Indonesia - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of Indonesia is made up of more than thirteen thousand islands (or parts of islands) in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia has an area of 741,102 square miles (1,919,445 square kilometers) and extends across the Pacific, from the Malay Peninsula to New Guinea. Its islands make up the largest archipelago on Earth.

With a population of 229,965,000, Indonesia is the fourth most highly populated country in the world, after China, India and the United States of America.

Ninety percent of the land of Indonesia consists of the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi; the territory of Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo; and the western part of the island of New Guinea (the eastern part of New Guinea is the independent country of Papua New Guinea).

Only about 1,500 of the islands of Indonesia are inhabited.

About two thirds of the population live on the islands of Java, Madura and Bali.

Jakarta, on the island of Java, is the capital of Indonesia.

The islands of Indonesia are covered in tropical rainforest and mangrove swamps.

The western islands of Java, Sumatra, Bali and Borneo are are located on the Sunda Shelf, an extension of the Eurasian continental shelf. These islands are covered in tropical rainforest. Their mountains arise from underneath the ocean.

During the last Ice Age, when sea levels were lower, the Sunda Shelf was exposed and these islands were connected by dry land.

The island of Sulawesi, in eastern Indonesia, contains four large peninsulas. It is made of land that, as a result of tectonic activity, broke up and was later reattached, resulting in the island's unusual shape.

Timor, also in the east, is a coral island. West Timor is part of Indonesia, while Timor-Leste, on the eastern part of the island, is an independent country.

Over the last million years, coral reefs in Timor have risen by as much as 4,000 feet (1,300 meters), as a result of the movement of tectonic plates.

The mountains of the Pegunungan Jayawijaya range in New Guinea are among the highest limestone mountains in the world.Some mountains are more than 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) high.

Rapid weathering, facilitated by high temperatures and heavy rains, has carved into the limestone in this region and created underground caves with underground rivers, such as the river Sungai Baliem

Indonesia has more than 200 volcanoes , many of which are active.

Gunung Semeru, in eastern Java, is a volcano in the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire.

Danau Toba, a lake in Sumatra, is located inside a a caldera that is 62 miles (100 kilometers) long and 18 miles (30 kilometers) wide. Danau Toba is the world's largest volcanic lake.

Indonesia has a tropical monsoon climate.

42% of the people of Indonesia are Javanese, 15% are Sudanese, 12% are Coastal Malay and 3% are Madurese.

Bahasa Indonesia is the official language. Dutch, Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese are also spoken.

87% of the people are Sunni Muslim, 6% are Protestant, 3% are Roman Catholic, 2% are Hindu and 1% are Buddhist.

The economy of Indonesia is primarily based on agriculture.

Indonesia is a major world producer of tea, coffee, rice, palm oil, tobacco and rubber.

Major industries include vehicles, cement, tin, fertilizer, textiles and clothing.

The most important exports are oil, natural gas, clothing and timber products.

Economic development has been hindered by ethnic tensions.

Indonesia has a presidential system of government.

The official currency is the rupiah, which equals 100 sen.