Indonesia General Information

Official Name: Republic of Indonesia

Capital: Jakarta

Location: The nation of Indonesia is an archipelago that encompasses more than 17,000 islands in Southeast Asia . Indonesia straddles the equator and shares borders with East Timor, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea .

Size: 1,919,440 sq km (including 1,826,440 sq km land and 93,000 sq km water)

Climate and Topography: Indonesia has a tropical/equatorial climate and monsoonal weather, which has two distinct seasons: wet or dry. With 17,508 islands, only roughly 6,000 of which are inhabited, Indonesia boasts a wide variety of terrain. From gorgeous beaches to ominous volcanoes, Indonesia offers nearly every type of topography. Located on the Pacific, Eurasian and Australian tectonic plates, Indonesia has been home to a number of disastrous volcanoes eruptions and earthquakes. Indonesia 's location also makes the country privy to hurricanes and tsunamis, as well as occasional floods, droughts and forest fires.

Population: Nearly 235,000,000 people (2007)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 70.16 years

Major Illnesses: Health threats include viral diarrhea, typhoid, some varieties of hepatitis, dengue fever, malaria, and bird flu (in very rare cases)

Ethnic Groups: 40.6% Javanese, 15% Sundanese, 3.3% Madurese, 2.7% Minangkabau, 2.4% Betawi, 2.4% Bugis, 2% Banten, 1.7% Banjar, 29.9% other or unspecified

Languages: Bahasa, English, Dutch, local dialects such as Javanese

Religions: 86.1% Muslim, 5.7% Protestant, 3% Roman Catholic, 1.8% Hindu, 3.4% other or unspecified

Government: Indonesia is a republic. The country is divided into thirty provinces, two special regions and one special capital city district. Indonesian citizens are granted universal suffrage at age seventeen or if married. The sole leader is the president, who is directly elected by the people and serves as head of state, commander-in-chief and commander of the army. The government is a unitary system, with the President supported by a Vice President and a self-chosen council of ministers. The President serves no more than two consecutive five-year terms. The Indonesian people elect members of the House of Representatives and the House of Regional Representatives, which serve as the legislative body of national and regional issues, respectively. The People's Consultative Assembly regulates the executive. The judiciary has two levels of courts. The legal system is loosely based on Roman and Dutch influences incorporated with indigenous concepts of law.

Military: Eighteen is the legal age for compulsory or voluntary service.

Economy: The economy of Indonesia has expanded rapidly since President Suharto's “New Order” program of reform was instituted in 1968. Though the economy had been heretofore based solely on agriculture, industry developed very quickly and in some ways unevenly. When the Asian financial crisis hit in the late 1990s, Indonesia was possibly hurt the most out of all the nations affected. Factors that contributed to the slow pace of recovery from the crisis include corruption, a weak financial industry, lack of reliable foreign investment, and natural disasters including the tsunami that hit in December, 2004, and a devastating earthquake in May, 2006. As a result of the recent economic difficulties, Indonesia 's currency, the rupiah, has suffered inflation that has negatively affected the price of staples such as rice. Post-disaster recovery has been generally positive, as Indonesia has called on successful programs to develop wrecked areas, leaving them in many cases in better stead than they were before the disaster. Government and foreign relief aid has helped get Indonesia's economy back on track.

GDP: $948.3 billion in 2006, with $3,900 per capita.