities of Java and Bali.
Lying along the equator, Indonesia's climate tends to be relatively even year-round. Indonesia has two seasons—a wet season and a dry season—with no extremes of summer or winter. For most of Indonesia, the dry season falls between April and October with the wet season between November and March. Indonesia's climate is almost entirely tropical, dominated by the Tropical rainforest climate found in every major island of Indonesia, followed by the Tropical monsoon climate that predominantly lies along Java's coastal north, Sulawesi's coastal south and east, and Bali, and finally the tropical Savanna climate, found in isolated locations of Central Java, lowland East Java, coastal southern Papua and smaller islands to the east of Lombok. However, cooler climate types do exist in mountainous regions of Indonesia 1,300 to 1,500 metres (4,300 to 4,900 feet) above sea level. The oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) prevail in highland areas with fairly uniform precipitation year-round, adjacent to rainforest climates, while the subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) exist in highland areas with a more pronounced dry season, adjacent to tropical monsoon and savanna climates.
Some regions, such as Kalimantan and Sumatra, experience only slight differences in rainfall and temperature between the seasons, whereas others, such as Nusa Tenggara, experience far more pronounced differences with droughts in the dry season, and floods in the wet. Rainfall in Indonesia is plentiful, particularly in West Sumatra, West Kalimantan, West Java, and Papua. Parts of Sulawesi and some islands closer to Australia, such as Sumba is drier. The almost uniformly warm waters that make up 81% of Indonesia's area ensure that temperatures on land remain fairly constant. The coastal plains averaging 28 °C (82.4 °F), the inland and mountain areas averaging 26 °C (78.8 °F), and the higher mountain regions, 23 °C (73.4 °F). The area's relative humidity ranges between 70 and 90%.
Winds are moderate and generally predictable, with monsoons usually blowing in from the south and east in June through October and from the northwest in November through March. Typhoons and large scale storms pose little hazard to mariners in Indonesia waters; the major danger comes from swift currents in channels, such as the Lombok and Sape straits.
Tectonically, Indonesia is highly unstable. It lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Indo-Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate are pushed under the Eurasian plate where they melt at about 100 kilometres (62 miles) deep. A string of volcanoes stretches from Sumatra to the Banda Sea. While the volcanic ash has resulted in fertile soils, it makes agricultural conditions unpredictable in some areas. The string of volcanoes runs through Sumatra, Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and then to the Banda Islands of Maluku to northeastern Sulawesi. Of the 400 volcanoes, approximately 150 are active.
The most massive supervolcano eruption was the Toba eruption that took place at the present location of Lake Toba, about
Indonesia's high population and rapid industrialisation present serious environmental issues, which are often given a lower priority due to high poverty levels and weak, under-resourced governance. Issues include destruction of peatlands, large-scale deforestation (much of it illegal) and related wildfires causing heavy smog over parts of western Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; over-exploitation of marine resources; and environmental problems associated with rapid urbanisation and economic development, including air pollution, traffic congestion, garbage management, and reliable water and waste water services. Indonesia has a below average but slightly improving performance in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 107 out of 180 countries in 2016. This is also below average in the Asia-Pacific region, behind Thailand but slightly ahead of China.
Much of Indonesia's deforestation is caused by forest clearing for the palm oil industry, which has cleared 18 million hectares of forest for palm oil expansion. This requires land reallocation as well as changes to the local and natural ecosystems. Palm oil expansion can generate wealth for local communities, but it can also degrade ecosystems and cause social problems. This makes Indonesia the world's fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Such activity also threatens the survival of indigenous and endemic species, including 140 species of mammals identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as threatened, and 15 identified as critically endangered, including the Bali starling, Sumatran orangutan, and Javan rhinoceros.
Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system. As a unitary state, power is concentrated in the central government. Following the resignation of President Suharto in 1998, Indonesian political and governmental structures have undergone major reforms. Four amendments to the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia have revamped the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
The president of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government, commander-in-chief of Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National Armed Forces), and the director of domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, who are not required to be elected members of the legislature. The 2004 presidential election was the first in which the people directly elected the president and vice-president. The president may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.
The highest representative body at national level is Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (People's Consultative Assembly) or MPR. Its main functions are supporting and amending the constitution, inaugurating the president, and formalising broad outlines of state policy. It has the power to impeach the president. The MPR comprises two houses; Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (People's Representative Council) or DPR, with 560 members, and Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (Regional Representative Council) or DPD, with 132 members. The DPR passes legislation and monitors the executive branch; party-aligned members are elected for five-year terms by proportional representation. Reforms since 1998 have markedly increased the DPR's role in national governance. The DPD is a new chamber for matters of regional management.
Most civil disputes appear before Pengadilan Negeri (State Court); appeals are heard before Pengadilan Tinggi (High Court). Mahkamah Agung is the country's highest court, and hears final cessation appeals and conducts case reviews. Other courts include the Commercial Court, which handles bankruptcy and insolvency; Pengadilan Tata Negara (State Administrative Court) to hear administrative law cases against the government; Mahkamah Konstitusi (Constitutional Court) to hear disputes concerning legality of law, general elections, dissolution of political parties, and the scope of authority of state institutions; and Pengadilan Agama (Religious Court) to deal with codified Sharia Law cases. In addition, the Komisi Yudisial (Judicial Commission) monitors the performance of judges.
Since 1999, Indonesia has had a multi-party system. In the two legislative elections since the fall of the New Order regime, no political party has managed to win an overall majority of seats, resulting in coalition governments. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan), which secured the most votes in the 2014 elections, is the party of the current Indonesian President, Joko Widodo. The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya) is the third largest political party. Other notable parties such as Party of the Functional Groups (Golongan Karya), Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat), and National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa). The current Indonesian DPR consists of 10 political parties, with a parliamentary threshold of 3.5% of the national vote.
Indonesia held its first general election in 1955 to elect members of the People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) and the Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia (Konstituante). At the national level, Indonesian people did not elect a head of state – the president – until 2004. Since then, the president is elected for a five-year term, as are the 560-member People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) and the 128-seat Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah). Starting from the 2015 unified local elections, Indonesia start to elect governors and mayors simultaneously on the same date.
Administratively, Indonesia consists of 34 provinces, five of which have special status. Each province has its own legislature (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah/DPRD) and an elected governor. The provinces are subdivided into regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota), led by regents (bupati) and mayors (walikota) respectively and also their own legislature (DPRD Kabupaten/Kota). These are further subdivided into districts (kecamatan or distrik in Papua and West Papua), and again into administrative villages (either desa, kelurahan, kampung, nagari in West Sumatra, or gampong in Aceh). This number has evolved over time, the most recent change being the split of North Kalimantan from East Kalimantan in October 2012.
The village is the lowest level of government administration in Indonesia. Furthermore, a village is divided into several community groups (rukun warga (RW)) which are further divided into neighbourhood groups (rukun tetangga (RT)). In Java the desa (village) is divided further into smaller units called dusun or dukuh (hamlets), these units are the same as rukun warga. Following the implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, the regencies and cities have become the key administrative units, responsible for providing most government services. The village administration level is the most influential on a citizen's daily life and handles matters of a village or neighbourhood through an elected lurah or kepala desa (village chief).
The provinces of Aceh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Papua, and West Papua have greater legislative privileges and a higher degree of autonomy from the central government than the other provinces. The Acehnese government, for example, has the right to create certain elements of an independent legal system and several regional parties only participate in elections within the province. In 2003, it instituted a form of sharia (Islamic law).
Yogyakarta was granted the status of Special Region in recognition of its pivotal role in supporting Indonesian Republicans during the Indonesian Revolution and its willingness to join Indonesia as a republic. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, was granted special autonomy status in 2001 and was split into Papua and West Papua in February 2003. Jakarta is the country's special capital region (Daerah Khusus Ibukota).
Since independence, Indonesian foreign relations have adhered to a "free and active" foreign policy, seeking to play a role in regional affairs commensurate with its size and location but avoiding involvement in conflicts among other countries. In contrast to Sukarno's anti-imperialistic antipathy to Western powers and tensions with Malaysia, Indonesia's foreign relations since the New Order era have been based on economic and political co-operation with the Western world. Indonesia maintains close relationships with its neighbours in Asia, and is a founding member of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit. The country restored relations with the People's Republic of China in 1990 following a freeze in place since anti-communist purges early in the Suharto era. Indonesia also developed close relations with the Soviet Union during the early-to-mid 1960s.
Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, and was a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Indonesia is signatory to the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement, the Cairns Group, and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and an occasional member of OPEC. Indonesia has received humanitarian and development aid since 1966, in particular from the United States, western Europe, Australia, and Japan.
The Indonesian government has worked with other countries to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of major bombings linked to militant Islamism and Al-Qaeda. The deadliest bombing killed 202 people (including 164 international tourists) in the Bali resort town of Kuta in 2002. The attacks, and subsequent travel warnings issued by other countries, severely damaged Indonesia's tourism industry and foreign investment prospects.
Indonesia's Armed Forces (TNI) include the Army (TNI–AD), Navy (TNI–AL, which includes Marine Corps), and Air Force (TNI–AU). The army has about 400,000 active-duty personnel. Defense spending in the national budget was 0.9% of GDP in 2015, and is controversially supplemented by revenue from military commercial interests and foundations.
The Indonesian Armed Forces was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when it undertook a guerrilla warfare along with informal militia. As a result of this, and the need to maintain internal security, the Armed forces including the Army, Navy, and Air Force has been organised along territorial lines, aimed at defeating internal enemies of the state and potential external invaders. From the 1950s to 1960s, the country struggled to maintain its unity against local insurgencies and separatist movements in some of its provinces. Separatist movements in the provinces of Aceh and Papua have led to armed conflict, and subsequent allegations of human rights abuses and brutality from all sides. Following a sporadic thirty-year guerrilla war between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian military, a ceasefire agreement was reached in 2005. From 1961 to 1963, the TNI was involved in the military campaign to incorporate Western New Guinea into Indonesia, which pitted the TNI against the Netherlands New Guinea. From 1962 to 1965, the TNI fought in a confrontation against Malaysia. The armed forces under Suharto was directly involved in the mass killings fighting against the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1965. One of the reforms following the 1998 resignation of Suharto was the removal of formal TNI representation in parliament; nevertheless, its political influence remains extensive. There has been a significant, albeit imperfect, implementation of regional autonomy laws, and a reported decline in the levels of violence and human rights abuses, since the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Papua.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018, ranks Indonesia 36th by World Economic Forum.Indonesia has a mixed economy in which both the private sector and government play significant roles. The country is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G20 major economies. Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product (nominal), as of 2017, is US$1.020 trillion while GDP in PPP terms is US$$3.257 trillion. It is the sixteenth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and is the seventh largest in terms of GDP (PPP). As of 2017, per capita GDP in PPP is US$12,432 (international dollars) while nominal per capita GDP is US$3,895.
The debt ratio to GDP is 26%. The services is the economy's largest and accounts for 43.3% of GDP (2016), this is followed by manufacturing sector (42.9%) and agriculture (13.7%). Since 2012, the service sector has employed more people than other sectors. In 2014 accounting for 44.8% of the total labour force was employed on service sector, this has been followed by agriculture (34.3%) and industry (20.9%). Agriculture, however, had been the country's largest employer for centuries.
Over time, the structure of the Indonesian economy has changed considerably. Historically, the economy has been heavily weighted towards the agricultural sector, reflecting both its stage of economic development and government policies in the 1950s and 1960s to promote agricultural self-sufficiency. A gradual process of industrialisation and urbanisation began in the late 1960s, and accelerated in the 1980s as falling oil prices saw the government focus on diversifying away from oil exports and towards manufactured exports. This development continued throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s despite the oil counter-shocks. During these periods, gross domestic product ("GDP") rose at an average rate of 7.1%. Indonesia saw consistent growth, with the official poverty rate falling from 60% to 15%. From the mid 1980s, trade barriers were reduced and the Indonesian economy became more globally integrated. The 1997 Asian financial crisis affected Indonesia both economically and politically. The government's initial response was to float the rupiah, raise key domestic interest rates, and tighten fiscal policy. The effects of the crisis were severe. By November 1997, rapid currency depreciation had caused public debt to reach US$60 bn, imposing severe strains on the government's budget. In 1998, real GDP contracted by 13.1%. The economy reached its low point in mid-1999 and real GDP growth for the year was 0.8%. Inflation reached 72% in 1998 but slowed to 2% in 1999.
Indonesia's recent strong economic growth has also been accompanied by relatively steady inflation. Since an inflation target was introduced in Indonesia in 2000, the GDP deflator and the CPI have grown at an average annual pace of 10¾ per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, similar to the pace recorded in the two decades prior to the Asian crisis, but well below the pace in the 1960s and 1970s. Inflation has also generally trended lower through the 2000s, with some of the fluctuations in inflation reflecting government policy initiatives such as the changes in fiscal subsidies in 2005 and 2008 which caused large temporary spikes in CPI growth. Since 2007, however, with the improvement in banking sector and domestic consumption, national economic growth has accelerated to over 6% annually and this helped Indonesia weather the 2008–2009 Great Recession. The Indonesian economy performed strongly during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and in 2012, its GDP grew by over 6%. Indonesia regained its investment grade rating in late 2011 after losing it in 1997. As of 2014, 11% of the population lived below the poverty line and the official open unemployment rate was 5.9%.
Indonesia has extensive natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, copper, and gold. Indonesia's major imports include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs, and the country's major export commodities include oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, rubber, and textiles. In an attempt to boost the domestic mineral processing industry and encourage exports of higher value-added mineral products, the Indonesian government implemented a ban on exports of unprocessed mineral ores in 2014.
Palm oil production is important to the economy of Indonesia as the country is the world's biggest producer and consumer of the commodity, providing about half of the world's supply. Oil palm plantations stretch across 6 million hectares (roughly twice the size of Belgium). Indonesia has set a replanting plan for 4.7 million hectares of palm oil plantation to boost productivity. As of 2012, Indonesia produces 35 percent of the world's certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).
The tourism sector contributes to around US$10.1 billion of foreign exchange in 2013, and ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors. In 2016, Indonesia have reached the target of 12 million visitors, being a phenomenal growth of 15.3% in one year, up from 10.4 million in 2015. China, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and Japan are the top five source of visitors to Indonesia.
Indonesia has a sizeable automotive industry, which produced almost 1.18 million motor vehicles in 2016, ranking as the 17th largest producer in the world. Nowadays, Indonesian automotive companies are able to produce cars with high ratio of local content (80% – 90%). With production of 13 billion packs in 2016, Indonesia is the second largest producer of instant noodle after China which produces 38.5 billion packs a year. Indofood is the largest instant noodle producer in the world. Indomie brand by Indofood is one of the Indonesia's best known global brand.
Of the world's 500 largest companies measured by revenue in 2016, the Fortune Global 500, one is headquartered in Indonesia: Pertamina.
Indonesia was the 26th biggest exporting country in the world in 2015, down one place compared to 2014. In the 2009–2014 period, the exports of Indonesia have increased at an annualised rate of 7.3%, from US$138 billion in 2009 to US$197 billion in 2014. The most recent exports are led by coal briquettes which represent 8.71% of the total exports, followed by palm oil (7.63%), petroleum gas (5.9%), crude petroleum (3.7%) and rubber (2.6%). Indonesia's main export markets (2015) are the United States (12%), China (11%), Japan (11%), Singapore (8.4%) and India (7.8%). The major suppliers of imports to Indonesia are China (25%), Singapore (20%), Japan (8.1%), South Korea (5.6%) and Thailand (5.5%). In 2015, Indonesia ran a trade surplus with export revenues of US$161 billion and import expenditure of US$139 billion.
In 2015, Indonesia imported $139 billion, making it the 31st largest importer in the world. During the last five years the imports of Indonesia have increased at an annualised rate of 12.5%, from $98.7 billion in 2009 to $178 billion in 2014. The most recent imports are led by refined petroleum which represented 9.3% of the total imports of Indonesia. The top import origins of Indonesia are China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
The road transport system is predominant, with a total length of 523,974 kilometres (325,582 miles) as of 2015. Many cities and towns have some form of transportation for hire available as well such as taxis. There are usually bus services such as the Kopaja buses and the more sophisticated TransJakarta bus rapid transit system in Jakarta. TransJakarta is the largest and longest bus rapid transit system in the world, boasting some 230.9 kilometres (143.5 miles) in 13 corridors and 10 cross-corridor routes and carrying 430,000 passengers daily in 2016. In addition, BRT systems exist in Yogyakarta, Palembang, Bandung, Denpasar, Pekanbaru, Semarang, Makassar, and Padang without segregated lanes. Many cities have motorised auto rickshaws (bajaj), and share taxis known locally as Angkot are a common sight in even medium-sized towns. Cycle rickshaws, called becak in Indonesia, are a regular sight on city roads and provide inexpensive transportation.
The rail transport system has four unconnected networks in Java and Sumatra primarily dedicated to transport bulk commodities and long-distance passenger traffic. The inter-city rail network on Java is complemented by local commuter rail services in the Jakarta metropolitan area (KA Commuter Jabodetabek), Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung. In Jakarta, suburban rail services carry 885,000 passengers a day. In addition, mass rapid transit and light rail transit systems are under construction in Jakarta and Palembang. The government's plan to build a high-speed rail (HSR) was announced in 2015, the first in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It is expected to connect the capital Jakarta with Bandung in neighbouring West Java province, covering a distance of around 140 kilometres (87 miles). Plans were mentioned for a possible extension of the HSR to Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya in East Java; construction will begin in early 2018.
Sea transport is extremely important for economic integration and for domestic and foreign trade. It is well developed, with each of the major islands having at least one significant port city. Because Indonesia encompasses a sprawling archipelago, maritime shipping provides essential links between parts of the country. Boats in common use include large container ships, a variety of ferries, passenger ships, sailing ships, and smaller motorised vessels. Traditional wooden vessel pinisi are widely used as the inter-island freight service in Indonesian archipelago.
Port of Tanjung Priok is Indonesia's busiest port, and the 26th busiest port in the world in 2015, handling over 5.15 million TEUs. To boost port capacity, a two-phase "New Tanjung Priok" extension project is ongoing. When fully operational in 2023, it will triple the existing annual capacity. In 2015, ground breaking of North Sumatra's Kuala Tanjung Port has been completed. The port is an extremely strategic development that can accommodate 400,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year, overtaking Johor's Tanjung Pelepas Port and could even compete with Singapore's port.
Frequent ferry services cross the straits between nearby islands, especially in the chain of islands stretching from Sumatra through Java to the Lesser Sunda Islands. On the busy crossings between Sumatra, Java, and Bali, car ferries run frequently 24 hours per day. There are international ferry services between across the Strait of Malacca between Sumatra and Malaysia, and between Singapore and nearby Indonesian islands, such as Batam. A network of passenger ships makes longer connections to more remote islands, especially in the eastern part of the archipelago. The national shipping line, Pelni, provides passenger service to ports throughout the country on a two- to four-week schedule. These ships generally provide the least expensive way to cover long distances between islands. Smaller privately run boats provide service between islands.
As of 2014, there were 237 airports in Indonesia, including 17 international airports. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport is the 22nd busiest airport in the world, serving 54,969,536 passengers, according to Airports Council International. Today the airport is running over capacity. After an expansion with a third terminal was completed in 2016, the total capacity of the three terminals increased to 43 million passengers a year. The first and second terminals will be revitalized in order to accommodate 67 million passengers a year. Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya are the country's second and third busiest airport.
Garuda Indonesia, the flag carrier of Indonesia since 1949, is one of the world's leading airlines and the 20th member of the global airline alliance SkyTeam. The airline's modernisation plan in 2009 has resulted in numerous awards, including Skytrax's "The World's Best Economy Class" in 2013, a "5-Star Airline" rating and "The World's Best Cabin Crew."
According to IEA Indonesia was the 10th top natural gas producer in 2009: 76 billion cubics (bcm) 2.5% of world production of which 36 bcm was exported. In 2009 Indonesia was the 5th top coal producer: 263 million tonnes hard coal and 38 million tonnes brown. The majority of this, 230 Mt of hard coal, was exported. Indonesia has significant energy resources, starting with oil – it has 22 billion barrels of conventional oil and gas reserves, of which about 4 billion are recoverable. That's the equivalent of about10 years of oil production and 50 years of gas. It has about 8 billion barrels of oil-equivalent of coal-based methane (CBM) resources. It has 28 billion tonnes of recoverable coal. It has 28 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal potential. 1 Includes recoverable resources of oil and gas yet to be discovered. It has even more in the form of solar, wind, biomass and biofuel potential. Indonesia's domestic oil consumption has grown from 1.2 million barrels per day in 2003 to 1.6 million barrels per day in 2013. As of 2015, Indonesia's total national installed power generation capacity stands at 55,528.51 MW.
Jatiluhur Dam, the country's largest dam which serves several purposes including the provision of hydroelectric power generation, water supply, flood control, irrigation and aquaculture. The power station has an installed capacity of 186.5 MW which feeds into the Java grid managed by the state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara. The Jatiluhur reservoir helps irrigate 240,000 ha (593,053 acres) of rice fields. The earth-fill dam is 105 m (344 ft) high and withholds a reservoir of 3,000,000,000 m3 (2,432,140 acre·ft).
According to the 2010 national census, the population of Indonesia is 237.6 million, with high population growth at 1.9%. 58% of the population lives in Java, the world's most populous island. In 1961, the first post-colonial census gave a total population of 97 million. The country currently possess a relatively young population, with a median age of 28.6 years (2016 estimate). The population is expected to grow to around 269 million by 2020 and 321 million by 2050. An additional 8 million Indonesian live overseas, comprising one of the world's largest diasporas. Most of them settled in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, and Australia.
Indonesia is a very ethnically diverse country, with around 300 distinct native ethnic groups. Most Indonesians are descended from Austronesian-speaking peoples whose languages can be traced to Proto-Austronesian, which possibly originated in Taiwan. Another major grouping are the Melanesians, who inhabit eastern Indonesia.
The largest ethnic group is the Javanese, who comprise 40.2% of the population. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the Java island and also significant numbers in most provinces of Indonesia. The Sundanese, Batak and Madurese are the largest non-Javanese groups. A sense of Indonesian nationhood exists alongside strong regional identities.
In 1930, the Dutch people and other Europeans (Totok), Eurasians, and derivative peoples like the Indos, numbered 240,000 or 0.4% of the total population counted in the Dutch East Indies census. Historically, they constituted only a tiny fraction of the whole Indonesian population and continue to do so today.
More than 742 different languages and dialects are spoken in Indonesia's numerous islands. Some belong to the Austronesian language family, while over 270 Papuan languages are spoken in Western New Guinea. The official language is Indonesian (also known as Bahasa Indonesia), a variant of Malay. It borrows heavily from local languages such as Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, etc. Indonesian is primarily used in business, politics, education, academics and the national media.
Indonesian is based on the prestige dialect of Malay, which for centuries had been the lingua franca of the archipelago. It is also the official language of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. The Minangkabau language is a variety of modern Malay that school teachers and authors helped to standardize. Indonesian is universally taught in schools and consequently is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. It was promoted by Indonesian nationalists in the 1920s, and declared the official language under the name Bahasa Indonesia in the proclamation of independence in 1945. Most Indonesians speak at least one of several hundred local languages and dialects, often as their first language, of which Javanese is the most widely spoken, as it is the language of the largest ethnic group.
Despite the Dutch presence for almost 350 years, the Dutch language has no official status and the small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch.
While religious freedom is stipulated in the Indonesian constitution, the government officially recognises only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism; although the government also officially recognises Indonesian indigenous religions. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim majority country with 205 million adherents in 2010, with the majority being Sunni Muslims (99%). The Shias and Ahmadis respectively constitute 0.5% and 0.2% of the Muslim population. In 2010, Christians made up almost 10% of the population (7% of the total population was Protestant, 2.9% Roman Catholic), 1.7% were Hindu, and 0.9% were Buddhist or other. Most Indonesian Hindus are Balinese, and most Buddhists in modern-day Indonesia are ethnic Chinese.
Though now minority religions, Hinduism and Buddhism remain defining influences in Indonesian culture. Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as first century. Salakanagara kingdom, a Sundanese kingdom, is the first historically recorded Indianised kingdom in Indonesia, located in West Java, created by Indian trader after marrying a local Sundanese princess. This kingdom existed since 130 AD. Islam was brought to Indonesia as early as the 8th century AD through the influence of Arab traders, and became the country's dominant religion by the 16th century. The majority of Indonesian Muslims practice Sunni Islam of Shafi school of jurisprudence.
Roman Catholicism was brought to Indonesia by early Portuguese traders and missionaries such as Saint Francis Xavier. Kingdom of Larantuka in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara was the only Christian (Roman Catholic) indigenous kingdom in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, with the first king named Lorenzo. In present-day Indonesia, unique Catholic traditions close to Easter days remain, locally known as the Semana Santa. It involves a procession carrying statues of Jesus and Virgin Mary (locally referred to as Tuan Ana and Tuan Ma) to a local beach, then to Cathedral of the Queen of the Rosary in Larantuka, the seat of the bishop.
Protestantism is largely a result of Dutch Reformed and Lutheran missionary efforts during the country's colonial period. The Dutch Reformed Church was long at the forefront in introducing Christianity to Indonesians, and was later joined by other Reformed churches that separated from it during the 19th century. The Dutch East India Company regulated the missionary work so it could serve its own interests and restricted it to the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago. Although the Calvinist and Lutheran branch are the most common, a multitude of other denominations can be found elsewhere in Indonesia. The Batak Protestant Christian Church, founded in 1861 by German Lutheran missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen, is the largest one.
A large proportion of Indonesians—such as the Javanese abangan, Balinese Hindus, and Dayak Christians—practice a less orthodox, syncretic form of their religion, which draws on local customs and beliefs. Most of indigenous native Indonesian beliefs could be categorised as animism, shamanism as well ancestral worship. Examples of Indonesian native belief systems are Sundanese Sunda Wiwitan, Dayak's Kaharingan, Torajan Aluk' To Dolo, Manusela and Nuaulu's Naurus, Batak's Parmalim faith, and to some extent Javanese Kejawen belief. There are also a number of indigenous deities and ancestral worship in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua.
Close to 80 percent of the Indonesian population lives in the western parts of the country, but that segment of the population is growing at a slower pace than the rest of the country. This creates a gap in terms of wealth, unemployment rate, and health between the densely populated islands like Sumatra and Java, which are the economic centres of Indonesia, and the sparsely populated islands such as Maluku, and Papua which is considered as Indonesia's disadvantaged areas. Economic inequality is also an issue that not only affects the economy, but also the social structure of Indonesia, resulting in social discrimination. Racism, especially against the Chinese since the Dutch rule, is a major and controversial issue and still continues to this day.
Homosexuality is illegal in the Indonesian province of Aceh. LGBT people and activists in Indonesia face fierce opposition, homophobic attacks, and hate speech, even launched by Indonesian authorities.
Education in Indonesia is compulsory for twelve years, and the constitution dictates that 20 percent of the national budget is to be prioritized for education. Parents can choose between state-run, non sectarian public schools supervised by Ministry of Education and Culture or private or semi-private religious (usually Islamic) schools supervised and financed by the Department of Religious Affairs. Private international schools, which are not based on the national curriculum, are also available. The enrolment rate is 90% for primary education (2015), 76% for secondary education, and 24% for tertiary education. The literacy rate is 95.22% (2016) and the government expenditure on education as 3.59% of GDP (2015).
By 2014, there were 118 state universities and 1,890 private higher educational institutions in Indonesia. Entry to state universities depends on the nationwide entrance examination (SNMPTN and SBMPTN). According to the 2017 QS World University Rankings, the top university in Indonesia is University of Indonesia (rank 277), followed by Bandung Institute of Technology (rank 331). Seven other Indonesian universities, including Gadjah Mada University (in the 401–410 rank range), Airlangga University (in the 701–750 rank range), Bogor Institute of Agriculture (in the 751–800 rank range), as well as Diponegoro University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta and Brawijaya University all huddled in the 801–1000 rank range. All of these universities are located in Java. Andalas University is pioneering the establishment of a leading university outside of Java.
Government expenditure on healthcare in Indonesia is about 3.1 percent of its total gross domestic product. Every citizen is protected under Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), a scheme to implement universal health care in the country which launched by Ministry of Health of Indonesia. It is expected that spending on healthcare will increase by 12% a year and reach US$46 billion a year by 2019. Under JKN, all Indonesians will receive coverage for a range of treatments via health services from public providers as well as those private organisations that have opted to join the scheme. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Indonesia is 240. The main health problems are air quality, disease, child malnutrition, alcohol and smoking. Health outcomes have significantly improved in Indonesia since the 1960s. Life expectancy at birth is 70.8 years. The child mortality rate has declined from 220 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to 45 per 1,000 live births in 2007. It has been suggested that over a third of the children under 5 have stunted growth. More than 28 million live below the poverty line of US$17 a month and about half the population have incomes not much above it. The malnutrition status has shown steady progress from 38 percent in 1990 to 25 percent in 2000. The rate of smoking is very high and about 400,000 die each year from smoking related illnesses.
Living in an agrarian and maritime culture the people in Indonesian archipelago have been famous in some traditional technologies, particularly in agriculture and marine. In agriculture, for instance, the people in Indonesia, and also in many other Southeast Asian countries, are famous in paddy cultivation technique namely terasering. Bugis and Makassar people in Indonesia are also well-known with their technology in making wooden sailing vessel called pinisi boats.
In aerospace technology, Indonesia has a long history in developing military and small commuter aircraft as the only country in Southeast Asia to produce and develop its own aircraft, also producing aircraft components for Boeing and Airbus, with its state-owned aircraft company (founded in 1976), the Indonesian Aerospace (Indonesian: PT. Dirgantara Indonesia), which, with EADS CASA of Spain developed the CN-235 aircraft, which has been exported to multiple countries. B. J. Habibie, a former Indonesian president played an important role in this achievement. While active as a professor in Germany, Habibie conducted many research assignments, producing theories on thermodynamics, construction, and aerodynamics, known as the Habibie Factor, Habibie Theorem, and Habibie Method respectively. Indonesia also hopes to manufacture the South Korean KAI KF-X fighter.
Indonesia has its own space agency and space program, and is also the first developing country to operate its own satellite system, known as Palapa. Palapa is a series of communication satellites owned by Qatari-controlled company Indosat Ooredoo. The first satellite, PALAPA A1 was first launched on 8 July 1976 Florida time, or on 9 July 1976 Western Indonesian Time on a US rocket, Delta 2914, from the Kennedy Space Center. As of 2016, Indonesia has launched 11 satellites to connect alongside the archipelago. The space agency has expressed a desire to put Indonesian satellites in orbit with native launch vehicles by 2040.
Indonesia has a well established railway industry, with its state-owned train manufacturer company, the Indonesian Railway Industry (Indonesian: PT. Industri Kereta Api), located in Madiun, East Java. Since 1982 the company has been producing passenger train wagons, freight wagons and other railway technologies and exported to many countries, such as Malaysia and Bangladesh. In the 1980s an Indonesian engineer, Tjokorda Raka Sukawati invented a road construction technique named Sosrobahu which becomes famous afterwards and widely used by many countries. The technology has been applied in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
With an estimated userbase of 132,700,000, Indonesia is one of the top five largest countries by number of Internet users, and its Facebook and Twitter user populations are fourth and third largest, respectively, of any country. The majority of Internet users in Indonesia are between the ages of 18 and 25, with an average Internet usage of 4.7 hours daily. Approximately 85% of Internet users depend primarily on their mobile phones for access, while the number of laptop users is greater than that of personal computer and tablet users combined. The Internet remains a relatively new communication medium in Indonesia. Like other developing countries, Indonesia began Internet development in the early 1990s. Unusually, Indonesia's Internet participation began with a small private group, known as the "Paguyuban Network", or "Network Group". Its first Internet service provider, IndoNet, began operation in Jakarta in mid-1994.
Both nature and culture are major components of Indonesian tourism. The natural heritage can boast a unique combination of a tropical climate, vast archipelago and long stretch of beaches. These natural attractions are complemented by a rich cultural heritage that reflects Indonesia's dynamic history and ethnic diversity. The ancient Prambanan and Borobudur temples, Toraja and Bali, with its Hindu festivities, are some of the popular destinations for cultural tourism.
Indonesia has a well-preserved natural ecosystem with rainforests that stretch over about 57% of Indonesia's land (225 million acres). Forests on Sumatra and Kalimantan are examples of popular tourist destinations, such as Orang Utan wildlife reserve. Moreover, Indonesia has one of longest coastlines in the world, measuring 54,716 kilometres (33,999 mi).
With 20% of the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 different species of fish and 600 coral species, deep water trenches, volcanic sea mounts, World War II wrecks, and an endless variety of macro life, scuba diving in Indonesia is both excellent and inexpensive. Bunaken National Marine Park, at the northern tip of Sulawesi has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific Ocean. According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat Islands is the highest recorded on Earth. Moreover, there are over 3,500 species living in Indonesian waters, including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, morays, cuttlefish, octopus and scorpaenidae, compared to 1,500 on the Great Barrier Reef.
Indonesia has 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the Komodo National Park, Cultural Landscape of Bali, Ujung Kulon National Park, Lorentz National Park, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, comprises three national parks on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park; and 18 World Heritage Sites in tentative list, such as the historic urban centres of Jakarta Old Town, Sawahlunto Old Coal Mining Town, Semarang Old Town, as well as Muara Takus Compound Site.
The heritage tourism is focussed on specific interest on Indonesian history, such as colonial architectural heritage of Dutch East Indies era. The activities among others are visiting museums, churches, forts and historical colonial buildings, as well as spending some nights in colonial heritage hotels. The popular heritage tourism attractions are Jakarta Old Town and the royal Javanese courts of Yogyakarta, Surakarta and the Mangkunegaran.
Bali island received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure in 2010. The island of Bali won because of its attractive surroundings (both mountain and coastal areas), diverse tourist attractions, excellent international and local restaurants, and the friendliness of the local people. According to BBC Travel in 2011, Bali is one of the World's best islands, ranking second after Santorini, Greece. Bali is a major world surfing destination, with popular breaks dotted across the southern coastline and around the offshore island of Nusa Lembongan. As part of the Coral Triangle, Bali, including Nusa Penida, offers a wide range of dive sites with varying types of reefs.
Urban tourism activities includes shopping, sightseeing in big cities, and enjoying modern amusement parks, resorts, spas, nightlife and entertainment. Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park as well as Ancol Dreamland with Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy World) theme park and Atlantis Water Adventure are Jakarta's answer to Disneyland-style amusement park and water park. The capital city, Jakarta, is a shopping hub in Southeast Asia. The city has numerous shopping malls and traditional markets. With a total of 550 hectares, Jakarta has the world's largest shopping mall floor area within a single city. The annual "Jakarta Great Sale" is held every year in June and July to celebrate Jakarta's anniversary. Bandung is a popular shopping destination for fashion products among Malaysians and Singaporeans.
Since January 2011, Wonderful Indonesia has been the slogan of an international marketing campaign directed by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism to promote tourism. In 2015, 10.4 million international visitors entered Indonesia, staying in hotels for an average of 8.5 nights and spending an average of US$1,190 per person during their visit, or US$140 per person per day.
Indonesia has a multicultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic society. Each ethnic group has its own art, architecture and housing, cuisine, traditional dress, festivals, music, dance, tradition, ritual, myths, philosophy of life, and language. The cultural identities developed over centuries, and influenced by Indian, Arabic, Chinese, and European sources, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam and Christianity. The result is a complex and unique cultural mixture that differs from the original indigenous cultures. Examples include the fusion of Islam with Hindu in Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha, and the fusion of Hinduism and animism in Kaharingan. Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology, as do wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performances.
Traditional carpentry, masonry, stone and woodwork techniques and decorations also thrived in Indonesian vernacular architecture, with numbers of traditional houses' styles have been developed. The traditional houses and settlements of the several hundreds ethnic groups of Indonesia are extremely varied and all have their own specific history.
The Indonesian film industry's popularity peaked in the 1980s and dominated cinemas in Indonesia, although it declined significantly in the early 1990s. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of Indonesian films released each year has steadily increased.
As of 2015, Indonesia holds 8 items of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage, which include wayang puppet theatre, kris, batik, education and training on making Indonesian batik, angklung, saman dance, noken, and the three genres of traditional Balinese dance. Batik, which is native to Indonesia was also recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Indonesian arts include both age-old art forms developed through centuries, and recently developed contemporary art. Despite often displaying local ingenuity, Indonesian arts also has experienced foreign exposures and influences—most notably from India, the Arab world, China and Europe, as the result of centuries of contacts and interactions facilitated, and often motivated, by trade. It is either work of arts produced by its people—created by Indonesian artist, or influenced by its culture and traditions.
The art of painting is quite well-developed in Bali, where its people are famed for their artistry. The Balinese art paintings tradition started as classical Kamasan or Wayang style visual narrative, derived from East Javanese visual art discovered on East Javanese candi bas reliefs. Balinese painting tradition are notable for its highly vigorous yet refined intricate art which resembles baroque folk art with tropical themes.
Megalithic sculpture has been discovered in several sites in Indonesia. Subsequently, tribal art has flourished within the culture of Nias, Batak, Asmat, Dayak and Toraja. Wood and stone are common materials used as the media for sculpting among these tribes. Between the 8th and 15th century, Javanese civilisation has developed a refined stone sculpting art and architecture which was influenced by Hindu-Buddhist Dharmic civilisation. The celebrated example is the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan.
Architecture reflects the cultural diversity that has shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonisers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a profound effect on building styles and techniques. The most dominant influences on Indonesian architecture have traditionally been Indian; however, Chinese, Arab, and European architectural influences have been significant.
The Indonesia traditional houses are at the centre of a web of customs, social relations, traditional laws, taboos, myths and religions that bind the villagers together. The house provides the main focus for the family and its community, and is the point of departure for many activities of its residents. Traditional houses hold a prominent position in the society, relates to its social significance.
Example of Indonesian vernacular architecture including Toraja's Tongkonan, Minangkabau's Rumah Gadang and Rangkiang, Javanese style Pendopo pavilion with Joglo style roof, Dayak's longhouses, various Malay houses, Balinese houses and temples, and also various styles of lumbung (rice barns).
Indonesia is considered as the home of world handicraft. Every ethnic group in Indonesia has its own uniqueness, style, and philosophy of craft. Most of them are made from wooden, bone, fabric, stone, paper, and other. Using hands, these natural materials were crafted into useful and aesthetic items. Handicraft manufacturing, unlike most other manufacturing activities, has a social function as well. In Indonesia, handicraft is not just a tradition; it is also an important economic sector. The handicraft industry employs thousands of people in towns and villages across the country. About half a billion dollar worth of handicraft is exported every year, and many more is consumed domestically.
There are many varieties of handicraft from other regions. West Sumatra and South Sumatra are particularly noted for their songket cloths. Villages in Lesser Sunda Islands produce ikat. Provinces in Kalimantan (Borneo) are long known for their basketry and weaving using rattan and other natural fabrics. Wood art produced by the Asmat people of Papua is highly valued. Along the northern coast, Cirebon, Pekalongan, and Lasem are batik centres. For furniture, the important cities are Cirebon (for rattan) and Jepara (carved wood). Tasikmalaya is known for embroidery. Pasuruan also produces furniture and other products and may support stores and galleries in Bali. Bandung and Surabaya, both are modern, cosmopolitan, and industrialised cities—much like Jakarta but on a lesser scale, are creative cities with a variety of innovative startups.
Indonesia has its own representation of traditional attire and dress from each province with its own unique and distinguished designs. Notable dress such as Kebaya and Batik both of Javanese from Java; Ulos of Batak from North Sumatra; Songket of Malay and Minangkabau from South Sumatra and West Sumatra; and Ikat of Sasak from Lombok.
Today, the most widely recognised Indonesian national costume are Batik and Kebaya, although originally those costumes mainly belong to Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese cultures. National costumes are worn during official occasions as well as traditional ceremonies. The most obvious display of Indonesian national costumes can be seen by the type of costumes worn by the President of Indonesia and the First Lady in many and different types of occasions and settings, and also worn by Indonesian diplomatic officials during meeting or gala dinner.
The music of Indonesia predates historical records. Various native Indonesian tribes incorporate chants and songs accompanied with musical instruments in their rituals. Traditional Indonesian instruments include angklung, kacapi suling, siteran, gong, gamelan, degung, gong kebyar, bumbung, talempong, kulintang and sasando.
The diverse world of Indonesian music genres was the result of the musical creativity of its people, and subsequent cultural encounters with foreign musical influences into the archipelago. Next to distinctive native form of musics, several genres can trace their origins to foreign influences, such as gambus and qasida from Middle Eastern Islamic music, keroncong from Portuguese influences, and dangdut—one of the most popular music genres in Indonesia—with notable Hindi music influence as well as Malay orchestras.
Today, Indonesian music industry enjoys nationwide popularity. Thanks to common culture and intelligible languages between Indonesian and Malay, Indonesian music enjoyed regional popularity in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. However, the overwhelming popularity of Indonesian music in Malaysia had alarmed the Malaysian music industry. In 2008, Malaysian music industry demanded the restriction of Indonesian songs on Malaysian radio broadcasts.
Traditional dance of Indonesia reflect the rich diversity of Indonesian people. The dance traditions in Indonesia; such as Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Balinese, Aceh and many other dances traditions are age old traditions, yet also a living and dynamic traditions. Several royal houses; the istanas and keratons still survived in some parts of Indonesia and become the haven of cultural conservation. The obvious difference between courtly dance and common folk dance traditions is the most evident in Javanese dance. The palace court traditions also evident in Balinese and Malay court which usually imposed refinement and prestige. Java and Bali are more deeply rooted in their Hindu-Buddhist heritage, while Sumatran courtly culture such as the remnant of Aceh Sultanate and Palembang Sultanate, are more influenced by Islamic culture.
Dances in Indonesia are believed by many scholars to have had their beginning in rituals and religious worship. Such dances are usually based on rituals, like the war dances, the dance of witch doctors, and dance to call for rain or any agricultural related rituals such as Hudoq dance ritual of Dayak people. In Bali, dances have become the integral part of Hindu Balinese rituals. Sacred ritual dances are performed only in Balinese temples such as sacred Sanghyang dedari and Barong dance.
The commoners folk dance is more concerned with social function and entertainment value than rituals. The Javanese Ronggeng and Sundanese Jaipongan is the fine example of this common folk dance traditions. Both are social dances that are more for entertainment purpose than rituals. Randai is a folk theatre tradition of the Minangkabau people which incorporates dance, music, singing, drama and the martial art of silat. Certain traditional folk dances has been developed into mass dance with simple but structurised steps and movements, such as Poco-poco dance from Minahasa and Sajojo dance from Papua.
Indonesian cuisine is one of the most diverse, vibrant and colourful in the world, full of intense flavour. Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon indigenous culture and foreign influences such as Chinese, European, Middle Eastern, and Indian precedents. Rice is the main staple food and is served with side dishes of meat and vegetables. Spices (notably chili), coconut milk, fish and chicken are fundamental ingredients.
Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng, gado-gado, sate, and soto are ubiquitous in the country and considered as national dishes. The official national dish of Indonesia however, is tumpeng, chosen in 2014 by Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy as the dish that binds the diversity of Indonesia's various culinary traditions. Another popular Indonesian dishes like rendang which is one of many Minangkabau cuisine, beside of dendeng and gulai. In 2011, rendang was chosen as the "World's Most Delicious Food" which was announced by CNN. Rendang can be made from beef that is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a few hours to make it tender, flavourful bovine goodness. Another fermented food is oncom, similar in some ways to tempeh but using a variety of bases (not only soy), created by a different fungi, and particularly popular in West Java.
Wayang, the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese shadow puppet theatre shows display several mythological legends such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and many more. Wayang wong is Javanese traditional dance drama based on wayang stories. Various Balinese dance drama also can be included within traditional form of Indonesian drama. Another form of local drama is Javanese Ludruk and Ketoprak, Sundanese Sandiwara, and Betawi Lenong. All of these drama incorporated humor and jest, often involving audiences in their performance.
Randai is a folk theatre tradition of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, usually performed for traditional ceremonies and festivals. It incorporates music, singing, dance, drama and the silat martial art, with performances often based on semi-historical Minangkabau legends and love story.
Modern performing art also developed in Indonesia with their distinct style of drama. Notable theatre, dance, and drama troupe such as Teater Koma are gain popularity in Indonesia as their drama often portray social and political satire of Indonesian society.
Sports in Indonesia are generally male-oriented and spectator sports are often associated with illegal gambling. The most popular sports are badminton and football. Indonesian players have won the Thomas Cup (the world team championship of men's badminton) thirteen of the twenty-six times that it has been held since 1949, as well as numerous Olympic medals since the sport gained full Olympic status in 1992. Indonesian women have won the Uber Cup, the female equivalent of the Thomas Cup, 3 times, in 1975, 1994 and 1996.
Liga 1 is the country's premier football club league. On the international stage, Indonesia experienced limited success despite being the first Asian team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1938 as Dutch East Indies. In 1956, the football team played in the Olympics and played a hard-fought draw against the Soviet Union. On the continent level, Indonesia won the bronze medal once in football in the 1958 Asian Games. Indonesia's first appearance in Asian Cup was back in 1996. The national team qualified for the next three tournaments in 2000, 2004 and 2007. They, however, failed to move through the next stage.
Basketball has a long history in Indonesia and was part of the first Indonesian National Games in 1948. Boxing is a popular combative sport spectacle in Indonesia. Some of famous Indonesian boxers are Ellyas Pical, three times IBF Super flyweight champion; Nico Thomas, Muhammad Rachman, and Chris John. In motorsport, Rio Haryanto became the first Indonesian to compete in Formula One in 2016.
Traditional sports include sepak takraw, and karapan sapi (bull racing) in Madura. In areas of Indonesia with a history of tribal warfare, mock fighting contests are held, such as caci in Flores and pasola in Sumba. Pencak Silat is an Indonesian martial art and in 1987, became one of the sporting events in Southeast Asian Games, with Indonesia appearing as one of the leading forces in this sport. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is one of the major sport powerhouses by winning the Southeast Asian Games 10 times since 1977, most recently on 2013.
The first domestically produced film in Indonesia was in 1926: Loetoeng Kasaroeng, a silent film by Dutch director L. Heuveldorp. This adaptation of the Sundanese legend was made with local actors by the NV Java Film Company in Bandung.
After independence, the film industry expanded rapidly, with six films made in 1949 rising to 58 in 1955. Djamaluddin Malik's Persari often emulating American genre films and the working practices of the Hollywood studio system, as well as remaking popular Indian films. The Sukarno government used cinema for nationalistic, anti-Western purposes. Foreign film imports were banned. After the overthrow of Sukarno by Suharto's New Order regime, films were regulated through a censorship code that aimed to maintain the social order. Usmar Ismail, a director from West Sumatra made a major imprint in Indonesian film in the 1950s and 1960s.
Films made in the 1980s included Pintar-pintar Bodoh (1982), Maju Kena Mundur Kena (1984), Nagabonar (1987), Catatan Si Boy (1989), and Warkop's comedy films, directed by Arizal. Actors included Deddy Mizwar, Eva Arnaz, Meriam Bellina, and Rano Karno.
Indonesia has held annual film festivals and awards, including the Indonesian Film Festival (Festival Film Indonesia/FFI), which has been held intermittently since 1955. This festival hands out the Citra Award, an Indonesian counterpart of the United States' Academy Awards, the most prestigious award among Indonesian film workers. From 1973 to 1992, the festival was held annually and then discontinued until it was later revived in 2004.
Under the Reformasi movement, independent filmmaking was a rebirth of the filming industry in Indonesia, where films started addressing topics which were previously banned, such as religion, race, love and other topics. Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana were among the new generation of Indonesian film figures who co-directed Kuldesak (1999), Petualangan Sherina (2000), Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (2002), Gie (2005), and Laskar Pelangi (2008). Locally made film quality has gone up in 2012. This is attested by the international release of films such as The Raid: Redemption, Modus Anomali, Dilema, Lovely Man, and Java Heat. In 2016, Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss Part 1 smashed box office records to become the most-watched Indonesian film in theaters with 6,858,616 spectators.
Media freedom in Indonesia increased considerably after the end of President Suharto's rule, during which the now-defunct Ministry of Information monitored and controlled domestic media, and restricted foreign media. The TV market includes ten national commercial networks, and provincial networks that compete with public TVRI, which, for 27 years, was the only channel that Indonesians could watch. By early 21st century, the improved communications system had brought television signals to every village in the country, and most Indonesians could choose from up to 14 channels. Private radio stations carry their own news bulletins and foreign broadcasters supply programs. The number of printed publications has increased significantly since 1998. In 2016, 88 million Indonesians used the Internet, of which 93% used smartphones, 5% tablets and 11% computers. Broadband reached 8% of the households. More than 30 million cell phones are sold in Indonesia each year, and 27% of them are local brands.
The oldest evidence of writing in Indonesia is a series of Sanskrit inscriptions dated to the 5th century. Many of Indonesia's peoples have strongly rooted oral traditions, which help to define and preserve their cultural identities. In written poetry and prose, a number of traditional forms dominate, mainly syair, pantun, gurindam, hikayat and babad. Some of these works are Syair Raja Siak, Syair Abdul Muluk, Hikayat Abdullah, Hikayat Bayan Budiman, Hikayat Hang Tuah, Sulalatus Salatin, and Babad Tanah Jawi.
Early modern Indonesian literature originates in Sumatran tradition. Balai Pustaka, the government bureau for popular literature, was instituted around 1920 to promote the development of indigenous literature, it adopted Malay as the preferred common medium for Indonesia. Important figures in modern Indonesian literature include: Dutch author Multatuli, who criticised treatment of the Indonesians under Dutch colonial rule; Sumatrans Mohammad Yamin and Hamka, who were influential pre-independence nationalist writers and politicians; and proletarian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's most famous novelist. Pramoedya earned several accolades, and was frequently discussed as Indonesia's and Southeast Asia's best candidate for a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Indonesian literature and poetry flourished even more in the first half of the 20th century. Chairil Anwar was considered as the greatest literary figure of Indonesia by American poet and translator, Burton Raffel. He was among those youngsters who pioneered in changing the traditional Indonesian literature and modifying it on the lines of the newly independent country. Some of his popular poems include Krawang-Bekasi, Diponegoro and Aku. Other major authors include Marah Roesli (Sitti Nurbaya), Merari Siregar (Azab dan Sengsara), Abdul Muis (Salah Asuhan), Djamaluddin Adinegoro (Darah Muda), Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (Layar Terkembang), and Amir Hamzah (Nyanyi Sunyi) whose works are among the most well known in Maritime Southeast Asia.
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