Republic of Indonesia

National name: Republik Indonesia

President: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004)

Land area: 705,188 sq mi (1,826,440 sq km); total area: 741,100 sq mi (1,919,440 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 245,452,739 (growth rate: 1.4%); birth rate: 20.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 34.4/1000; life expectancy: 69.9; density per sq mi: 351

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Jakarta, 13,194,000 (metro. area), 8,389,443 (city proper)

Other large cities: Surabaya, 3,038,800; Bandung, 2,733,500; Medan, 2,204,300; Semarang, 1,267,100

Monetary unit: Rupiah

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)

Literacy rate: 89% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $901.7 billion; per capita $3,700. Real growth rate: 5.4%. Inflation: 10.4%. Unemployment: 10.9%. Arable land: 11%. Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs. Labor force: 94.2 million (2005 est.); agriculture 46.5%, industry 11.8%, services 41.7% (1999 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: $83.64 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber. Imports: $62.02 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Japan, U.S., Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Saudi Arabia (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 7.75 million (2002); mobile cellular: 11.7 million (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 41 (1999). Internet hosts: 62,036 (2003). Internet users: 8 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 6,458 km (2004). Highways: total: 342,700 km; paved: 158,670 km; unpaved: 184,030 km (1999 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 (2004). Ports and harbors: Banjarmasin, Belawan, Ciwandan, Krueg Geukueh, Palembang, Panjang, Sungai Pakning, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Priok. Airports: 667 (2004 est.).

International disputes: East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostile confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oil block; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.

 

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