Location:

• Southeast Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean

Area:

• total: 1,919,440 sq km
• land: 1,826,440 sq km
• water: 93,000 sq km

Land boundaries:

• total: 2,830 km
• border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km

Coastline:

• 54,716 km

Climate:

• tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain:

• mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Natural resources:

• petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Irrigated land:

• 45,000 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

• occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires

Environment - current issues:

• deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires

Environment - international agreements:

• party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
• signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

• archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean

Population:

• 245,452,739 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

• 0-14 years: 28.8% (male 35,995,919/female 34,749,582)
• 15-64 years: 65.8% (male 80,796,794/female 80,754,238)
• 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 5,737,473/female 7,418,733) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

• 1.41% (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

• at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
• total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS:

• adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)
• people living with HIV/AIDS:110,000 (2003 est.)
• deaths: 2,400 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

• food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
• vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and chikungunya are high risks in some locations
• note: at present, H5N1 avian influenza poses a minimal risk; during outbreaks among birds, rare cases could occur among US citizens who have close contact with infected birds or poultry (2005)

Ethnic groups:

• Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%

Religions:

• Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998)

Languages:

• Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese

Literacy:

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 87.9%
• male: 92.5%
• female: 83.4% (2002 est.)

Government type:

• Republic

Administrative divisions:

• 30 provinces
• 2 special regions*
• 1 special capital city district**
• Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*
  note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, the 440 districts or regencies have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services

Independence:

• 17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed)
• 27 December 1949 (Netherlands recognized Indonesian independence)

Constitution:

• August 1945; abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959; series of amemdments concluded in 2002

Legal system:

• based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

• 17 years of age or
• universal and married persons regardless of age

Executive branch:

• chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004);
  note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: appointed by the president
• elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry; last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in 2009)

Legislative branch:

• House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms)
• House of Regional Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions
• People's Consultative Assembly or Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching president and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy.
• elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
• election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50
  note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by parties

Judicial branch:

• Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature)
• a separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003
• in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
• Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006

Political parties and leaders:

• Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA]
• Democratic Party or PD [Subur BUDHISANTOSO]
• Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA]
• Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]
• National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB]
• National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]
• Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]
• United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ]

International organization participation:

• APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Currency (code):

• Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
• 1.00 USD = 9,104.59 IDR (for reference only)

Economy - overview:

• Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has struggled to overcome the Asian financial crisis, and still grapples with high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions.
• Indonesia became a net oil importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration investment. In late December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami took 131,000 lives with another 37,000 missing, left some 570,000 displaced persons, and caused an estimated $4.5 billion in damages and losses. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel placed increasing strain on the budget in 2005, and combined with indecisive monetary policy, contributed to a run on the currency in August 2005, prompting the government to enact a 126% average fuel price hike in October. The resulting inflation and interest rate hikes dampened growth prospects in 2006.
• However, in October 2006, Jakarta paid off its outstanding IMF debt, incurred during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, four years ahead of schedule. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

• $869.7 billion (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

• agriculture: 46.5%
• industry: 11.8%
• services: 41.7% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:

• 11.8% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:

• 16.7% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

• 34.3 (2002)

Public debt:

• 49.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:

• rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs

Exports - commodities:

• oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber

Exports - partners:

• Japan 21.1%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.2%, South Korea 8.3%, China 7.8%, Malaysia 4% (2005)

Debt - external:

• $135 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

• $43 billion
• note: Indonesia finished its IMF program in December 2003 but still receives bilateral aid through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which pledged $2.8 billion in grants and loans for 2004 and again in 2005; nearly $5 billion in aid money pledged by a variety bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmental organization (NGO) donors following the 2004 tsunami; money is slated for use in relief and rebuilding efforts in Aceh. (2002)

Disputes - international:

• East Timor: East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey, and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the boundary remain unresolved.
  Many East Timorese refugees who left in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation. Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary.
• Australia: A 1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain.
• Malaysia: International Court of Justice's (ICJ) award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostile confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oil block.
  The ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands.
• Singapore: Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island.
• Papua New Guinea: Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea.
• Piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP):

Trafficking in persons:

• current situation: Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children and men trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; Indonesian victims are trafficked to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore; A significant number of Indonesian women who go overseas each year to work as domestic servants or "cultural performers" are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; To a minimal extent, Indonesia is a destination for women from East Asia, Europe, and South America who are trafficked for sexual exploitation; There is extensive trafficking within Indonesia from rural to urban metropolitan areas particularly for sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude.
• tier rating: Indonesia is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking

Hamzah Haz defeats Akbar Tandjung and Lieutenant General (ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as vice president.