Country Profiles

INDONESIA
June 2007

   

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Information

Country Name
Capital
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Transnational Issues
History

Human Rights Institution & Treaties

Justice & Peace Issues

Tension in Outer Islands

The Fight for Independence in Papua

Peace Process in Aceh

Death Penalty in Indonesia

Source

   
General Information

Country Name: Republic of Indonesia

Capital: Jakarta

Geography

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

People:

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:

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

Economy:

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)

Transnational Issues:

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):

IDPs: 570,000 (resulting from 26 December 2004 tsunami) 500,000 (government offensives against rebels in Aceh; most IDPs in Aceh, Central Kalimantan, Maluku, and Central Sulawesi Provinces) (2005)

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

History:

1293 The Hindu Majapahit kingdom is founded in eastern Java.
1400s Islam becomes Indonesia’s dominated religion.
1478 Reign of Singhawikramawardhana, ruler of Majapahit, ends
1512 The first Portuguese exploratory expedition was sent eastward from Malacca to search for the 'Spice Islands' (Maluku) led by Francisco Serrão. Serrao is shipwrecked but struggles on to Hitu (northern Ambon) and wins the favour of the local rulers. Christian missionaries arrived with the expedition.
1570 Sultan Hairun of Ternate is killed by the Portuguese. Following a five-year siege, the Ternateans expel the Portuguese who move to nearby Tidore.
1595 First Dutch expedition to Indonesia
1873 The beginning of the bloody Aceh War for Dutch occupation of the province.
1894 Lombok War
1914 World War I breaks out; the Netherlands is a neutral country in the war.
1920 Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) is founded. Economic downturn.
Japanese Occupation
1942, February Imperial Japan occupies Indonesia during World War II, overthrowing the Dutch East Indies and installing their own imperial structure.
1945, 1 June Sukarno's Pancasila speech (The Five Principles which are the philosophical basis of Indonesian state.)
1945, 16 July Draft of constitution for the Republic completed.
1945, 15 August Japanese surrender to Allied powers.
Indonesian National Revolution
1945, 17 August "Proclamation of Indonesian Independence," signed by Sukarno-Hatta.
1945, late August Republican government established in Jakarta and constitution adopted. Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) established.
1945, July to 1946, December Negotiations with Dutch over a federation called the 'United States of Indonesia' result in the Dutch establishing a 'State of East Indonesia'
1949, 27 December International pressure leads Netherlands Government to transfer power to the United States of Indonesian (USI).
1950, 17 August Following USI endorsement of a new constitution, the federation is dissolved and Sukarno proclaims a unitary state, the 'Republic of Indonesia'.
1955, September Indonesia holds general parliamentary elections
1955, March - 1961, August Regional rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi
1950s/60s The military articulate the doctrines of dwifungsi and hankamrata: i.e. a military roles in the country's socio-political development as well as security; and a requirement that the resources of the people be at the call of the armed forces.
1959, 5 July With armed forces support, Sukarno dissolves the Constituent Assembly and reintroduces the Constitution of 1945 with strong presidential powers, assumes the additional role of Prime Minister, which completes the structure of 'Guided Democracy'.
1963 Parliament elects Sukarno 'President-for-life'.
1965, January Indonesia withdraws from membership of the UN.
1965, October A counter coup led by General Suharto. A violent anti-communist purge leads to the killing of approximately half million Indonesians.
1966, 11 March General Suharto forces Sukarno to delegate presidential powers to himself by signing the Supersemar. Indonesian Communist Party dissolved.
New Order Era
1968, March Parliament confers full presidential title on Suharto; Sukarno is under effective house arrest.
1969 Papuan representatives agree to join Indonesia following the controversial 'Act of Free Choice'.
1970, 21 June Sukarno dies
1975, 7 December Indonesia launches an invasion of East Timor
1976, 17 July Suharto signs a bill integrating East Timor into Indonesia as its 27th province.
1976, 19 November UN General Assembly rejects Indonesia's annexation of East Timor.
1982 – 1983 The height of Petrus ('mysterious shootings') of thousands of suspected criminals by government security forces.
1984, 12 September Muslim concerned protesting over alleged insensitivities to Islam at Tanjung Priok; a riot ensues resulting in many deaths.
1985 The Indonesian government requires all organisations of any kind to adopt Pancasila as their sole basis.
1988 Suharto is elected to a fifth term as president.
1989 The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) reemerges following its 1976 founding; suppression of its guerilla activities leads to 2,000 deaths by 1991 in Aceh.
1991, 12 November ABRI (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, Indonesian’s armed forces) troops fire on demonstrative funeral procession in Dili, East Timor. TV images of the killings put East Timor high on the international human rights agenda.
1993 Suharto seeks a sixth term and is re-elected.
Economic Crisis and Overthrown of Suharto regime
1997, July The collapse of the Thai baht starts the East Asian financial crisis and over the ensuing months Indonesia is the country hardest hit.
1997 – 1998 Severe social unrest breaks out across Indonesian cities against Chinese Indonesians, Christians, symbols of wealth, the police and bureaucracy.
1998, 11 March Suharto unanimously elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat , MPR) to his seventh presidential term.
1998, late March Largely peaceful student demonstrations against the regime rise to national prominence.
1998, 12 May Four student demonstrators at Trisakti University are shot dead by bullets likely to have been but unproven from army sources .
1998, 13 May Memorial services for killed students leads to vandalism, arson, looting and rape by roving mobs which continue unchecked by security forces for two days leaving 1,200 dead.
1998, 21 May After being deserted by his cabinet, Suharto resigns the presidency. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie assumes presidency.
1998, 13 November On the last day of the MPR sessions, soldiers open fire on demonstrating students killing at least fifteen and injuring hundreds.
1999, 19 January A petty argument between in the city of Ambon triggers Christian-Muslim clashes that last for three years across Maluku. As many as 10,000 are killed and 700,000 or one third of the region are displaced.
1999, 7 June Indonesia's first free and fair national elections since 1955 take place with almost no disruption and wide participation. Votes however are distributed across forty-eight parties with no party achieving a majority.
1999, September East Timor votes to secede from Indonesia in a referendum conducted under UN auspices. Four-fifths of voters choose independence for East Timor over integration with Indonesia. Pro-integration militias trained and paid by ABRI immediately resort to a scorched earth policy that leaves 1,000 dead and most of the territory's infrastructure ruined.
1999, 13 September President Habibie relents to international pressure and allows a UN peacekeeping force known as 'INTERFET' to enter East Timor and restore order.
1999, October The Indonesian parliament rejects President Habibie's accountability speech. Abdurrahman Wahid whose party received one eighth of the popular vote is elected president by the MPR.
2000, 24 December In a coordinated attack involving more than three dozen sites across the country, churches are bombed and eighteen people killed. It is later proven to the work of Jemaah Islamiyah in retaliation for Christian killings of Muslims in the Maluku conflict.
2001, July President Wahid is impeached chiefly on grounds of incompetence. The parliament elects Megawati president by 592 votes to 0.

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

2002, February Peace talks in Maliano, South Sulawesi appear to end three years of Christian-Muslim violence in Maluku and Poso.
2002, October 12 Bombs in the Kuta nightclub district in Bali kill 202 people.
2002, December The Indonesian government and GAM sign a peace accord aimed at ending decades of violence in Aceh. The deal breaks down the following year.
Yudhoyono administrat