The archipelago was once largely under the control of Buddhist and Hindu rulers. By around the 7th century, a Buddhist kingdom arose on Sumatra and expanded into Java and the Malay Peninsula until it was conquered in the late 13th century by the Hindu Majapahit Empire from Java. Majapahit (1290-1527) united most of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia. Traders introduced Islam in the trade ports around the 11th century, and Indonesians gradually adopted Islam over the next 500 years. The Portuguese conquered parts of Indonesia in the 16th century, but they were ousted by the Dutch (except in East Timor), who began colonizing the islands in the early 17th century. It would be the early 20th century before Dutch colonial rule was established across the entirety of what would become the boundaries of the modern Indonesian state.
Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan’s surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. A period of sometimes unruly parliamentary democracy ended in 1957 when President SOEKARNO declared martial law and instituted “Guided Democracy.” After an abortive coup in 1965 by alleged communist sympathizers, SOEKARNO was gradually eased from power. From 1967 until 1998, President SUHARTO ruled Indonesia with his “New Order” government. After street protests toppled SUHARTO in 1998, free and fair legislative elections took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world’s third most populous democracy, the world’s largest archipelagic state, and the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Indonesia faces a number of issues, including alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, reforming the criminal justice system, addressing climate change, and controlling infectious diseases, particularly those of global and regional importance. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh. Indonesia continues to face low intensity armed resistance in Papua by the separatist Free Papua Movement.
land: 1,811,569 sq km
water: 93,000 sq km
border countries (3): Malaysia 1,881 km; Papua New Guinea 824 km; Timor-Leste 253 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 367 m
note: Indonesia is the World’s leading producer of nickel with an output of 1.6 million mt in 2022
arable land: 13% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 12.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 6.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 51.7% (2018 est.)
other: 17.1% (2018 est.)
note 2: Indonesia is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world’s earthquakes and some 75% of the world’s volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire; 80% of tsunamis, caused by volcanic or seismic events, occur within the “Pacific Ring of Fire”
note 3: despite having the fourth largest population in the world, Indonesia is the most heavily forested region on earth after the Amazon
note 4: two major food crops apparently developed on the island of New Guinea: bananas and sugarcane
279,476,346 (2023 est.)
noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian
Javanese 40.1%, Sundanese 15.5%, Malay 3.7%, Batak 3.6%, Madurese 3%, Betawi 2.9%, Minangkabau 2.7%, Buginese 2.7%, Bantenese 2%, Banjarese 1.7%, Balinese 1.7%, Acehnese 1.4%, Dayak 1.4%, Sasak 1.3%, Chinese 1.2%, other 15% (2010 est.)
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese); note - more than 700 languages are used in Indonesia
major-language sample(s):
Fakta Dunia, sumber informasi dasar yang sangat diperlukan. (Indonesian)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Muslim 87.2%, Protestant 7%, Roman Catholic 2.9%, Hindu 1.7%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist and Confucian), unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
Indonesia has the world’s fourth-largest population. It is predominantly Muslim and has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. The population is projected to increase to as much as 320 million by 2045. A government-supported family planning program. The total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of births per woman – from 5.6 in the mid-1960s to 2.7 in the mid-1990s. The success of the program was also due to the social acceptance of family planning, which received backing from influential Muslim leaders and organizations.The fertility decline slowed in the late 1990’s when responsibility for family planning programs shifted to the district level, where the programs were not prioritized. Since 2012 the national government revitalized the national family planning program, and Indonesia’s TFR has slowly decreased to 2.3 in 2020. The government may reach its goal of achieving replacement level fertility – 2.1 children per woman – but the large number of women of childbearing age ensures significant population growth for many years.Indonesia is a source country for labor migrants, a transit country for asylum seekers, and a destination mainly for highly skilled migrant workers. International labor migration, both legal and illegal, from Indonesia to other parts of Asia (most commonly Malaysia) and the Middle East has taken place for decades because of high unemployment and underemployment, poverty, and low wages domestically. Increasing numbers of migrant workers are drawn to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US. The majority of Indonesian labor migration is temporary and consists predominantly of low-skilled workers, mainly women working as domestics.Indonesia’s strategic location between Asia and Australia and between the Pacific and Indian Oceans – and its relatively easy accessibility via boat – appeal to asylum seekers. It is also an attractive transit location because of its easy entry requirements and the ability to continue on to Australia. Recent asylum seekers have come from Afghanistan, Burma (Rohingyas), Iraq, Somalia, and Sri Lanka. Since 2013, when Australia tightening its immigration policy, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have been stranded in Indonesia, where they live in precarious conditions and receive only limited support from international organizations. The situation for refugees in Indonesia has also worsened because Australia and the US, which had resettled the majority of refugees in Indonesia, have significantly lowered their intake.
0-14 years: 24.22% (male 34,627,270/female 33,066,304)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 95,267,122/female 95,063,200)
65 years and over: 7.68% (2023 est.) (male 9,892,325/female 11,560,125)
total dependency ratio: 47.6
youth dependency ratio: 37.6
elderly dependency ratio: 10
potential support ratio: 10 (2021 est.)
total: 31.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 30.5 years
female: 32 years
0.76% (2023 est.)
15.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
major concentration on the island of Java, which is considered one of the most densely populated places on earth; of the outer islands (those surrounding Java and Bali), Sumatra contains some of the most significant clusters, particularly in the south near the Selat Sunda, and along the northeastern coast near Medan; the cities of Makasar (Sulawesi), Banjarmasin (Kalimantan) are also heavily populated
urban population: 58.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
11.249 million JAKARTA (capital), 3.729 million Bekasi, 3.044 million Surabaya, 3.041 million Depok, 2.674 million Bandung, 2.514 million Tangerang (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
22.4 years (2017 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
173 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 19.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 21.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 73.3 years (2023 est.)
male: 71.1 years
female: 75.7 years
1.99 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.97 (2023 est.)
55.5% (2018)
improved: urban: 98.2% of population
rural: 86.8% of population
total: 93.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.8% of population
rural: 13.2% of population
total: 6.7% of population (2020 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2020)
0.62 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
1 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 97.2% of population
rural: 86.5% of population
total: 92.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population
rural: 13.5% of population
total: 7.5% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Southeast Asia; Indonesia is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
6.9% (2016)
total: 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 37.6% (2020 est.)
male: 71.4% (2020 est.)
female: 3.7% (2020 est.)
17.7% (2018)
70% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 2%
women married by age 18: 16.3% (2017 est.)
3.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96%
male: 97.4%
female: 94.6% (2020)
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 14 years (2018)
Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the World after China, India, and the United States; more than half of the Indonesian population - roughly 150 million people or 55% - live on the island of Java (about the size of California) making it the most crowded island on earth
large-scale deforestation (much of it illegal) and related wildfires cause heavy smog; over-exploitation of marine resources; environmental problems associated with rapid urbanization and economic development, including air pollution, traffic congestion, garbage management, and reliable water and waste water services; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
agricultural land: 31.2% (2018 est.)
arable land: 13% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 12.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 6.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 51.7% (2018 est.)
other: 17.1% (2018 est.)
urban population: 58.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.39% of GDP (2018 est.)
1.06% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 19.34 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 563.32 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 244.5 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 65.2 million tons (2016 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 4.564 million tons (2016 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 7% (2016 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Danau Toba - 1,150 sq km
note - located in the caldera of a super volcano that erupted more than 70,000 years ago; it is the largest volcanic lake in the World
Sepik (shared with Papua New Guinea [s]) - 1,126 km; Fly (shared with Papua New Guinea [s]) - 1,050 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
municipal: 23.8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 9.14 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 189.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
2.02 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)
one of the fastest growing economies and largest in Southeast Asia; upper middle-income country; human capital and competitiveness phase of its 20-year development plan; COVID-19 reversed poverty reduction trajectory; strengthening financial resilience
$3.246 trillion (2021 est.)
$3.131 trillion (2020 est.)
$3.197 trillion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
3.69% (2021 est.)
-2.07% (2020 est.)
5.02% (2019 est.)
$11,900 (2021 est.)
$11,500 (2020 est.)
$11,900 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$1,119,720,000,000 (2019 est.)
1.56% (2021 est.)
1.92% (2020 est.)
3.03% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB (2017)
Moody’s rating: Baa2 (2018)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2019)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 13.7% (2017 est.)
industry: 41% (2017 est.)
services: 45.4% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 57.3% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 9.1% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 32.1% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.3% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 20.4% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -19.2% (2017 est.)
oil palm fruit, rice, maize, sugar cane, coconuts, cassava, bananas, eggs, poultry, rubber
petroleum and natural gas, textiles, automotive, electrical appliances, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, medical instruments and appliances, handicrafts, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, processed food, jewelry, and tourism
3.42% (2021 est.)
138.119 million (2021 est.)
4.41% (2021 est.)
4.28% (2020 est.)
3.62% (2019 est.)
total: 16.1% (2021 est.)
male: 16.3%
female: 15.7%
9.4% (2019 est.)
37.9 (2021 est.)
on food: 31.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 7.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 28.2% (2010)
revenues: $130.872 billion (2020 est.)
expenditures: $192.97 billion (2020 est.)
-2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
42.92% of GDP (2020 est.)
33.73% of GDP (2019 est.)
33.14% of GDP (2018 est.)
8.31% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$3.459 billion (2021 est.)
-$4.433 billion (2020 est.)
-$30.279 billion (2019 est.)
$246.87 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$178.418 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$200.097 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 22%, United States 11%, Japan 8%, India 6%, Singapore 5% (2021)
coal, palm oil, natural gas, iron alloys, stainless steel (2021)
$217.715 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$159.872 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$204.23 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 27%, Singapore 12%, Japan 8%, Thailand 5%, United States 5%, South Korea 5%, Malaysia 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, vehicle parts, telephones, natural gas (2019)
$144.908 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$135.916 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$129.186 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$393.252 billion (2019 est.)
$360.945 billion (2018 est.)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
14,308.144 (2021 est.)
14,582.203 (2020 est.)
14,147.671 (2019 est.)
14,236.939 (2018 est.)
13,380.834 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million
electrification - total population: 99.2% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 99.9% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 98.2% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 69.065 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 256,742,190,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 1.553 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 25.08 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 82.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 5.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 563.728 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 132.548 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 409.892 million metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 8.95 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 39.891 billion metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 842,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 1.649 million bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 204,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 309,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 2.48 billion barrels (2021 est.)
950,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
79,930 bbl/day (2015 est.)
591,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 62,612,013,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 38,673,953,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 23,938,060,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 1,408,478,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
563.543 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 267.326 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 209.279 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 86.938 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
29.68 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 25 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 611
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 115,154,100 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,131,910,000 (2018) mt-km
PK
673 (2021)
186
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
487
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
76 (2021)
1,064 km condensate, 150 km condensate/gas, 11,702 km gas, 119 km liquid petroleum gas, 7,767 km oil, 77 km oil/gas/water, 728 km refined products, 53 km unknown, 44 km water (2013)
total: 8,159 km (2014)
narrow gauge: 8,159 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge (565 km electrified)
note: 4,816 km operational
total: 496,607 km (2011)
paved: 283,102 km (2011)
unpaved: 213,505 km (2011)
21,579 km (2011)
total: 11,015 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 154, container ship 218, general cargo 2,310, oil tanker 700, other 7,633
major seaport(s): Banjarmasin, Belawan, Kotabaru, Krueg Geukueh, Palembang, Panjang, Sungai Pakning, Tanjung Perak, Tanjung Priok
container port(s) (TEUs): Tanjung Perak (3,901,215), Tanjung Priok (6,849,227) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (export): Bontang, Tangguh
LNG terminal(s) (import): Arun, Lampung, West Java
manyapis