Middle East News & World Report |
Welcome to Indonesia
Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean Geographic coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: Areacomparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: Coastline: 54,716 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Elevation extremes: Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use: Irrigated land: 45,970 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes Environmentcurrent issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas
Environmentinternational agreements: Geographynote: archipelago of 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
Population: 212,941,810 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: Population growth rate: 1.49% (1998 est.) Birth rate: 23.1 births/1,000 population (1998 est.) Death rate: 8.22 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio: Infant mortality rate: 59.23 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: 2.61 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality: Ethnic groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% Religions: Muslim 87%, Protestant 6%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1985) Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
Literacy:
Country name: Data code: ID Government type: republic National capital: Jakarta Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singularpropinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singulardaerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor Timur, Yogyakarta* Independence: 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands) National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945) Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959 Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
Executive branch:
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan
Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (500 seats; 425 elected by popular vote, 75 are appointed
military representatives; members serve five-year terms) Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung), the judges are appointed by the president Political parties and leaders: Golkar (de facto ruling political party based on functional groups), HARMOKO, general chairman; Indonesia Democracy Party (PDI, federation of former Nationalist and Christian Parties), SOERJADI, chairman; Development Unity Party (PPP, federation of former Islamic parties), Ismail Hasan METAREUM, chairman International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US: Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red
Economyoverview: While Indonesia was long touted for its sound macroeconomic management and spectacular growth, the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98 revealed the weak underpinnings of the economy: an unhealthy banking sector, untenable levels of private foreign debt, and uncompetitive practices that favored the financial interests of former President SOEHARTO's family and friends. Indonesia sought IMF assistance early in the crisis and eventually brokered a $42 billion bailout package; but Jakarta jeopardized the program by resisting strict IMF reforms, partly in response to the rupiah's collapse, which lost as much as 80% of its value at one point. Economic prospects look bleak for 1998: the economy probably will shrink between 4% to 10%, unemployment top historic highsin excess of 15%and inflation move toward hyper levels. GDP: purchasing power parity$960 billion (1997 est.) GDPreal growth rate: 4% (1997 est.) GDPper capita: purchasing power parity$4,600 (1997 est.)
GDPcomposition by sector: Inflation rateconsumer price index: 50% (1998 est.)
Labor force: Unemployment rate: 15%; underemployment 50% (1998 est.)
Budget: Industries: petroleum and natural gas, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, food, rubber; tourism Industrial production growth rate: 10.5% (1996 est.) Electricitycapacity: 16.265 million kW (1995) Electricityproduction: 60.4 billion kWh (1995) Electricityconsumption per capita: 297 kWh (1995) Agricultureproducts: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, other tropical products; poultry, beef, pork, eggs
Exports:
Imports: Debtexternal: $136 billion (yearend 1997 est.)
Economic aid: Currency: Indonesian rupiah (Rp) Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs (Rp) per US$18,000 (April 1998), 2,909.4 (1997), 2,342.3 (1996), 2,248.6 (1995), 2,160.8 (1994), 2,087.1 (1993) Fiscal year: 1 April31 March
Telephones: 1,276,600 (1993 est.)
Telephone system: domestic service fair, international service good
Radio broadcast stations: AM 618, FM 38, shortwave 0 Radios: 28.1 million (1992 est.) Television broadcast stations: 9 Televisions: 11.5 million (1992 est.)
Railways:
Highways: Waterways: 21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km Pipelines: crude oil 2,505 km; petroleum products 456 km; natural gas 1,703 km (1989) Ports and harbors: Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya, Ujungpandang
Merchant marine: Airports: 442 (1997 est.)
Airportswith paved runways:
Airportswith unpaved runways: Heliports: 4 (1997 est.)
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Military manpowermilitary age: 18 years of age
Military manpoweravailability:
Military manpowerfit for military service:
Military manpowerreaching military age annually: Military expendituresdollar figure: $3.3 billion (FY97/98) Military expenditurespercent of GDP: 1.3% (FY97/98)
Disputesinternational: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Portugal and not recognized by the UN; two islands in dispute with Malaysia Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; possible growing role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle heroin |
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