Difference between revisions of "Indonesia" - New World Encyclopedia

*Republik Indonesia*
Republic of Indonesia
Republik Indonesia Republic of Indonesia
	Motto: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Old Javanese); Unity in Diversity; National ideology: Pancasila
	Anthem: Indonesia Raya; "Great Indonesia";
Capital; (and largest city)	Jakarta; 6°10.5′S 106°49.7′E
Official languages	Indonesian
Demonym	Indonesian
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Legislature	People's Consultative Assembly
Independence	following Dutch colonial rule and Japanese occupation
Area
Population
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
Gini (2017)	39.5
Currency	Rupiah (IDR)
Time zone	various (UTC+7 to +9)
Internet TLD	.id
Calling code	[[++62]]

Latest revision as of 18:52, 28 June 2019

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia: Republik Indonesia), is a vast nation consisting of more than 18,000 islands in the South East Asian Archipelago, and is the world's largest archipelagic nation.

The name "Indonesia" derives from Greek "indus" or "India," and "nesos" or "islands"). It is home to more than 250 million people, and thus is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall.

Indonesia was governed by Sukarno, leader of the national independence struggle, and military dictator Suharto, for most of its recent history. Democracy was restored following the Indonesian Revolution of 1998.

The national language is Bahasa Indonesia and the population is overwhelmingly Muslim. However, there are several hundred diverse linguistic and ethnic groups across the country, as well as other religious communities. Although Indonesia's economy is progressive and regionally important, the problems of poverty, illiteracy, political instability, and regional separatism remain major issues hindering national development.

Geography

Indonesia's 18,108 islands, of which about seven thousand are inhabited, are scattered around the equator, giving the country a tropical climate. The coastal plains average 82° F (28° C), and the higher mountain regions, 73° F (23° C). Western Sumatra, Java, Bali, the interiors of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Western New Guinea are the wettest, with rainfall of more than 78 inches (2,000 millimeters) per year. The city of Bogor, near Jakarta, lays claim to having to world's highest number of rainstorms per year, with 322.

Indonesia's largest islands are Java, one of the most densely populated regions on Earth (where about half of the population lives), Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Malaysia and Brunei), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea) and Sulawesi, also known as Celebes.

Indonesia's seismic and volcanic activity is among the Earth's highest

It is bordered by the nations of Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia. In addition to the capital city of Jakarta, principal cities include Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, and Semarang.

Its location on the edges of the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates means Indonesia has frequent earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis. Indonesia also has many volcanoes, the most famous being the now-vanished Krakatoa, which was located between Sumatra and Java and erupted explosively in 1883. 36,000 West Javans died in the resulting tidal wave. The sound of the explosion was reported as far away as Turkey and Japan. Between 1972 and 1991, 29 volcanic eruptions were recorded, mostly on Java.

Mountains ranging between 9,800 and 12,460 feet (3,000 to 3,800 meters) above sea level can be found on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, and Seram. The highest peak, Puncak Jaya, also known as Mount Carstenz, reaches over 16,000 feet (4884 meters), and is located in the Sudirman Mountains in Western New Guinea.

Flora and fauna differ markedly between Kalimantan, Bali, and western islands on the one hand and Sulawesi (Celebes), Lombok, and islands further east on the other. This ecological boundary, called the Wallace Line after its discoverer, Alfred Russel Wallace, is often given as the boundary between Asia and Australasia.

Indonesia is a country with many volcanic islands. Sangeang Api Island is an example.

Indonesia faces environmental challenges. Coastal waters contaminated by pollution from agricultural pesticides and off-shore oil drilling caused fish stocks to decline, threatening the livelihood of fishing people and those engaged in allied activities—roughly 5.6 million people.

Deforestation, soil erosion, massive forest fires, and even desertification, resulting from intensive commercial logging, threatens the mountainous interior regions of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Sumatra.

In 1983 some 11,580 square miles (30,000 square kilometers) of prime tropical forest worth at least U.S. $10 billion were destroyed in a fire in Kalimantan Timur Province. The disastrous scale of this fire was a result of the piles of dead wood left behind by the timber industry. Even discounting the calamitous effects of the fire, in the mid-1980s Indonesia's deforestation rate was the highest in Southeast Asia, at about 2,702 square miles (7,000 sq. km) per year.

Volcanoes in Indonesia

History

The area now comprising the archipelago of Indonesia, specifically Java, was inhabited by Homo erectus approximately 500,000 years ago, while the island of Flores was home to a newly discovered species of hominid, Homo floresiensis, until approximately 10,000 years ago. The date of the earliest arrival of Homo sapiens to the area was between 40,000 and 100,000 years ago. The earliest historical mention of the area was of the Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra around 200 B.C.E. by Indian scholars. Various archeological sites show the influence of the Hindu religion in the area from the first century to the fifth century C.E.

Under the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism, several kingdoms formed on the islands of Sumatra and Java from the seventh to fourteenth century. Arab spice traders brought Islam, which became the dominant religion in many parts of the archipelago after the collapse of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms.

Detailed map of Indonesia

When the Portuguese arrived in the early sixteenth century, they found numerous small states vulnerable to conquest; later, other Europeans seeking to dominate the spice trade arrived. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch ousted the Spanish and Portuguese (except for the Portuguese colony on the island of Timor). Dutch influence began with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), a chartered private enterprise complete with its own fleet and army, which gradually expanded its control. Like the British, the Dutch mainly relied on indirect rule, using local elites as vassals, while imposing their will and extracting wealth. The VOC was dissolved in 1799, and the East Indies was awarded to the then United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815.

Under the nineteenth-century Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel), large plantations and forced cultivation were established on Java, finally creating the profit for the Netherlands that the VOC had been unable to produce. In a more liberal period of colonial rule after 1870, the Cultivation System was abolished, and after 1901 the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy, which included limited political reform and increased investment in the colony.

During World War II, with the Netherlands under German occupation, Japan began a five-prong campaign in December 1941 towards Java and the vital fuel supplies of the Dutch East Indies. Japan captured Java by March 1942, and erected an occupation government, installing Sukarno, a pro-independence activist imprisoned by the Dutch, as its head. From 1942, Sukarno collaborated with the Japanese occupiers. In later life, he refused to talk about the war years.

In 1945 with the war drawing to a close, Sukarno sought to declare independence with Japan's permission. However, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared independence unilaterally on August 17, soon after the Japanese lost the war. With Japan defeated, the Netherlands' Army, at first backed by the British, attempted to reoccupy their former East Indies colonies.

Indonesia's war for independence lasted from 1945 until December 27, 1949, when, under international pressure, especially from the United States (which threatened to cut off Marshall Plan funds), the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia as a federation of autonomous states. This federation soon became a republic with Sukarno as president and Hatta as vice president. It was not until August 16, 2005, that the Dutch government recognized 1945 as the country's year of independence.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Sukarno's government aligned first with the emerging non-aligned movement, and later with the socialist bloc. The 1960s brought a military confrontation with neighboring Malaysia, and increasing frustration over domestic economic difficulties.

Suharto was the military president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998.

General Suharto of the Indonesian Army became president in 1967 on the pretext of securing the country against an alleged communist coup attempt against a weakening Sukarno, whose tilt leftward had alarmed both the military and Western powers. Suharto's administration is commonly called the New Order and ushered in an era when hundreds of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by military and religious groups in a backlash against alleged communist supporters. He also annexed East Timor, despite massive protest.

Suharto invited foreign investment, which produced substantial—albeit uneven—economic growth. However, Suharto enriched himself and his family and was forced to step down in 1998 amid massive demonstrations and a faltering economy. Vice President Habibie was named the new Indonesian president. A one-time aircraft designer and former Indonesian minister of research and technology, President Habibie promised a multiparty, democratic election in 1999 and encouraged freedom of the press. His presidency was plagued by various bloody conflicts, both long-running ones in Aceh province and West New Guinea, and new ones in Maluku, Poso (Sulawesi), and Kalimantan. There was a financial scandal (Bank Bali case) related to his friends and the staff of his political party.

On 1999 President Habibie agreed to hold a referendum on independence for East Timor. The result of the referendum was an overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia. This resulted in a bloody riot in East Timor by the angry pro-Indonesia militia. The United Nations sent a peacekeeping force, and the UN Human Rights Commission alleged that several Indonesian government staff and military officers were responsible for the riot. The Indonesian Human Rights Court freed all but one suspect, Enrico Gutierrez, a former leader of the pro-Indonesia militia.

President Habibie resigned, to be replaced by K.H. Abdulrahman Wahid as the new President from 1999 to 2004. From 1998 to 2005, the country had four presidents: Bacharuddin Jusuf (B.J.) Habibie (1998 to 1999), Abdurrahman Wahid (1999 to 2001), Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001 to 2004) and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (from 2004 on). President Wahid was the leader of the powerful Indonesian Islamic organization, Nadathul Ulama (he was plagued by serious health problems due to a stroke suffered before he became president). Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the first president, Sukarno, became vice president.

A further corruption scandal (the Bulog fund) and a political crisis in 2001 forced Wahid to resign. Megawati Sukarnoputri, the leader of PDI-P, the winner of 1999 election, replaced him as president from 2001 to 2004. Indonesia's first direct presidential election was held in 2004, and won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was the largest one-day election in the world.

A massive earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004, devastated parts of northern Sumatra, particularly the Aceh province. In March 2005, a powerful earthquake destroyed most buildings on Nias Island, west of Sumatra. Hundreds of people were killed. Peace talks between the Indonesian government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM, the Free Aceh Movement) were restarted and resulted in a peace agreement.

Politics

Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system, and a unitary state with power concentrated in the national government. The president of Indonesia is directly elected for five-year terms, and is the head of state, commander-in-chief of Indonesian armed forces, and responsible for domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, which may or may not be elected members of the legislature.

The highest legislative body is the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) or People's Consultative Assembly, consisting of the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) or People's Representative Council, elected for a five-year term, and the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) or Regional Representatives Council. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral parliament, with the creation of the DPD as its second chamber in an effort to increase regional representation.

During the regime of President Suharto, Indonesia built strong relations with the United States and had difficult relations with the People's Republic of China owing to Indonesia's anti-communist policies and domestic tensions with the Chinese community. It received international condemnation for its annexation of East Timor in 1978. Indonesia is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and thereby a member of both ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit. Since the 1980s, Indonesia has worked to develop close political and economic ties between South East Asian nations, and is also influential in the Organization of Islamic Conference. Indonesia was heavily criticized between 1998 and 1999 for allegedly suppressing human rights in East Timor, and for supporting violence against the East Timorese following the latter's secession and independence in 1999. Since 2001, the government of Indonesia has co-operated with the U.S. in cracking down on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist groups.

Map of the provinces of Indonesia

Indonesia has 33 provinces, which are subdivided into regencies and cities, which are in turn split up in sub-districts. Aceh, Jakarta, Papua, and Yogyakarta have special status, giving them more autonomy from the central government. The Acehnese government has the right to create an independent legal system, and instituted a form of Shariah (Islamic Law) in 2003. Yogyakarta remains a sultanate whose sultan (currently the widely popular Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X) is the territory's de facto governor for life. The special capital region is Jakarta; though a city, it is administered much as any other Indonesian province.

East Timor was occupied by Indonesia from 1975 following a military invasion, until Indonesia relinquished its claims in 1999 after years of bitter fighting against East Timor guerrillas and abuses by Indonesian military forces against the East Timorese civilians. Following a period of transitional administration by the United Nations, it became an independent state in 2002. Fighting broke out in mid-2006, requiring troops from Australia and New Zealand, and armed police from Portugal.

Economy

Terracing in Pachung, Bali.

Indonesia, a vast nation, has struggled with the consequences of the Asian financial crisis of the early twenty-first century, and has high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution. Indonesia became an oil importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel strained the national budget in 2005, and with an indecisive monetary policy, contributed to a run on the currency, prompting the government to raise the average fuel price by 126 percent. The resulting inflation and interest rate increases were expected to dampen growth prospects.

Keys to economic growth include internal reform, and gaining the confidence of international and domestic investors. The country has extensive natural resources outside Java, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Indonesia is the world's second-largest exporter of natural gas. Agricultural products include palm oil, rice, tea, coffee, spices, and rubber. The central bank is Bank Indonesia.

In December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami took 131,000 lives, left another 37,000 missing, displaced 570,000 people, and caused an estimated U.S. $4.5 billion in damages and losses. Islamist terrorist incidents in 2005 slowed tourism. Several human cases of avian influenza in late 2005 sparked fears of a pandemic.

Demographics

Statue of Dewi Sri, Ubud, Bali

Some parts of Indonesia are among the most densely populated areas in the world. Java is the most populous island, and many Indonesian cities are some of the most populous and densely populated.

The west of the country is Asian and the people are mostly Malay, while the east is more Pacific and people on New Guinea are Papuan, with roots in the islands of Melanesia. There are, however, many more subdivisions—since Indonesia spans an area the size of Europe or the U.S. and consists of many islands that developed separately. Many Indonesians identify with a more specific ethnic group, such as Javanese, Sundanese, or Batak. There are quite different groups within many islands, such as Borneo, with its Dayak and Punan, who have different lifestyles and skin-tones. The total number of languages/ethnic groups for Indonesia is 742, and the province of Papua alone has some 269 different ethnic groups.

Indonesia has ethnic tensions, particularly between Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity and the Pribumi peoples, who are considered natives of Indonesia. Non-Pribumi people are not always considered entirely Indonesian. Riots in Jakarta in 1997 and 1998 highlighted this recurring tension. Ethnic relations are strained mostly due to a perception that the Chinese community is too wealthy relative to the Pribumis. Some of the resentment rose against shopkeepers and small-time creditors who constitute much of the Chinese Indonesian community. Under Dutch rule, Chinese were used as middlemen and treated as second-class citizens, while Pribumi peasants and laborers were treated as third-class citizens. Chinese-owned shops, and the families living and working in storefront dwellings were the target of much of the wrath of the rioters. The Indonesian government has taken steps to remedy the problem. Additionally, the corruption, collusion, and nepotism ('KKN' is the Indonesian abbreviation) which characterized Suharto's presidency increased public resentment that led to the eventual downfall of the regime but also exacerbated ethnic tensions in Indonesia.

Ethnic conflict also exists between local ethnic groups and the Javanese and Madurese people relocated by the central government. This type of conflict can often take on religious overtones as Muslim Javanese and Madurese find themselves in areas that were predominantly Christian or animist. One example of this occurred in West Kalimantan, where members of the local Dayak community massacred hundreds of Madurese. Other such conflicts have occurred in Ambon City, Sulawesi Tengah, and parts of Western New Guinea (formerly known as Irian Jaya).

Most Indonesians speak at least one of hundreds of local languages (bahasa daerah). The official national language, called "Bahasa Indonesia" in Indonesian, is taught in schools and is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. It was a lingua franca for the region, including present-day Malaysia (and is closely related to the Malay language), was accepted by the Dutch as the de facto language for the colony, and declared the official language after independence. English is the most widely spoken foreign language. A number of Chinese dialects, most prominently Min Nan, are also spoken. The public use of Mandarin Chinese, especially Chinese characters, was discouraged between 1966 and 1998.

The formerly large, influential Eurasian community (locally known as Indo) has largely left the country for the Netherlands, California in the U.S., and Australia, but some Eurasians remain in Indonesia and among them are highly esteemed models and soap opera stars.

Did you know?

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world

While religious freedom is stipulated in the constitution, the government officially recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism; with indigenous animistic religions only partly recognized. The large majority of Indonesians report their religion as Muslim, making Indonesia the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world.

Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, popular beliefs were influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. Although Islam was once mainly limited to Java and parts of Sumatra, the transmigration program has increased the number of Muslims living in Bali, Borneo, the Celebes, the Moluccas, and Papua. After independence, syncretism (the combining of different religious forms) and intermarriage have decreased and religious divides sharpened, leading to violence in many eastern islands and in Java. In Java, in particular, a substantial number of Muslims follow a non-orthodox, Hindu-influenced form of Islam known as Abangan, while across the archipelago the Hindu legacy, along with the older mystic traditions, influences popular beliefs.

Culture

Traditional puppets being shown at the Indonesian embassy in Australia

The Dutch introduced a system of formal education, although this was restricted to certain privileged children. The system they introduced was roughly similar to the current structure.

Education in Indonesia is the responsibility of the Department of Education. From birth until the age of five, Indonesian children do not have access to formal education. From the age of five to seven, they attend kindergarten. Students attend middle school for three years from the age of 13 to 15, then may move on to high school or college, or cease formal education. High school or college comprises three years of schooling, from the age of 16 to 18. After graduation, students may enter the workforce, or continue with higher education at a university.

Art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. The famous Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology. Also well-known are the Javanese and Balinese wayang kulit shadow theatre shows, displaying several mythological events. Pencak Silat is a unique martial art originating from the archipelago.

Among the popular art forms of Java are: Reog from Ponorogo, Kethoprak in Central and East Java, and Angguk and Jathilan around Purwokerto.

Several Islands are famous for their batik, ikat, and songket cloth. Once on the brink of disappearing, batik, and later, ikat, received renewed interest when former President Suharto began wearing batik shirts on official occasions.

Indonesia has a long-standing tradition of sculpture and carving. Examples of Indonesian sculpture have been found dating back to the Bronze and Iron ages, but the artform particularly flourished in the eighth to tenth centuries, both as individual works of art, and as incorporated into temple structures. Most notable are the hundreds of meters of relief sculpture at the temple of Borobodur in Central Java. There, approximately two miles (3,800 meters) of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha.

In the twentieth century, Bali saw a flourishing of its artistic communities, especially painting. Batik and sculpture developed in new directions, combining traditional methods with contemporary themes and techniques. Although many of the Balinese sculpture workshops now cater to the tourist trade, there is a vibrant sculptural tradition in Bali, especially around Ubud.

Long houses in Sulawesi and Sumatra are adorned with carved relief, and the structures of the buildings themselves are often carved. Primitive animistic carvings are still made in Sulawesi and elsewhere, although much of this is now made for sale to tourists. In Tana Toraja, effigies of the dead are carved. In New Guinea, Bisj Poles of up to 25 meters are carved from a single piece of mangrove tree, adorned with human figures, animals and other totems.

A gamelan player playing bonang

Indonesia is home to hundreds of forms of music and dance. The best-known traditional or classical music from Central/East Java and Bali is the Gamelan. Traditional dances depict episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata from India. A very popular modern style of music is Dangdut, with an accompanying free dance style. Many political rallies have Dangdut performances to attract crowds. Dangdut, which first surfaced during the 1970s, has a distinct Indian sound.

Keroncong is said to have its roots in Portugal, brought to Indonesia by Portuguese traders in the fifteenth century. Most popular in the twentieth century, keroncong is now often considered "old people's" music. A more modern form of keroncong is called Pop Keroncong. Completely different is the soft Sasando music from West Timor in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sasando is an instrument made from a leaf of the lontar palm and bears some resemblance to a harp.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was Indonesia's most internationally celebrated author, having won the Magsaysay Award as well as being considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Other important figures include the late Chairil Anwar, a poet and member of the Generation 45 group of authors who were active in the Indonesian independence movement. There is a long tradition in Indonesia, and particularly among ethnically Malay populations, of extemporary, interactive, verbal composition of poetry. These poems are referred to as pantun.

Notes

↑ William H. Frederick and Robert L. Worden (eds.), Pancasila Indonesia: A Country Study (Claitor's Law Books and Publishing Division, 2005). Retrieved June 267, 2019.
↑ Adrian Vickers, A History of Modern Indonesia (Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 0521542626).
↑ Sensus Penduduk 2010 Badan Pusak Statistik. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
↑ International Monetary Fund, GDP, current prices World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019.Retrieved June 27, 2019.
↑ Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical update United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved June 27, 2019.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Frederick, William H., and Robert L. Worden (eds.). Indonesia: A Country Study. Claitor's Law Books and Publishing Division, 2005. ISBN 978-1579801403
Hannigan, Tim. A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis. Tuttle Publishing, 2015. ISBN 978-0804844765
Vickers, Adrian. A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0521542626

External links

All links retrieved June 27, 2019.

The History of Sumatra by William Marsden Gutenberg.org
Monumental Java by J. F. Scheltema Gutenberg.org
Borneo and the Indian Archipelago by Frank Marryat Gutenberg.org
Adventures in New Guinea by James Chalmers Gutenberg.org

Countries and territories of Oceania
	Australia : Australia · Norfolk Island
	Melanesia : East Timor · Fiji · Maluku Islands & Western New Guinea (part of Indonesia) · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu
	Micronesia : Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Northern Mariana Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · Palau · Wake Island
	Polynesia : American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Hawaii · New Zealand · Niue · Pitcairn Islands · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna

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[1] William H. Frederick and Robert L. Worden (eds.), Pancasila Indonesia: A Country Study (Claitor's Law Books and Publishing Division, 2005). Retrieved June 267, 2019.

[Vickers-2] Adrian Vickers, A History of Modern Indonesia (Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 0521542626).

[imf2-3] Sensus Penduduk 2010 Badan Pusak Statistik. Retrieved June 27, 2019.

[imf19-4] International Monetary Fund, GDP, current prices World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019.Retrieved June 27, 2019.

[undp-5] Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical update United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved June 27, 2019.

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-established_events = - Declared<br> - Recognised |
+| population_density_km2 = 138
-established_dates = From [[Netherlands]]<br>[[17 August]] [[1945]]<br>[[27 December]] [[1949]] |
+| population_density_sq_mi = 357
-currency = [[Rupiah]] |
+| population_density_rank = 88th
-currency_code = IDR |
+| GDP_PPP = $3.740 trillion<ref name="imf19">International Monetary Fund, [https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/IDN GDP, current prices] World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019.Retrieved June 27, 2019.</ref>
-time_zone= various |
+| GDP_PPP_year = 2019
-utc_offset= +7 to +9 |
+| GDP_PPP_rank = 7th
-time_zone_DST= not observed |
+| GDP_PPP_per_capita = $14,020
-utc_offset_DST= +7 to +9|
+| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 89th
-cctld= [[.id]] |
+| GDP_nominal = $1.100 trillion
-calling_code = 62 |
+| GDP_nominal_year = 2019
-footnotes =
+| GDP_nominal_rank = 16th
+| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $4,120
+| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 106th
+| Gini = 39.5
+| Gini_year = 2017<ref name="undp">[http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2018_human_development_statistical_update.pdf Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical update] United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved June 27, 2019.</ref>
+| Gini_change = increase <!--increase//steady—>
+| Gini_rank =
+| HDI = 0.694
+| HDI_year = 2017<ref name="undp"/>
+| HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady—>
+| HDI_rank = 116th
+|sovereignty_type = [[Independence]]
+|sovereignty_note = following [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch colonial rule]] and [[Japanese occupation of Indonesia|Japanese occupation]]
+|established_event2 = [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence|Declared]]
+|established_date2 = 17 August 1945
+|established_event3 = [[Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference|Acknowledged]]
+|established_date3 = 27 December 1949
+|currency = [[Indonesian rupiah|Rupiah]]
+|currency_code = IDR
+|time_zone = various
+|utc_offset = +7 to +9
+|time_zone_DST = not observed
+|utc_offset_DST =
+|drives_on = Left <!--Note that this refers to the side of the road used, not the seating of the driver—>
+|cctld = [[.id]]
+|calling_code = [[+62]]
+|website = [http://www.indonesia.go.id/en.html indonesia.go.id]
+|footnotes =
 }}
-'''Indonesia''', officially the '''Republic of Indonesia''' (Bahasa Indonesia: Republik Indonesia), is a nation of islands consisting of more than 18,000 islands located in the South East Asian Archipelago.  It is the world's largest achipelagic nation. It is bordered by the nations of [[Papua New Guinea]], [[East Timor]], [[Singapore]], [[Australia]] and [[Malaysia]]. Indonesia (from Greek: "indus," or "India," and "nesos," or "islands") is home to more than 200 million people, and thus is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall.
-The area now comprising the archipelago of Indonesia, specifically Java, was inhabited by "Homo erectus" - the "Java Man" - approximately 500,000 years ago, while the island of Flores was home to a newly discovered species of hominid, "Homo floresiensis." The region was an important trade route to [[China]], thriving in trade of spices. Regional Hindu kingdoms expanded religious and cultural influences of Hinduism as well as Buddhism, and in the middle ages the islands came under the influence of Islam. The region was colonized by [[the Netherlands]] as the Dutch East Indies. The people across many islands rebelled in the early 20th century against Dutch control. Following a brief occupation by Imperial Japan during World War II, nationalists declared independence in 1945, and a united and independent Indonesian was recognized in 1949.
+'''Indonesia''', officially the '''Republic of Indonesia''' (Bahasa Indonesia: Republik Indonesia), is a vast nation consisting of more than 18,000 islands in the South East Asian Archipelago, and is the world's largest archipelagic nation.
-Indonesia is a unitary state, and was governed by Sukarno, leader of the national freedom struggle, and military dictator Suharto for most of its modern history. Democracy was restored following the Indonesian Revolution of 1998|revolution of 1998]]. Although the national language is [[Bahasa Indonesia and the population is overwhelmingly Muslim, there are several hundred diverse linguistic and ethnic groups across the country, as well as other religious communities. Although Indonesia's economy is progressive and regionally important, the problems of poverty, illiteracy, political instability and regional separatism remain major issues hindering national development.
+The name "Indonesia" derives from Greek "indus" or "India," and "nesos" or "islands"). It is home to more than 250 million people, and thus is the most populous [[Muslim]]-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall.
+Indonesia was governed by Sukarno, leader of the national independence struggle, and military dictator Suharto, for most of its recent history. Democracy was restored following the Indonesian Revolution of 1998.
+{{toc}}
+The national language is Bahasa Indonesia and the population is overwhelmingly Muslim. However, there are several hundred diverse linguistic and ethnic groups across the country, as well as other religious communities. Although Indonesia's economy is progressive and regionally important, the problems of [[poverty]], [[illiteracy]], political instability, and regional separatism remain major issues hindering national development.
 ==Geography==
-[[Image:Indonesia - Sangeang Api.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Indonesia is a country with many volcanic islands. Sangeang Api island is an example.]]
+Indonesia's 18,108 islands, of which about seven thousand are inhabited, are scattered around the [[equator]], giving the country a tropical climate. The coastal plains average 82° F (28° C), and the higher mountain regions, 73° F (23° C). Western Sumatra, Java, [[Bali]], the interiors of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Western New Guinea are the wettest, with rainfall of more than 78 inches (2,000 millimeters) per year. The city of Bogor, near Jakarta, lays claim to having to world's highest number of rainstorms per year, with 322.
-Indonesia's 18,108 islands, of which about 7000 are inhabited, are scattered around the equator, giving the country a tropical climate. The most populated islands are Java (one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, where about half of the population lives), Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Malaysia and Brunei), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea) and Sulawesi, also known as Celebes.
+Indonesia's largest islands are [[Java]], one of the most densely populated regions on Earth (where about half of the population lives), [[Sumatra]], [[Borneo]] (shared with [[Malaysia]] and [[Brunei]]), [[New Guinea]] (shared with [[Papua New Guinea]]) and [[Sulawesi]], also known as Celebes.
+[[Image:Mahameru-volcano.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Indonesia's seismic and volcanic activity is among the Earth's highest]]
-Indonesia borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo (Indonesian Kalimantan), Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea and [[East Timor]] on the island of Timor. In addition to the capital city of Jakarta, principal cities of high population include Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, and Semarang.
+It is bordered by the nations of [[Papua New Guinea]], [[East Timor]], [[Singapore]], [[Australia]], and [[Malaysia]]. In addition to the capital city of [[Jakarta]], principal cities include Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, and Semarang.
-Indonesia's total land area is 1,919,317 square kilometers. Included in Indonesia's total territory is another 93,000 square kilometers of inlands seas (straits, bays, and other bodies of water). The additional surrounding sea areas bring Indonesia's generally recognized territory (land and sea) to about five million square kilometers. The government, however, also claims an exclusive economic zone, which brings the total to about 7.9 million square kilometers.
+Its location on the edges of the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates means Indonesia has frequent earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis. Indonesia also has many volcanoes, the most famous being the now-vanished Krakatoa, which was located between Sumatra and Java and erupted explosively in 1883. 36,000 West Javans died in the resulting tidal wave. The sound of the explosion was reported as far away as [[Turkey]] and [[Japan]]. Between 1972 and 1991, 29 volcanic eruptions were recorded, mostly on Java.
-[[Image:Mahameru-volcano.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Indonesia's seismic and volcanic activity is among the Earth's highest]]
+Mountains ranging between 9,800 and 12,460 feet (3,000 to 3,800 meters) above sea level can be found on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, and Seram. The highest peak, Puncak Jaya, also known as Mount Carstenz, reaches over 16,000 feet (4884 meters), and is located in the Sudirman Mountains in Western New Guinea.
-Tectonically, this region—especially Java—is highly unstable, and although the volcanic ash has resulted in fertile soils, it makes agricultural conditions unpredictable. The country has numerous mountains and some 400 volcanoes, of which approximately 100 are active. Between 1972 and 1991 alone, 29 volcanic eruptions were recorded, mostly on Java. In 1815 a volcano at Gunung Tambora on the north coast of Sumbawa, claimed 92,000 lives and created "the year without a summer" in various parts of the world. In 1883 Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, erupted and some 36,000 West Javans died from the resulting tidal wave. The sound of the explosion was reported as far away as [[Turkey]] and [[Japan]]. For almost a century following that eruption, Krakatau was quiet, until the late 1970s, when it erupted twice.
+Flora and fauna differ markedly between [[Kalimantan]], [[Bali]], and western islands on the one hand and [[Sulawesi]] (Celebes), [[Lombok]], and islands further east on the other. This ecological boundary, called the Wallace Line after its discoverer, Alfred Russel Wallace, is often given as the boundary between Asia and Australasia.
+[[Image:Indonesia - Sangeang Api.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Indonesia is a country with many volcanic islands. Sangeang Api Island is an example.]]
+Indonesia faces environmental challenges. Coastal waters contaminated by pollution from agricultural pesticides and off-shore oil drilling caused fish stocks to decline, threatening the livelihood of fishing people and those engaged in allied activities&mdash;roughly 5.6 million people.
-Flora and fauna differ markedly between Kalimantan, Bali, and western islands on the one hand and Sulawesi (Celebes), Lombok, and islands further east on the other. This ecological boundary has been called the Wallace line after its discoverer. The line is often given as the boundary between Asia and Australasia, as such making Indonesia a bicontinental country.
+Deforestation, soil erosion, massive forest fires, and even desertification, resulting from intensive commercial logging, threatens the mountainous interior regions of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Sumatra.
-[[Image:Id-map.png|right|420px]]
+In 1983 some 11,580 square miles (30,000 square kilometers) of prime tropical forest worth at least U.S. $10 billion were destroyed in a fire in Kalimantan Timur Province. The disastrous scale of this fire was a result of the piles of dead wood left behind by the timber industry. Even discounting the calamitous effects of the fire, in the mid-1980s Indonesia's deforestation rate was the highest in Southeast Asia, at about 2,702 square miles (7,000 sq. km) per year.
+[[Image:Map indonesia volcanoes.gif|thumb|300px|[[Volcano|Volcanoes]] in Indonesia]]
+==History==
+The area now comprising the archipelago of Indonesia, specifically Java, was inhabited by ''Homo erectus'' approximately 500,000 years ago, while the island of Flores was home to a newly discovered species of hominid, ''Homo floresiensis'', until approximately 10,000 years ago. The date of the earliest arrival of ''[[human being|Homo sapiens]]'' to the area was between 40,000 and 100,000 years ago. The earliest historical mention of the area was of the Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra around 200 <small>B.C.E.</small> by Indian scholars. Various archeological sites show the influence of the Hindu religion in the area from the first century to the fifth century <small>C.E.</small>
+Under the influences of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], several kingdoms formed on the islands of Sumatra and Java from the seventh to fourteenth century. Arab spice traders brought [[Islam]], which became the dominant religion in many parts of the archipelago after the collapse of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms.
 [[Image:Indonesia_2002_CIA_map.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Detailed map of Indonesia]]
-[[Image:Map indonesia volcanoes.gif|thumb|250px|[[Volcanoes]] in Indonesia]]
+When the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] arrived in the early sixteenth century, they found numerous small states vulnerable to conquest; later, other [[Europe]]ans seeking to dominate the spice trade arrived. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch ousted the Spanish and Portuguese (except for the Portuguese colony on the island of [[Timor]]). Dutch influence began with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), a chartered private enterprise complete with its own fleet and army, which gradually expanded its control. Like the British, the Dutch mainly relied on indirect rule, using local elites as vassals, while imposing their will and extracting wealth. The VOC was dissolved in 1799, and the East Indies was awarded to the then [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] in 1815.
-Mountains ranging between 3000 and 3,800 meters above sea level can be found on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, and Seram. The country's tallest mountains are located in the Jayawijaya Mountains and the Sudirman Mountains in Western New Guinea. The highest peak, Puncak Jaya, also known as Mount Carstenz, which reaches 4884 metres, is located in the Sudirman Mountains.
-Nusa Tenggara consists of two strings of islands stretching eastward from Bali toward Western New Guinea.
-The Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) are geologically among the most complex of the Indonesian islands. They are located in the northeast sector of the archipelago, bounded by the Philippines to the north, Irian Jaya to the east, and Nusa Tenggara to the south. The largest of these islands include Halmahera, Seram, and Buru, all of which rise steeply out of very deep seas.
-Geographers believe that the island of New Guinea may once have been part of the Australian continent. The breakup and tectonic action created both towering, snowcapped mountain peaks lining its central east-west spine and hot, humid alluvial plains along the coast of New Guinea. West New Guinea's mountains range some 650 kilometers east to west, dividing the province between north and south.
-[[Image:SundaIslands.A2003242.0225.500m.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia]]
-The main variable of Indonesia's climate is not temperature or air pressure, but rainfall. The almost uniformly warm waters that make up 81 % of Indonesia's area ensure that temperatures on land remain fairly constant. Split by the equator, the archipelago is almost entirely tropical in climate, with the coastal plains averaging 28C, the inland and mountain areas averaging 26C, and the higher mountain regions, 23C. The area's relative humidity ranges between 70 and 90 percent. Winds are moderate and generally predictable, with monsoons usually blowing in from the south and east in June through September and from the northwest in December 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.
-The extreme variations in rainfall are linked with the monsoons. Generally speaking, there is a dry season (June to September), influenced by the Australian continental air masses, and a rainy season (December to March) that is the result of mainland Asia and Pacific Ocean air masses. Local wind patterns, however, can greatly modify these general wind patterns, especially in the islands of central Maluku—Seram, Ambon, and Buru. This oscillating seasonal pattern of wind and rain is related to Indonesia's geographical location as an archipelago between two large continents. In July and August, high pressure over the Australian desert moves winds from that continent toward the northwest. As the winds reach the equator, the earth's rotation causes them to veer off their original course in a northeasterly direction toward the Southeast Asian mainland. During January and February, a corresponding high pressure system over the Asian mainland causes the pattern to reverse. The resultant monsoon is augmented by humid breezes from the Indian Ocean, producing significant amounts of rain throughout many parts of the archipelago.
-Prevailing wind patterns interact with local topographic conditions to produce significant variations in rainfall throughout the archipelago. In general, western and northern parts of Indonesia experience the most precipitation, since the north- and westward-moving monsoon clouds are heavy with moisture by the time they reach these more distant regions. Western Sumatra, Java, Bali, the interiors of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya are the most predictably damp regions of Indonesia, with rainfall measuring more than 2,000 millimeters per year. In part, this moisture originates on strategically located high mountain peaks that trap damp air. The city of Bogor, near Jakarta, lays claim to having to world's highest number of rainstorms per year—322. On the other hand, the islands closest to Australia—including Nusa Tenggara and the eastern tip of Java—tend to be dry, with some areas experiencing less than 1,000 millimeters per year. To complicate the situation, some of the islands of the southern Malukus experience highly unpredictable rainfall patterns, depending on local wind currents.
-Although air temperature changes little from season to season or from one region to the next, cooler temperatures prevail at higher elevations. In general, temperatures drop approximately 1° per 90 meters increase in elevation from sea level with some highaltitude interior mountain regions experiencing night frosts. The highest mountain ranges in Irian Jaya are permanently capped with snow.
-Located on the equator, the archipelago experiences relatively little change in the length of daylight hours from one season to the next; the difference between the longest day and the shortest day of the year is only forty-eight minutes. The archipelago stretches across three time zones: Western Indonesian Time—seven hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)—includes Sumatra, Java, and eastern Kalimantan; Central Indonesian Time—eight hours head of GMT—includes western Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi; and Eastern Indonesian Time—nine hours ahead of GMT— includes the Malukus and Irian Jaya. The boundary between the western and central time zones—established in 1988—is a line running north between Java and Bali through the center of Kalimantan. The border between central and eastern time zones runs north from the eastern tip of Timor to the eastern tip of Sulawesi.
-==Environmental concerns==
-For centuries, the geographical resources of the Indonesian archipelago have been exploited in ways that fall into consistent social and historical patterns. One cultural pattern consists of the formerly Indianized, rice-growing peasants in the valleys and plains of Sumatra, Java, and Bali; another cultural complex is composed of the largely Islamic coastal commercial sector; a third, more marginal sector consists of the upland forest farming communities which exist by means of subsistence swidden agriculture. To some degree, these patterns can be linked to the geographical resources themselves, with abundant shoreline, generally calm seas, and steady winds favoring the use of sailing vessels, and fertile valleys and plains—at least in the Greater Sunda Islands—permitting irrigated rice farming. The heavily forested, mountainous interior hinders overland communication by road or river, but fosters slash-and-burn agriculture.
-Each of these patterns of ecological and economic adaptation experienced tremendous pressures during the 1970s and 1980s, with rising population density, soil erosion, river-bed siltation, and water pollution from agricultural pesticides and off-shore oil drilling. In the coastal commercial sector, for instance, the livelihood of fishing people and those engaged in allied activities—roughly 5.6 million people—began to be imperiled in the late 1970s by declining fish stocks brought about by the contamination of coastal waters. Fishermen in northern Java experienced marked declines in certain kinds of fish catches and by the mid-1980s saw the virtual disappearance of the terburuk fish in some areas. Effluent from fertilizer plants in Gresik in northern Java polluted ponds and killed milkfish fry and young shrimp. The pollution of the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra from oil leakage from the Japanese supertanker Showa Maru in January 1975 was a major environmental disaster for the fragile Sumatran coastline. The danger of supertanker accidents also increased in the heavily trafficked strait.
-The coastal commercial sector suffered from environmental pressures on the mainland, as well. Soil erosion from upland deforestation exacerbated the problem of siltation downstream and into the sea. Silt deposits covered and killed once-lively coral reefs, creating mangrove thickets and making harbor access increasingly difficult, if not impossible, without massive and expensive dredging operations.
-Although overfishing by Japanese and American "floating factory" fishing boats was officially restricted in Indonesia in 1982, the scarcity of fish in many formerly productive waters remained a matter of some concern in the early 1990s. As Indonesian fishermen improved their technological capacity to catch fish, they also threatened the total supply.
-A different, but related, set of environmental pressures arose in the 1970s and 1980s among the rice-growing peasants living in the plains and valleys. Rising population densities and the consequent demand for arable land gave rise to serious soil erosion, deforestation because of the need for firewood, and depletion of soil nutrients. Runoff from pesticides polluted water supplies in some areas and poisoned fish ponds. Although national and local governments appeared to be aware of the problem, the need to balance environmental protection with pressing demands of a hungry population and an electorate eager for economic growth did not diminish.
-Major problems faced the mountainous interior regions of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. These problems included deforestation, soil erosion, massive forest fires, and even desertification resulting from intensive commercial logging—all these threatened to create environmental disaster. In 1983 some 30,000 km² of prime tropical forest worth at least US$10 billion were destroyed in a fire in Kalimantan Timur Province. The disastrous scale of this fire was made possible by the piles of dead wood left behind by the timber industry. Even discounting the calamitous effects of the fire, in the mid-1980s Indonesia's deforestation rate was the highest in Southeast Asia, at 7,000 km² per year and possibly as much as 10,000 km² per year. Although additional deforestation came about as a result of the government-sponsored Transmigration Program (''transmagrasi'') in uninhabited woodlands, in some cases the effects of this process were mitigated by replacing the original forest cover with plantation trees, such as coffee, rubber, or palm. In many areas of Kalimantan, however, large sections of forest were cleared, with little or no systematic effort at reforestation. Although reforestation laws existed, they were rarely or only selectively enforced, leaving the bare land exposed to heavy rainfall, leaching, and erosion. Because commercial logging permits were granted from Jakarta, the local inhabitants of the forests had little say about land use, but in the mid-1980s, the government, through the Department of Forestry, joined with the World Bank to develop a forestry management plan. The efforts resulted in the first forest inventory since colonial times, seminal forestry research, conservation and national parks programs, and development of a master plan by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).
-'''Natural hazards:''' occasional [[flood]]s, severe [[drought]]s, [[tsunami]]s, [[earthquake]]s, [[volcano]]es, [[forest fire]]s
-'''Environment - current issues:''' [[deforestation]]; water [[pollution]] from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires
-'''Environment - international agreements:'''
-<br>''party to:'' Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
-<br>''signed, but not ratified:'' Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
-==National territory: rights and responsibilities==
-The legal responsibility for Indonesia's environment continued to be a matter of controversy in the early 1990s. Among the continuing concerns were those expressed in 1982 during the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. In this conference, Indonesia sought to defend its March 1980 claim to a 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusive economic zone. Based on the doctrine of the political and security unity of archipelagic land and sea space (wawasan nusantara), the government asserted its rights to marine and geological resources within this coastal zone. In all, the area claimed the government, including the exclusive economic zone, was 7.9 million square kilometers. Indonesia also claimed as its territory all sea areas within a maritime belt of twelve nautical miles of the outer perimeter of its islands. All straits, bays, and waters within this belt were considered inland seas by the government and amounted to around 93,000 square kilometers. The Strait of Malacca—one of the most heavily traveled sea-lanes in the world—was considered by Indonesia and Malaysia to be their joint possession, and the two countries requested that other nations notify their governments before moving warships through these waters. The United States and several other nations rejected those claims, considering the strait an international waterway.
-During the 1980s and early 1990s, Indonesia was involved in territorial disputes. One controversy concerned Indonesia's annexation (with blessing from the U.S. and Australia) of the former colony of Portuguese Timor as Timor Timur Province in 1976, an action which came under protest in the UN and among human rights activists.
+Under the nineteenth-century Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel), large plantations and forced cultivation were established on Java, finally creating the profit for the Netherlands that the VOC had been unable to produce. In a more liberal period of colonial rule after 1870, the Cultivation System was abolished, and after 1901 the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy, which included limited political reform and increased investment in the colony.
-Another dispute involved Indonesia's conflict with Australia over rights to the continental shelf off the coast of Timor. This problem was resolved in 1991 by a bilateral agreement calling for joint economic exploitation of the disputed area in the so-called "Timor Gap." Still other controversies arose regarding overflight rights in Irian Jaya (disputed with Papua New Guinea) and conflicting claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Indonesia played the role of mediator in the Spratly Islands controversy.
+During [[World War II]], with the Netherlands under [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupation, Japan began a five-prong campaign in December 1941 towards Java and the vital fuel supplies of the Dutch East Indies. Japan captured Java by March 1942, and erected an occupation government, installing Sukarno, a pro-independence activist imprisoned by the Dutch, as its head. From 1942, Sukarno collaborated with the Japanese occupiers. In later life, he refused to talk about the war years.
-Even as Indonesia extended its claim to territory, international environmental groups were pressing Jakarta to accept environmental responsibility for those territories. Indonesia was encouraged to monitor pollution in its territorial waters and take legal action to prevent the destruction of its rain forests. Since the late 1960s, the government addressed increasing environmental problems by establishing resource management programs, conducting environmental impact analyses, developing better policy enforcement, and enacting appropriate laws to give government officials proper authority. Despite these efforts, overlapping competencies among government departments and legal uncertainties about which department had what authority slowed progress made against environmental degradation.
+In 1945 with the war drawing to a close, Sukarno sought to declare independence with Japan's permission. However, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared independence unilaterally on August 17, soon after the Japanese lost the war. With Japan defeated, the Netherlands' Army, at first backed by the [[United Kingdom|British]], attempted to reoccupy their former East Indies colonies.
-==Area and boundaries==
+Indonesia's war for independence lasted from 1945 until December 27, 1949, when, under international pressure, especially from the [[United States]] (which threatened to cut off Marshall Plan funds), the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia as a federation of autonomous states. This federation soon became a republic with Sukarno as president and Hatta as vice president. It was not until August 16, 2005, that the Dutch government recognized 1945 as the country's year of independence.
-'''Area:'''
-<br>''total:'' 1,919,440 km²
-<br>''land:'' 1,826,440 km²
-<br>''water:'' 93,000 km²
-'''Land boundaries:'''
+During the 1950s and 1960s, Sukarno's government aligned first with the emerging non-aligned movement, and later with the socialist bloc. The 1960s brought a military confrontation with neighboring [[Malaysia]], and increasing frustration over domestic economic difficulties.
-<br>''total:'' 2,830 km
-<br>''border countries:'' [[Malaysia]] 1,782 km, [[Papua New Guinea]] 820 km, [[East Timor]] 228 km
-<br>''Other nearby countries:'' [[India]] NW of Acheh, [[Australia]], [[Singapore]], [[Philippines]], [[Brunei]].
-'''Coastline:''' 54,716 km
+[[Image:Soeharto.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Suharto was the military president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998.]]
+General Suharto of the Indonesian Army became president in 1967 on the pretext of securing the country against an alleged communist coup attempt against a weakening Sukarno, whose tilt leftward had alarmed both the military and Western powers. Suharto's administration is commonly called the New Order and ushered in an era when hundreds of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by military and religious groups in a backlash against alleged communist supporters. He also annexed East Timor, despite massive protest.
-'''Maritime claims:''' measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
+Suharto invited foreign investment, which produced substantial&mdash;albeit uneven&mdash;economic growth. However, Suharto enriched himself and his family and was forced to step down in 1998 amid massive demonstrations and a faltering economy. Vice President Habibie was named the new Indonesian president. A one-time aircraft designer and former Indonesian minister of research and technology, President Habibie promised a multiparty, democratic election in 1999 and encouraged freedom of the press. His presidency was plagued by various bloody conflicts, both long-running ones in Aceh province and West New Guinea, and new ones in Maluku, Poso (Sulawesi), and Kalimantan. There was a financial scandal (Bank Bali case) related to his friends and the staff of his political party.
-<br>''exclusive economic zone:'' 200 [[nautical mile]]s (370 km)
-<br>''territorial sea:'' 12 nautical miles (22 km)
-'''Elevation extremes:'''
+On 1999 President Habibie agreed to hold a referendum on independence for [[East Timor]]. The result of the referendum was an overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia. This resulted in a bloody riot in East Timor by the angry pro-Indonesia militia. The [[United Nations]] sent a peacekeeping force, and the UN Human Rights Commission alleged that several Indonesian government staff and military officers were responsible for the riot. The Indonesian Human Rights Court freed all but one suspect, Enrico Gutierrez, a former leader of the pro-Indonesia militia.
-<br>''lowest point:'' Indian Ocean 0 m
-<br>''highest point:'' [[Puncak Jaya]] (also known as [[Mount Carstenz]]) 4 884 m
-==Resources and land use==
+President Habibie resigned, to be replaced by K.H. Abdulrahman Wahid as the new President from 1999 to 2004. From 1998 to 2005, the country had four presidents: Bacharuddin Jusuf (B.J.) Habibie (1998 to 1999), Abdurrahman Wahid (1999 to 2001), Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001 to 2004) and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (from 2004 on). President Wahid was the leader of the powerful Indonesian Islamic organization, Nadathul Ulama (he was plagued by serious health problems due to a stroke suffered before he became president). Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the first president, Sukarno, became vice president.
-'''Natural resources:''' [[petroleum]], [[tin]], natural [[gas]], [[nickel]], [[timber]], [[bauxite]], [[copper]], fertile soils, [[coal]], [[gold]], [[silver]]
-'''Land use:'''
+A further corruption scandal (the Bulog fund) and a political crisis in 2001 forced Wahid to resign. Megawati Sukarnoputri, the leader of PDI-P, the winner of 1999 election, replaced him as president from 2001 to 2004. Indonesia's first direct presidential election was held in 2004, and won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was the largest one-day election in the world.
-<br>''arable land:'' 9.9%
-<br>''permanent crops:'' 7.2%
-<br>''other:'' 82.9% (1998 est.)
-'''Irrigated land:''' 48,150 km² (1998 est.)
+A massive earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004, devastated parts of northern Sumatra, particularly the Aceh province. In March 2005, a powerful earthquake destroyed most buildings on Nias Island, west of Sumatra. Hundreds of people were killed. Peace talks between the Indonesian government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM, the Free Aceh Movement) were restarted and resulted in a peace agreement.
+==Politics==
+Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system, and a unitary state with power concentrated in the national government. The president of Indonesia is directly elected for five-year terms, and is the head of state, commander-in-chief of Indonesian armed forces, and responsible for domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, which may or may not be elected members of the legislature.
-==History==
+The highest legislative body is the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) or People's Consultative Assembly, consisting of the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) or People's Representative Council, elected for a five-year term, and the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) or Regional Representatives Council. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral parliament, with the creation of the DPD as its second chamber in an effort to increase regional representation.
-{{Main|History of Indonesia}}
-The area now comprising the archipelago of Indonesia, specifically Java, was inhabited by ''[[Homo erectus]]'' approximately 500,000 years ago, while the island of Flores was home to a newly discovered species of [[Hominidae|hominid]], ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' until approximately 10,000 years ago. The date of the earliest arrival of ''[[Homo Sapiens]]'' into the area was between 40,000 and 100,000 years ago (US Library of Congress [http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/3.htm]). The earliest historical mention of the area was of the Jawa Dwipa [[Hindu]] kingdom in Java and Sumatra around 200 B.C.E. by [[Indian subcontinent|Indian]] scholars, and various archeological sites show the influence of the Hindu religion in the area from the first century AD to the fifth century AD.
-Under the influences of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], several kingdoms formed on the islands of [[Sumatra]] and [[Java (island)|Java]] from the 7th to 14th century. The arrival of [[Arab]]s trading in [[spice]]s later brought [[Islam]], which became the dominant religion in many parts of the archipelago after the collapse of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms. When the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] came in early 16th century, they found a multitude of small states, vulnerable to the Portuguese, and later other [[Europe]]ans wanting to dominate the [[spice trade]]. In the 17th century, the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] became the most powerful of the Europeans, ousting the [[Spain|Spanish]] and Portuguese (except for their colony of [[Portuguese Timor]] on the island of [[Timor]]). Dutch influence started with trading by the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC), a chartered private enterprise constituting a state in all but name, complete with its own fleet and army, which gradually expanded its influence and grip on political matters. Like the British, the Dutch mainly relied on indirect rule, using traditional native elites as [[vassal]]s, while imposing their will and extracting major income under supervision by their colonial officials. After VOC was dissolved in 1799 by the [[Batavian Republic]] ([[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon's]] Dutch satellite state) and the political instability from the [[Napoleonic Wars]] including partial British occupation, the East Indies were awarded to the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] in 1815. Since then, the East Indies were officially ruled as the major colonies of the Dutch crown. Under the 19th-century [[Cultivation System]] (''Cultuurstelsel''), large plantations and forced cultivation were established on Java, finally creating the profit for the Netherlands that the VOC had been unable to produce. In a more liberal period of colonial rule after 1870, the Cultivation System was abolished, and after 1901 the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy, which included limited political reform and increased investment in the colony.
+During the regime of President Suharto, Indonesia built strong relations with the [[United States]] and had difficult relations with the [[People's Republic of China]] owing to Indonesia's anti-communist policies and domestic tensions with the Chinese community. It received international condemnation for its annexation of East Timor in 1978. Indonesia is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and thereby a member of both ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit. Since the 1980s, Indonesia has worked to develop close political and economic ties between South East Asian nations, and is also influential in the Organization of Islamic Conference. Indonesia was heavily criticized between 1998 and 1999 for allegedly suppressing human rights in East Timor, and for supporting violence against the East Timorese following the latter's secession and independence in 1999. Since 2001, the government of Indonesia has co-operated with the U.S. in cracking down on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist groups.
-[[Image:Prambanam.JPG|left|thumb|250px|The 1100-year-old  [[Hindu]]  [[Siva]] [[temple]] complex in Central [[Java (island)|Java]], Indonesia, [[Prambanan]], is one of the largest in Southeast Asia.]]
-During [[World War II]], with the Netherlands under [[Germany|German]] [[Military occupation|occupation]], [[Japan]] began a five-prong campaign in December 1941 towards Java and the vital fuel supplies of the [[Dutch East Indies]]. Though Japan captured Java by March 1942, it initially could not find any national leader willing to [[Collaborationism|collaborate]] with the Japanese government against the Dutch. Eventually the Japanese commander ordered [[Sukarno]]’s release from his prison island, and in July 1942, Sukarno arrived in Jakarta. Sukarno and his colleagues collaborated with the Japanese occupiers. In 1945, with the war drawing to a close, Sukarno was made aware of an opportunity to declare [[independence]]. In response to lobbying, Japan agreed to allow [[Sukarno]] to establish a committee to plan for independence. However, Sukarno and [[Mohammad Hatta]] declared independence unilaterally on [[17 August]] soon after the Japanese lost the war. Following the defeat of Japan in the World War, the [[Royal Netherlands Army|Netherlands' Army]], at first backed by the [[British]], attempted to reoccupy their former East Indies colonies. Indonesia's war for independence lasted from 1945 until [[27 December]], [[1949]] when, under heavy international pressure, especially from the [[United States]], which threatened to cut off [[Marshall Plan]] funds, the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia as a [[Federation]] of [[Autonomous entity|autonomous]] states. This federation soon became a [[republic]] with Sukarno as president and Hatta as vice president. ''See [[Indonesian National Revolution]]''. It was not until [[16 august]] [[2005]] that the Dutch [[government]] recognized 1945 as the country's year of independence and expressed regrets over the Indonesian deaths caused by the Netherlands' Army.
-[[Image:Soekarno Indonesia.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Sukarno]], the leader of Indonesia's struggle for independence and its first president.]]
-The 1950s and 1960s saw Sukarno's government aligned first with the emerging [[non-aligned movement]] and later with the [[socialist]] bloc. The 1960s saw Indonesia in a military [[Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation|confrontation]] against neighbouring [[Malaysia]], and increasing frustration over domestic economic difficulties. Army general [[Suharto]] became president in 1967 on the pretext of securing the country against an alleged [[Communism|communist]] coup attempt against a weakening Sukarno, whose tilt leftward had alarmed both the military and Western powers. In the aftermath of Suharto's rise, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by the military and religious groups in a backlash against alleged communist supporters. Suharto's administration is commonly called the ''[[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]]'' era. Suharto invited major foreign [[investment]], which produced substantial, if uneven, economic growth. However, Suharto enriched himself and his family through widespread [[political corruption|corruption]] and was forced to step down amid massive popular demonstrations and a faltering economy by the [[Indonesian Revolution of 1998]]. From 1998 to 2005, the country had four [[President of Indonesia|presidents]]: [[Jusuf Habibie|Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie]] (1998 to 1999), [[Abdurrahman Wahid]] (1999 to 2001), [[Megawati Sukarnoputri]] (2001 to 2004) and [[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]] (2004 to Current). On May 21, 1998, President Suharto announced his resignation and ask Indonesian Vice President DR BJ Habibie to become the new Indonesian President. DR BJ Habibie was a famous aircraft designer and former Indonesian minister of research and technology. He was the chief of Indonesian Nurtanio Aircraft Industry (IPTN) (now become PT Dirgantara Indonesia). President Habibie was born in [[Makassar]], [[Sulawesi]] and become the first Indonesian President from outside Java.
-President BJ Habibie promised a multiparty, free, democratic election in 1999. He encouraged freedom of the press. His presidency was plagued by various bloody conflicts, both long-running ones in [[Aceh]] and [[West Papua]] and new ones in [[Maluku (Indonesian province)|Maluku]], [[Poso]] (Sulawesi), and [[Kalimantan]]. There was a major financial scandal (Bank Bali case) related to his friends and the staff of his political party. On 1999, President BJ Habibie agreed to hold a [[referendum]] in [[East Timor]]. The result of the referendum was an overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia. After the announcement of the result, there was a bloody riot in East Timor by the angry pro-Indonesia militia. The militia burned down houses, shops, schools, churches and government buildings. Hundreds of people were killed. The UN sent a peace keeping force to East Timor (UNTAET). The UN Human Rights Commission alleged that several Indonesian government staff and military officers were responsible for the riot. The Indonesian Human Rights Court freed all but one suspect. The only suspect punished for the human rights violation during the riot was Enrico Gutierrez, a former leader of the pro-Indonesia militia.
-[[Image:Soeharto.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Suharto was the military president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998.]]
-There was a general election for members of Indonesian parliament MPR (''Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat''/People's Consultative Assembly) and ''Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat'' (DPR)/People Representative Council in 1999 and 2004. In the same 2004 election, people also voted for members of a new parliament body called ''Dewan Perwakilan Daerah'' (DPD)/Provinces Representative Council. In 1999, the parliament (MPR) rejected President Habibie's accountability speech because of the result of the East Timor referendum. President Habibie decided to resign and refused to run for a second term. The parliament choose KH Abdulrahman Wahid (aka Gus Dur) as the new Indonesian President from 1999 to 2004. KH Abdulrahman Wahid was the leader of the most powerful Indonesian Islamic organization, Nadathul Ulama (NU). Unfortunately, he was plagued by serious health problems after a stroke (before he became the Indonesian President). The parliament also chose Mrs. Megawati Sukarnoputri as the new Indonesian Vice President. In 2001 the same parliament voted "No confidence" after a corruption scandal (Bulog fund) and a political crisis, forcing President Wahid to resign, and chose Mrs. Megawati Sukarnoputri as the new Indonesian president from 2001 to 2004. Mrs. Megawati is the daughter of the first Indonesian President, Ir. Sukarno, and the leader of PDI-P, the winner of 1999 election. Indonesia's first direct presidential election was held in 2004, and won by [[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]]. It was the largest one-day election in the world.
-A massive [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|earthquake and tsunami]] on [[26 December]] [[2004]] devastated parts of northern [[Sumatra]], particularly [[Aceh]]. On March 2005, a powerful earthquake destroyed most buildings on Nias Island, west of Sumatra. Hundreds of people were killed. Partly as a result of the need for cooperation and peace during the recovery from the tsunami in Aceh, peace talks between the Indonesian government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM, the [[Free Aceh Movement]]) were restarted and have borne fruit in a peace agreement. Under the agreement, GAM is in the process of being disarmed by international observers and Indonesian troops are being completely withdrawn from the region. GAM members are being permitted to run for office in the region, in a break with the Constitutional requirement that all parties that run for elections must have nationwide support.
-==Government and politics==
-[[Image:20041120-6 bushindonesiamtg1-515h cropped.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]], the President of Indonesia.]]
-<!--Please add new information into relevant articles of the series—>
-{{more|country=Indonesia}}
-Indonesia is a [[republic]] with a [[presidential system]], and a [[unitary state]] with power concentrated with the national government. The [[President of Indonesia]] is directly-elected for five-year terms, and is the [[head of state]], [[commander-in-chief]] of Indonesian armed forces and responsible for domestic governance and policy-making and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, who don't have to be elected members of the legislature.
-The highest legislative body is the ''Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat'' or 'People's Consultative Assembly', consisting of the ''Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat'' (DPR, Deputy Speaker: [[Agung Laksono]]) or [[People's Representative Council]], elected for a five-year term, and the ''Dewan Perwakilan Daerah'' or [[Regional Representatives Council]]. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a [[bicameral]] [[parliament]], with the creation of the DPD as its second chamber in an effort to increase regional representation.
-During the regime of president Suharto, Indonesia built strong relations with the [[United States]] and had difficult relations with the [[People's Republic of China]] owing to Indonesia's anti-communist policies and domestic tensions with the Chinese community. It received international condemnation for its annexation of [[East Timor]] in 1978. Indonesia is a founding member of the [[Association of South East Asian Nations]], and thereby a member of both [[ASEAN+3]] and the [[East Asia Summit]]. Since the 1980s, Indonesia has worked to develop close political and economic ties between South East Asian nations, and is also influential in the [[Organization of Islamic Conference]]. Indonesia was heavily criticized between 1998 and 1999 for allegedly suppressing human rights in East Timor, and for supporting violence against the East Timorese following the latter's secession and independence in 1999. Since 2001, the government of Indonesia has co-operated with the U.S. in cracking down on [[Islamic fundamentalism]] and terrorist groups.
-==Administrative Divisions==
-{{Main|Provinces of Indonesia|Subdivisions of Indonesia}}
 [[Image:Indonesia_provinces_english.png|right|thumb|400px|Map of the provinces of Indonesia]]
-Currently, Indonesia has 33 [[provinces]] (of those, 3 are have special status and 1 special capital region). The provinces are subdivided into [[Regencies of Indonesia|regencies]] and [[Cities of Indonesia|cities]], which are in turn split up in [[Sub-districts of Indonesia|sub-districts]].
+Indonesia has 33 provinces, which are subdivided into regencies and cities, which are in turn split up in sub-districts. Aceh, Jakarta, Papua, and Yogyakarta have special status, giving them more autonomy from the central government. The Acehnese government has the right to create an independent legal system, and instituted a form of ''[[Shariah]]'' (Islamic Law) in 2003. Yogyakarta remains a sultanate whose sultan (currently the widely popular Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X) is the territory's ''de facto'' governor for life. The special capital region is Jakarta; though a city, it is administered much as any other Indonesian province.
-The provinces are:
-[[Aceh]]*,
-[[Bali]],
-[[Bangka-Belitung]],
-[[Banten]],
-[[Bengkulu]],
-[[Gorontalo]],
-[[Irian Jaya Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Irian Jaya),
-[[Jakarta]]*,
-[[Jambi]],
-[[Jawa Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Java),
-[[Jawa Tengah]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: Central Java),
-[[Jawa Timur]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: East Java),
-[[Kalimantan Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Kalimantan),
-[[Kalimantan Selatan]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: South Kalimantan),
-[[Kalimantan Timur]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: East Kalimantan),
-[[Kalimantan Tengah]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: Central Kalimantan),
-[[Kepulauan Riau]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: Riau Islands),
-[[Lampung]],
-[[Maluku (Indonesian province)|Maluku]],
-[[Maluku Utara]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: North Maluku),
-[[Nusa Tenggara Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Nusa Tenggara),
-[[Nusa Tenggara Timur]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: East Nusa Tenggara),
-[[Papua (Indonesian province)|Papua]]*,
-[[Riau]],
-[[Sulawesi Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Sulawesi),
-[[Sulawesi Selatan]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: South Sulawesi),
-[[Sulawesi Tengah]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: Central Sulawesi),
-[[Sulawesi Tenggara]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: South East Sulawesi),
-[[Sulawesi Utara]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: North Sulawesi),
-[[Sumatera Barat]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: West Sumatra),
-[[Sumatera Selatan]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: South Sumatra),
-[[Sumatera Utara]] ([[Indonesian_language|Indonesian]]: North Sumatra),
-[[Yogyakarta]]*.
-(*) The provinces which have special status.
-The Special territories have more autonomy from the central government than other provinces, and so have unique legislative privileges: the Acehnese government has the right to create an independent legal system, and instituted a form of ''[[sharia]]'' (Islamic Law) in 2003; Yogyakarta remains a sultanate whose sultan (currently the widely popular Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X) is the territory's de facto governor for life. [[Papua (Indonesian province)|Papua]] (formerly called ''Irian Jaya'') have had special status since 2001.
-The special capital region is [[Jakarta]]. Though Jakarta is a single city, it is administered much as any other Indonesian province. For example, Jakarta has a governor (instead of a mayor), and is divided into several sub-regions with their own administrative systems.
-[[East Timor]] was a occupied by Indonesia from 1975  following a military invasion, until Indonesia relinquished its claims in 1999 after years of bitter fighting against East Timor [[guerrilla warfare|guerrillas]] and abuses by Indonesian military forces against the East Timorese civilians. Following a period of [[United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor|transitional administration by the UN]], it became an [[independent state]] in 2002.
+[[East Timor]] was occupied by Indonesia from 1975 following a military invasion, until Indonesia relinquished its claims in 1999 after years of bitter fighting against East Timor guerrillas and abuses by Indonesian military forces against the East Timorese civilians. Following a period of transitional administration by the [[United Nations]], it became an independent state in 2002. Fighting broke out in mid-2006, requiring troops from Australia and New Zealand, and armed police from Portugal.
 ==Economy==
-[[Image:Pachung,_Bali_200507-2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Irrigation]] in [[Pachung]], [[Bali]].]]
+[[Image:Pachung,_Bali_200507-2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Terracing]] in [[Pachung]], [[Bali]].]]
-{{Main|Economy of Indonesia}}
+Indonesia, a vast nation, has struggled with the consequences of the Asian financial crisis of the early twenty-first century, and has high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution. Indonesia became an oil importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel strained the national budget in 2005, and with an indecisive monetary policy, contributed to a run on the currency, prompting the government to raise the average fuel price by 126 percent. The resulting inflation and interest rate increases were expected to dampen growth prospects.
-Indonesia's economy suffered greatly in the late 1990s, partly due to the [[Asian financial crisis|financial crisis]] that struck most of Asia at the time. It has stabilized somewhat since then.
-The country has extensive natural resources outside Java, including [[crude oil]], [[natural gas]], [[tin]], [[copper]] and [[gold]]. Indonesia is the world's second-largest exporter of natural gas, though it has recently become a net importer of crude oil. Major agricultural products include [[palm oil]], [[rice]], [[tea]], [[coffee]], [[spice]]s and [[rubber]].  The [[central bank]] of Indonesia is Bank Indonesia [http://www.bi.go.id].
-Indonesia's major trading partners are [[Japan]], the [[United States]] and the surrounding nations of [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Australia]].
-Despite being the only East Asian member of [[OPEC]], Indonesia's fuel production has declined significantly over the years, owing to aging oil fields and lack of investment in new equipment.  As a result, despite being an exporter of crude oil, Indonesia is now a net importer of oil and had previously subsidized fuel prices to keep prices low, costing [[US$]] 7 billion in 2004 [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GC10Ae04.html].  The current president has mandated a significant reduction of government subsidy of fuel prices in several stages [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4200100.stm].  In order to alleviate economic hardships, the government has offered one-time subsidies to qualified citizens.
+Keys to economic growth include internal reform, and gaining the confidence of international and domestic investors. The country has extensive natural resources outside Java, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Indonesia is the world's second-largest exporter of natural gas. Agricultural products include palm oil, rice, tea, coffee, spices, and rubber. The central bank is Bank Indonesia.
-The economy is now undergoing rebuilding after the December 2004 tsunami.  The government has stated to reduce subsidies, aiming to reduce the budget deficit to 1% of [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) this year, down from around 1.7% last year.
+In December 2004, the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|Indian Ocean tsunami]] took 131,000 lives, left another 37,000 missing, displaced 570,000 people, and caused an estimated U.S. $4.5 billion in damages and losses. Islamist terrorist incidents in 2005 slowed tourism. Several human cases of [[avian influenza]] in late 2005 sparked fears of a [[pandemic]].
 ==Demographics==
-{{Main|Demographics of Indonesia}}
+[[Image:DewiSri.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Statue of [[Dewi Shri|Dewi Sri]], Ubud, Bali]]
+Some parts of Indonesia are among the most densely populated areas in the world. [[Java]] is the most populous island, and many Indonesian cities are some of the most populous and densely populated.
-Indonesia's population statistics are difficult to estimate. In the 2000 national census, an initial population estimate of 203 million was recorded: most of the population of [[Aceh]] was estimated from previous counts as the conflict meant that a survey was not possible, as were hard-to-reach regions of [[Papua (Indonesian province)|Papua]]. The Indonesian government later revised the estimate up to 206 million. Internationally, an undercount had been assumed, though there is no data to confirm it. The country's Central Statistics Bureau ([http://www.bps.go.id BPS]) and '''Statistics Indonesia''' quote 219.9 million as the population for 2005, while the [[CIA Factbook]] estimates are over 240 million.  Some parts of Indonesia are some of the most densely populated areas in the world: for example, [[Java (island)|Java]] is the most populous island in the world and many Indonesian cities are some of the most populous and densely populated.
+The west of the country is Asian and the people are mostly Malay, while the east is more Pacific and people on New Guinea are Papuan, with roots in the islands of Melanesia. There are, however, many more subdivisions&mdash;since Indonesia spans an area the size of Europe or the U.S. and consists of many islands that developed separately. Many Indonesians identify with a more specific ethnic group, such as Javanese, Sundanese, or Batak. There are quite different groups within many islands, such as Borneo, with its Dayak and Punan, who have different lifestyles and skin-tones. The total number of languages/ethnic groups for Indonesia is 742, and the province of Papua alone has some 269 different ethnic groups.
-===Ethnics===
+Indonesia has ethnic tensions, particularly between Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity and the Pribumi peoples, who are considered natives of Indonesia. Non-Pribumi people are not always considered entirely Indonesian. Riots in Jakarta in 1997 and 1998 highlighted this recurring tension. Ethnic relations are strained mostly due to a perception that the Chinese community is too wealthy relative to the Pribumis. Some of the resentment rose against shopkeepers and small-time creditors who constitute much of the Chinese Indonesian community. Under Dutch rule, Chinese were used as middlemen and treated as second-class citizens, while Pribumi peasants and laborers were treated as third-class citizens. Chinese-owned shops, and the families living and working in storefront dwellings were the target of much of the wrath of the rioters. The Indonesian government has taken steps to remedy the problem. Additionally, the corruption, collusion, and nepotism ('KKN' is the Indonesian abbreviation) which characterized Suharto's presidency increased public resentment that led to the eventual downfall of the regime but also exacerbated ethnic tensions in Indonesia.
-Indonesia's population can be roughly divided into two groups. The west of the country is Asian and the people are mostly [[Malay people|Malay]], while the east is more Pacific and people on New Guinea are Papuan, with roots in the islands of [[Melanesia]]. There are, however, many more subdivisions, since Indonesia spans an area the size of Europe or the USA and consists of many islands that to a large degree had separate developments. Many Indonesians identify with a more specific ethnic group that is often linked to language and regional origins; examples of these are [[Javanese]], [[Sundanese]], or [[Batak (Indonesia)|Batak]]. There are also quite different groups within many islands, such as [[Borneo]], with its [[Dayak]] and [[Punan]], who have different lifestyles and [[skintone]]s. The total number of languages/ethnic groups for Indonesia is 742, and the province of Papua alone has some 269 different ethnic groups.
-Indonesia is a diverse country not without its ethnic tensions, particularly between [[Indonesian Chinese|Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity]] and the Pribumi peoples, who are considered natives of Indonesia. "Non-Pribumi" people are not always considered entirely Indonesian.  The [[Jakarta Riots of May 1998|riots in Jakarta in 1997 and 1998]] highlight this recurring tension.  Ethnic relations are strained mostly due to a perception that the Chinese community is too rich relative to the Pribumis.  It is indisputable that the Chinese community, representing 0.9% of the population, is on average wealthier than the Pribumis, and positions of power and influence in the business sphere are indeed held by relatively few very wealthy ethnic Chinese Indonesians. However, some of the resentment may be against the shopkeepers and more or less small-time creditors who constitute much of the Chinese Indonesian community. Chinese people occupied these roles under Dutch rule, and were used as middlemen and treated as second-class citizens, while Pribumi peasants and laborers were treated as third-class citizens.  Chinese-owned shops, and the families living and working in storefront dwellings were the target of much of the wrath of the rioters. The Indonesian government is attempting to remedy problems which helped trigger the riots, but due to widespread corruption and discontent experienced by poorer Indonesians, ethnic harmony is slow in coming.  The [[corruption]], [[collusion]], and [[nepotism]] ('KKN' is the Indonesian abbreviation) which characterized Suharto's presidency built up a public resentment that led to the eventual downfall of the Orde Baru (New Order) regime but also clearly exacerbated ethnic tensions in Indonesia.
+Ethnic conflict also exists between local ethnic groups and the Javanese and Madurese people relocated by the central government. This type of conflict can often take on religious overtones as Muslim Javanese and Madurese find themselves in areas that were predominantly [[Christianity|Christian]] or [[animism|animist]]. One example of this occurred in West Kalimantan, where members of the local Dayak community massacred hundreds of Madurese. Other such conflicts have occurred in Ambon City, Sulawesi Tengah, and parts of [[Western New Guinea]] (formerly known as Irian Jaya).
-Another type of ethnic conflict that occurs with some frequency and lethality in certain areas of Indonesia is between people with deep roots in those areas and Javanese and [[Madurese]] people whose internal migration ([[Transmigration program|transmigrasi]]) to those areas was facilitated by the central government. This type of conflict often takes on religious overtones, too, as Muslim Javanese and Madurese find themselves in areas which were predominantly Christian or animist. A particularly horrific example of this type of ethnic violence occurred in West Kalimantan, where some members of the local [[Dayak]] community massacred hundreds of Madurese, and the survivors ran for their lives. Other places where conflicts at least partly sparked by differences between internal migrants and members of the pre-existing local population have resulted in fatalities include [[Ambon City|Ambon]], [[Sulawesi Tengah]], and parts of [[Western New Guinea]] (formerly known as Irian Jaya).
+Most Indonesians speak at least one of hundreds of local languages ''(bahasa daerah)''. The official national language, called "Bahasa Indonesia" in Indonesian, is taught in schools and is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. It was a ''lingua franca'' for the region, including present-day Malaysia (and is closely related to the Malay language), was accepted by the Dutch as the ''de facto'' language for the colony, and declared the official language after independence. English is the most widely spoken foreign language. A number of Chinese dialects, most prominently Min Nan, are also spoken. The public use of Mandarin Chinese, especially Chinese characters, was discouraged between 1966 and 1998.
-===Languages===
+The formerly large, influential Eurasian community (locally known as ''Indo'') has largely left the country for the Netherlands, California in the U.S., and Australia, but some Eurasians remain in Indonesia and among them are highly esteemed models and soap opera stars.
-Most Indonesians speak at least one of the several hundreds of local languages (''bahasa daerah'') as their first tongue, but the official national language, [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] (called ''Bahasa Indonesia'' in Indonesian) is universally taught in schools and is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. Yet, in isolated areas even on the major islands it is not uncommon to find villagers who are not familiar with Indonesian.  It was originally a [[lingua franca]] for most of the region, including present-day [[Malaysia]] (and is thus closely related to [[Malay language|Malay]]),   accepted by the Dutch as the [[de facto]] language for the colony, and declared the official language after independence. The formerly large, influential [[Eurasian]] community (locally known as [[Indo]]) has largely left the country for the Netherlands, California and Australia, but some Eurasians remain in Indonesia and are highly esteemed models and soap opera stars.
+{{readout||right|250px|Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world}}
+While religious freedom is stipulated in the constitution, the government officially recognizes only six religions: [[Islam]], [[Protestantism]], [[Roman Catholicism]], [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Confucianism]]; with indigenous [[animism|animistic]] religions only partly recognized. The large majority of Indonesians report their religion as [[Muslim]], making Indonesia the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world.
-===Religion===
+Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, popular beliefs were influenced by [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]]. Although Islam was once mainly limited to Java and parts of Sumatra, the transmigration program has increased the number of Muslims living in Bali, Borneo, the Celebes, the Moluccas, and Papua. After independence, syncretism (the combining of different religious forms) and intermarriage have decreased and religious divides sharpened, leading to violence in many eastern islands and in Java. In Java, in particular, a substantial number of Muslims follow a non-orthodox, Hindu-influenced form of Islam known as Abangan, while across the archipelago the Hindu legacy, along with the older mystic traditions, influences popular beliefs.
-Islam is [[Islam in Indonesia|Indonesia's main religion]], with almost 88% of Indonesians declared Muslim according to the 2000 [[census]], making Indonesia the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world.  The remaining population is 8% [[Christianity|Christian]] (of which roughly 75% are [[Protestant]], the remainder mainly [[Catholic]], and a large minority [[Charismatic movement|Charismatic]]), 3% [[Hindu]] and 1% [[Buddhism|Buddhist]].  Before the arrival of the [[Abrahamic]] faiths of Christianity and Islam in the [[Malay Archipelago]], the popular beliefs in region had been thoroughly influenced by [[Indic]] religious philosophy through [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]].  Although Islam was once mainly practiced in Java and parts of Sumatra, the [[transmigration program]] has increased the number of Muslims living in Bali, Borneo, the Celebes, the Moluccas, and Papua. After independence, [[syncretism]] and [[intermarriage]] has decreased somewhat and religious divides sharpened, leading to communal violence in many eastern islands and in Java.  Although only about 3% of Indonesians are officially Hindu, Indonesian beliefs are too complex to classify as belonging to a single world [[religion]].  In [[Hinduism in Java|Java]] in particular, a substantial number of Muslims follow a non-orthodox, Hindu-influenced form of Islam known as [[Abangan]], while across the archipelago the Hindu legacy, along with the older mystic traditions, influences popular beliefs. Indonesians are required to declare themselves as one of these official religions. As a result, many Indonesian "Muslims" are non-practicing, follow Indonesia's [[animist]] traditions (a fact that the government strenuously denies), or are entirely secular.
-==Culture== [[Image:WayangKulit Scene Zoom.JPG|thumb|[[Wayang|Wayang kulit]] as seen by the audience]]
+==Culture==
-{{Main|Culture of Indonesia}}
+[[Image:Indonesian puppets and puppeteer.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Traditional puppets being shown at the Indonesian embassy in Australia]]
+The Dutch introduced a system of formal education, although this was restricted to certain privileged children. The system they introduced was roughly similar to the current structure.
-Art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. The famous [[Javanese]] and [[Balinese people|Balinese]] dances, for example, contain aspects of [[Hindu]] culture and mythology.
+Education in Indonesia is the responsibility of the Department of Education. From birth until the age of five, Indonesian children do not have access to formal education. From the age of five to seven, they attend kindergarten. Students attend middle school for three years from the age of 13 to 15, then may move on to high school or college, or cease formal education. High school or college comprises three years of schooling, from the age of 16 to 18. After graduation, students may enter the workforce, or continue with higher education at a university.
-Also well-known are the Javanese and Balinese [[Wayang|wayang kulit]] shadow theatre shows, displaying several mythological events. Several islands are famous for their [[batik]], [[ikat]] and [[songket]] cloth.
+Art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. The famous Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology. Also well-known are the Javanese and Balinese ''wayang kulit'' shadow theatre shows, displaying several mythological events. ''Pencak Silat'' is a unique martial art originating from the archipelago.
-''[[Pencak Silat]]'' is a unique martial art originating from the archipelago.
+Among the popular art forms of Java are: ''Reog'' from Ponorogo, ''Kethoprak'' in Central and East Java, and ''Angguk'' and ''Jathilan'' around Purwokerto.
-[[Image:Indonesian puppets and puppeteer.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Traditional puppets being shown at the Indonesian Embassy in Australia]]
+Several Islands are famous for their ''batik'', ''ikat'', and ''songket'' cloth. Once on the brink of disappearing, ''batik'', and later, ''ikat'', received renewed interest when former President Suharto began wearing ''batik'' shirts on official occasions.
-Indonesia includes numerous related but distinct cultural and linguistic groups, many of
+Indonesia has a long-standing tradition of sculpture and carving. Examples of Indonesian sculpture have been found dating back to the Bronze and Iron ages, but the artform particularly flourished in the eighth to tenth centuries, both as individual works of art, and as incorporated into temple structures. Most notable are the hundreds of meters of relief sculpture at the temple of Borobodur in Central Java. There, approximately two miles (3,800 meters) of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha.
-which are ethnically [[Malay people|Malay]].
-==Arts==
+In the twentieth century, Bali saw a flourishing of its artistic communities, especially painting. ''[[Batik]]'' and sculpture developed in new directions, combining traditional methods with contemporary themes and techniques. Although many of the Balinese sculpture workshops now cater to the tourist trade, there is a vibrant sculptural tradition in Bali, especially around Ubud.
-[[Image:Jan30244.JPG|thumb|left|Young Balinese Dancers. Photo: G Larson]]
-[[Image:Jan30241e.JPG|thumb|right|Music being played to accompany dancers. Photo: G Larson]]
-Some art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. The famous [[Java (island)|Javanese]] and [[Bali]]nese dances, for example, contain aspects of [[Hindu]] culture and mythology. But as a matter of fact, the diversity of Indonesian cultures has come as a result of a long process of acculturation between the original customs and myriads of foreign influences.
-Also well-known are the Javanese and Balinese [[wayang kulit]] [[Shadow puppet]] theatre shows, displaying several mythological events.
+Long houses in Sulawesi and Sumatra are adorned with carved relief, and the structures of the buildings themselves are often carved. Primitive animistic carvings are still made in Sulawesi and elsewhere, although much of this is now made for sale to tourists. In Tana Toraja, effigies of the dead are carved. In New Guinea, Bisj Poles of up to 25 meters are carved from a single piece of mangrove tree, adorned with human figures, animals and other totems.
+[[File:Gamelan Player 1.JPG|thumb|250px|A gamelan player playing bonang]]
+Indonesia is home to hundreds of forms of music and dance. The best-known traditional or classical music from Central/East Java and Bali is the ''[[Gamelan]]''. Traditional dances depict episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata from India. A very popular modern style of music is ''Dangdut'', with an accompanying free dance style. Many political rallies have ''Dangdut'' performances to attract crowds. ''Dangdut'', which first surfaced during the 1970s, has a distinct Indian sound.
-Among the popular art forms of Java are: Reog from Ponorogo, Kethoprak in Central and East Java, and Angguk and Jathilan around Purwokerto.
+''Keroncong'' is said to have its roots in Portugal, brought to Indonesia by Portuguese traders in the fifteenth century. Most popular in the twentieth century, ''keroncong'' is now often considered "old people's" music. A more modern form of ''keroncong'' is called ''Pop Keroncong''. Completely different is the soft ''Sasando'' music from West Timor in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. ''Sasando'' is an instrument made from a leaf of the lontar palm and bears some resemblance to a harp.
-Several Islands are famous for their [[batik]], [[ikat]] and [[songket]] cloth. Indonesia is the birth place of batik and ikat cloth. Once on the brink of disappearing batik and later ikat found a new lease of life when former President Soeharto promoted wearing batik shirts on official occasions. In addition to the traditional patterns with their special meanings, used for particular occasions, batik designs have become creative and diverse over the last few years.
+Pramoedya Ananta Toer was Indonesia's most internationally celebrated author, having won the Magsaysay Award as well as being considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Other important figures include the late Chairil Anwar, a poet and member of the Generation 45 group of authors who were active in the Indonesian independence movement. There is a long tradition in Indonesia, and particularly among ethnically Malay populations, of extemporary, interactive, verbal composition of poetry. These poems are referred to as ''pantun''.
-Indonesia is not generally known as a treasure trove for paintings, but the fact is that the connoisseur will be able to find unique works of art.
+==Notes==
-Primarily there are the often intricate and expressive traditional and modern Balinese paintings. They often express natural scenes and themes from the traditional dances.
+<references/>
-Furthermore there are several internationally known painters either Indonesians or Europeans who settled in Indonesia whose works now fetch very high prices.
-Modern Indonesian painters use a wide variety of styles and themes.
-Calligraphy, mostly based on the Qur'An is decorative in its special way.
-At a crossroads between art and sports is Silat, one of the unique martial arts originating from the archipelago.
+==References==
+*Frederick, William H., and Robert L. Worden (eds.). ''Indonesia: A Country Study''. Claitor's Law Books and Publishing Division, 2005. ISBN 978-1579801403
+*Hannigan, Tim. ''A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis''. Tuttle Publishing, 2015. ISBN 978-0804844765
+*Vickers, Adrian. ''A History of Modern Indonesia''. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0521542626
-===Sculpture===
+==External links==
+All links retrieved June 27, 2019.
+*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16768 The History of Sumatra by William Marsden] ''Gutenberg.org''
+*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42405 Monumental Java by J. F. Scheltema] ''Gutenberg.org''
+*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26844 Borneo and the Indian Archipelago by Frank Marryat] ''Gutenberg.org''
+*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17694 Adventures in New Guinea by James Chalmers] ''Gutenberg.org''
-[[Image:DewiSri.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Statue of [[Dewi Shri|Dewi Sri]] &mdash; Ubud, Bali]]
+{{Oceania}}
+{{credit|42893118}}
-Indonesia has a long-standing tradition of sculpture and carving. Examples of Indonesian sculpture have been found dating back to the Bronze and Iron ages, but the artform particularly flourished in the 8th to 10th centuries, both as standalone works of art, and also incorporated into temple structures.
-Most notable are the 100's of meters of relief sculpture at the temple of [[Borobodur]] in Central Java. Here, approximately 2 miles of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of [[Buddha]] and illustrate his teachings. Furthermore, the temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha. This site, as with others in Central Java show a clear Indian  influence.
-In the 20th century, Bali saw a flourishing of its artistic communities, and many artforms, especially painting, batik and sculpture developed in new directions, combining traditional methods with contemporary themes and techniques. Although many of the Balinese sculpture workshops now produce 'en masse' for the tourist trade, there is still a vibrant scuptural tradition in Bali, especially around Ubud.
-[[Image:TorajaArt.JPG|left|thumb|300px|Carved wooden Torajan art]]
-Elsewhere in Indonesia, sculpture remains important in the culture life of the islanders. Long houses in Sulawesi and Sumatra are adorned with carved relief, and the structures of the buildings themselves are often carved. 'Primitive' animistic carvings are still made in Sulawesi and elsewhere, although much of this is now made for sale to tourists. In [[Tana Toraja]], effigies of the dead are carved in some areas. In [[New Guinea]], [[Bisj Pole]]s of up to 25 meters are carved from a single piece of [[mangrove]] tree, adorned with human figures, animals and other totems.
-===Music===
-''Main article: [[Music of Indonesia]]''
-Indonesia is culturally diverse and is home to hundreds of forms of music, with those from the islands of Java, [[Sumatra]] and Bali being the most frequently recorded.  The best-known traditional or classical music from Central/East Java and Bali is the [[Gamelan]].
-It is not difficult to see a continuum in the traditional dances depicting episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata from India, through Thailand all the way to Bali.
-There is a marked difference, though between the highly stylized dances and (gamelan) music of the courts of Jogjakarta and Surakarta (Solo) and their popular variations.
-While the court dances are promoted and even performed internationally, the popular forms of dance art and drama must largely be discovered locally.
-All other islands have their specific dances and music too. Even Indonesians are not always familiar with the many genres, although during the last few years Saman from Aceh in North Sumatra has become rather popular and is often performed on TV.
-In West Java popular musical styles include Angklung, played with bamboo instruments and Degung.
-A very popular modern style of music is Dangdut, with an accompanying free dance style.  It is so popular that many political rallies have Dangdut performances to attract a larger audience.
-Dangdut first surfaced during the 1970s. It is now extremely popular throughout the archipelago among both young and old. On first impression Dangdut has a distinct Indian sound.
-Keroncong is said to have its roots in Portugal, brought to Indonesia by Portuguese traders in the 15th century.
-Most popular in the 20th century, keroncong is now often considered "old people's" music.
-The most revered keroncong composer is Gesang. A more modern form of keroncong is called Pop Keroncong with Hetty Koes Endang as one of the most versatile singers.
-In addition, there are regional variations such as Langgam Jawa, which is most popular in Central Java and Yogyakarta.
-Completely different is the soft Sasando music from West Timor in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sasando is an instrument made from a leaf of the lontar palm. It bears some resemblance to a harp.
-===Literature===
-[[Pramoedya Ananta Toer]] was Indonesia's most internationally celebrated author, having won the [[Magsaysay Award]] as well as being considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature.  Other important figures include the late [[Chairil Anwar]], a poet and member of the [[Generation 45]] group of authors who were active in the Indonesian independence movement. Tight information controls during [[Suharto]]'s presidency suppressed new writing. Other things included are also its immense social reforms.
+[[Category:Public]]
+[[Category:Geography]]
-===Poetry===
+[[Category:Countries]]
+[[Category:Pacific island nations]]
-There is a long tradition in Indonesia, and particularly among ethnically Malay populations, of extemporary, interactive, verbal composition of poetry.  These poems are referred to as [[pantun]]. one of the greatest known poets is the child genious Austin Howard
+[[Category:Oceania]]
+[[Category:Islands]]
-===Bali===
-* [[Balinese Hinduism]]
-* [[Balinese caste system]]
-{{credit|42893118}}