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INTRODUCTION
Background: The world's largest archipelago, Indonesia
derived its name from "indos nesos", meaning islands near
India. It is made up of 17,508 islands, spead in an area between
the Asian continent and Australia. Many tribes with diverse culture
and languages inhabit the islands, although there is a national
language spoken through the country, namely Bahasa Indonesia.
Indonesia achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1949.
The country is predominantly mountainous with some 400 volcanoes
of which 100 are active.
GEOGRAPHY
Location: South-eastern Asia, archipelago
between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Geographic
coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E
Area: total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km
water: 93,000 sq km
Land boundaries: total: 2,602 km
border countries: Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands.
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber,
bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Geography - note: Archipelago of more than 17,000 islands (6,000
inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along
major sea-lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 228,437,870 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.26% (male 35,144,702; female 33,973,879)
15-64 years: 65.11% (male 74,273,519; female 74,458,291)
65 years and over: 4.63% (male 4,641,816; female 5,945,663) (2001
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.6% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 22.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.27 years
male: 65.9 years
female: 70.75 years (2001 est.)
Ethnic groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal
Malays 7.5%, other 26%.
Religions: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%,
Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998).
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay),
English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which
is Javanese.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
total population: 83.8%
male: 89.6%
female: 78% (1995 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Government type: republic
Capital: Jakarta
Administrative divisions: 27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular
- propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular
- daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah
khusus ibukota);
note - the province of Irian Jaya may have
been divided into two new provinces - Central Irian Jaya and West
Irian Jaya; with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January
2001, the 357 districts (regencies) may become the key administrative
units
note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial
referendum for independence which was overwhelmingly approved by
the people of Timor Timur and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's
national legislature, the name East Timor was adopted as a provisional
name for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur;
East Timor is under UN administration pending its formal independence.
Independence: 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December
1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by
indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Executive branch:
chief of state: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July 2001)
and Vice President
Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government.
head of government: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri
(since 23 July 2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July
2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government.
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Elections: president and vice president elected
separately by the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly or MPR
for five-year terms; election for president last held 23 July 2001
(next to be held NA 2006); election for vice president last held
26 July 2001 (next to be held NA 2006).
election results: MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected
president, receiving 591 votes in favor (91 abstentions); Hamzah
HAZ elected vice president, receiving 340 votes in favor (237 against)
note: the People's Consultative Assembly
(Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives
(Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 200 indirectly selected members;
it meets every five years to elect the president and vice president
and to approve the broad outlines of national policy
ECONOMY
Economy - overview: Indonesia, a vast polyglot
nation, faces severe economic problems, stemming from secessionist
movements and the low level of security in the regions, the lack
of reliable legal recourse in contract disputes, corruption, weaknesses
in the banking system, and strained relations with the IMF. Investor
confidence will remain low and few new jobs will be created under
these circumstances. Growth of 4.8% in 2000 is not sustainable,
being attributable to favorable short-term factors, including high
world oil prices, a surge in non-oil exports, and increased domestic
demand for consumer durables.
GDP: purchasing power parity
- $654 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 21%
industry: 35%
services: 44% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 20% (1998)
Household income or consumption
by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 30.3% (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (2000 est.)
Labour force: 99 million (1999)
Labour force - by occupation: agriculture 45%, industry 16%, services
39% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15%-20% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $26 billion
expenditures: $30 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.)
Industries: petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, and footwear;
mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood; rubber; food; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (2000 est.)
Agriculture - products:
rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil,
copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs
Exports: $64.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and gas, plywood, textiles, rubber
Exports - partners: Japan 21%, US 14%, Singapore 10%, South Korea
7%, Netherlands 3%, Australia 3%, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan (1999
est.)
Imports: $40.4 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment; chemicals, fuels,
foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Japan 12%, US 12%, Singapore 10%, Germany 6%,
Australia 6%, South Korea 6%, Taiwan, China (1999 est.)
Debt - external: $144 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $43 billion from IMF program and other
official external financing (1997-2000)
Currency: Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Currency code: IDR
Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 10,000 (January
2001), 8,421.8 (2000), 7,855.2 (1999), 10,013.6 (1998), 2,909.4
(1997), 2,342.3 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar
year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with
2001, has been changed to calendar year
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