General information: Indonesia, the largest archipelago on earth, achieved independence in 1949 (formerly a colony of the Netherlands). Current issues include: implementing IMF-led reforms in the banking sector, effecting a transfer of power to a popularly elected government after years of authoritarian rule, combating nepotism and corruption, addressing civil rights violations by the military, responding to the growing movement for various forms of autonomy or independence in regions like Aceh or Irian Jaya. On August 30, 1999, in a referendum in East Timor, the vast majority of the population voted for independence. The Indonesian legislature agreed to this, and the provisional name of the new state, East Timor, was approved. The independent status of East Timor, now under UN administration,
Geography
Location: Southeast Asia, an archipelago between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Geographic coordinates: 5° 00′ S. latitude, 120° 00′ E
Reference map: Southeast Asia.
Area: total: 1,919,440 km2; land surface area: 1,826,440 km2; water surface area: 93,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of the state of Texas. territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Land borders: total: 2,602 km; with neighboring states: with Malaysia 1,782 km, with Papua New Guinea 820 km.
Coastline: 54,716 km.
Maritime claims: are estimated based on the declared boundaries of the archipelago; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles;
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in the highlands.
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; in the interior of the larger islands there are mountains.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mount Jaya 5,030 m.
Natural resources: oil, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soil, coal, gold, silver.
Land use: arable land: 10%; cultivated land: 7%; pastures: 7%; forests and plantations: 62%; others: 14% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 45,970 km2 (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: rare floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic activity.
Current environmental issues: deforestation; water pollution by industrial waste and sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smog from forest fires.
International environmental conventions: member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 1983, Tropical Timber 1994, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol, Conservation of marine life.
Note to the section “Geography”: the archipelago has 17,000 islands (6,000 are inhabited); located on both sides of the equator; The main sea routes from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean pass through Indonesia or along the borders of its territory.
Population
Population: 228,437,870 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 30.26% (male 35,144,702; female 33,973,879); 15 to 64 years old: 65.11% (male 74,273,519; female 74,458,291); over 65: 4.63% (male 4,641,816; female 5,945,663) (2001 est.)
Population growth: 1.6% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 22.26 newborns / 1000 people, (2001 est.).
Mortality: 6.3 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: 0 people /1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male/female; up to 15 years: 1.03 male/female; from 15 to 64 years old: 1 male/female; over 65: 0.78 male/female; for the general population: 1 male/female. (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 40.91 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 68.27 years; men: 65.9 years; women: 70.75 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 2.58 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.05% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 52,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 3,100 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Indonesian; adjective: Indonesian.
Ethnic groups: Javanese 45%, Sundas 14%, Madurese 7.5%, Coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%.
Believers: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998).
Language(s): Indonesian (official, Malay dialect), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most common of which is Javanese.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 83.8%; men: 89.6%; women: 78% (1995 est.).
Politics
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia;
conventional short form: Indonesia; local long form: Republik Indonesia local short form: Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies.
State structure: republic. See a2zgov.com to know more about Indonesia government and politics.
Capital: Jakarta.
Administrative division: 27 provinces (propinsi), 2 special districts* (daerah istimewa) and 1 special capital district** (daerah khusus ibukota): Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, East Nusa Tenggara, East Java, East Kalimantan, Gorontalo, Jakarta **, Jambi, Yogyakarta*; West Nusa Tenggara, West Sumatra, West Java, West Kalimantan, Irian Jaya, Kepulauan-Bangka-Belitung, Lampung, Maluku, Riau, North Maluku, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, Central Java, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi; note; On August 30, 1999, a provincial referendum was held on the independence of East Timor, which was supported by the vast majority of the population of this province; thereafter, in October 1999,
Independence: August 17, 1945 (independence declared; December 27, 1949 independence was officially granted).
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945).
Constitution: adopted in August 1945, superseded by the federal Constitution of 1949 and the provisional Constitution of 1950, reinstated on July 5, 1959
Legal system: based on Roman Dutch law, significantly modified under the influence of local customs and new criminal – procedural code; does not accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 17 years old; universal, for those who are married – regardless of their age.
head of state: President Abdurrahman WAHID (since October 20, 1999), Vice President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since October 21, 1999); note – the president is both head of state and head of government;
head of government: President Abdurrahman WAHID (since 20 October 1999), Vice President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 21 October 1999); note – the president is both head of state and head of government;
Government: the cabinet is appointed by the president; elections: president and vice president elected separately by the People’s Consultative Assembly (700 members) for 5 years; elections last held on 20 and 21 October 1999 (next to be held in 2004); election results: Abdurrahman WAHID elected president with 373 votes to 313 for MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected VP, defeating Hamzah HAZ; distribution of votes – no data; note: The People’s Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat) includes the Council of People’s Representatives and 200 indirectly elected members; it meets once every five years to elect a president and vice president and approve the main directions of state policy.
Legislature: unicameral Council of People’s Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) (DPR) (500 seats; 462 members are elected by popular vote, 38 are military appointees; term of office is 5 years); elections: last held 7 June 1999 (next to be held June 2004); election results: distribution of votes between parties – PDI-P 37.4%, GOLCAR 20.9%, RKV 17.4%, PPP 10.7%, PAN 7.3%, RVV 1.8%, other 4.5% ; seats – PDI-P 154, GOLCAR 120, RRR 58, RKV 51, PAN 35, RVV 14, others 30.
Judiciary: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung), judges are appointed by the president from a list of candidates selected by legislators.
Political parties and leaders: Crescent and Star Party (RVV) (Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, Chairman); Unity and Development Party (PPP) (a federation of former Islamic parties) (Hamzah HAZ, chairman); Federation of Professional Groups (GOLCAR) (Akbar TAN-JUNG, General Chairman); Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI) (Federation of Former Nationalist and Christian Parties) (Budi HARDJONO, Chairman); Indonesian Democratic Party-Fighting (PDI-P) (MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairman); National Awakening Party (NAP) (Matori Abdul DJALIL, Chairman); National Order Party (PAN) (Amien RAIS, Chairman).
Political influence groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ARES, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Diplomatic Representation in the USA: Head of Mission: Ambassador DORODJATUN Kuntjoro-Jakti; office: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036; phone: [1] (202) 775-5200; fax: [1] (202) 775-5365; consulates general: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago.
US Diplomatic Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Robert GELBARD; embassy: Medan Merdeka Selatan 5, Jakarta; mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, APO AP 96520; phone: [62] (21) 3435-9000; fax: [62] (21) 3435-9922; consulates general: Surabaya.
Description of the flag: two identical horizontal stripes of red (top) and white; resembles the flag of Monaco, which is shorter, as well as the flag of Poland, whose stripes are white (top) and red.
