Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia consisting of 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited) and straddling the equator. The largest islands are Sumatra, Java (the most populous), Bali, Kalimantan (Indonesia's part of Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), the Nusa Tenggara islands, the Moluccas Islands, and Irian Jaya (also called West Papua), the western part of New Guinea. Its neighbor to the north is Malaysia and to the east is Papua New Guinea.
Indonesia, part of the “ring of fire,” has the largest number of active volcanoes in the world. Earthquakes are frequent. Wallace's line, a zoological demarcation between Asian and Australian flora and fauna, divides Indonesia.
National name: Republik Indonesia
Languages : Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch, Javanese, and more than 580 other languages and dialects
Ethnicity/Race : Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%
Religions: Islam 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1% (1998)
National Holiday : Independence Day, August 17
Literacy rate: 90% (2004 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2009 est.): $969.2 billion; per capita $4,000. Real growth rate: 4.5%. Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 7.7%. Arable land: 11%. Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs. Labor force: 108 million (2007 est.); agriculture 43.3%, industry 18%, services 38.7% (2004 est.). Industries: petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism. Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver. Exports: $115.6 billion (2009 est.): oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber. Imports: $86.6 billion (2009 est.): machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Japan, U.S., Singapore, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Malaysia (2006).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 14.821 million (2006); mobile cellular: 63.803 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 54 (2006). Internet hosts: 559,359 (2007). Internet users: 16 million (2005).
Transportation: Railways: total: 6,458 km (2006). Highways: total: 368,360 km; paved: 213,649 km; unpaved: 154,711 km (2006 est.). Waterways: 21,579 km; note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km (2007). Ports and harbors: Banjarmasin, Belawan, Ciwandan, Krueg Geukueh, Palembang, Panjang, Sungai Pakning, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Priok. Airports: 652 (2007).
