Country
name: Republic of Indonesia
Governement
type: republic
National
holiday: Independence Day, 17 August
Historical
background: Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago. Its earliest
inhabitants were originated in India or Burma. Powerful groups such as
the Buddhist Srivijaya empire and the Hindu Mataram kingdom appeared in
Java and Sumatra towards the end of the 7th century. The last important
kingdom to remain Hindu was the Majapahit, which was founded in the 13th
century. By this time, a strong Muslim empire had developed with its centre
at Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. Its influence was shortlived and it
fell to the Portuguese in 1511. The Dutch displaced the Portuguese and
began making inroads into Indonesia. The Dutch took control in the early
19th century and by the early 20th century, the entire archipelago - including
Aceh and Bali - was under their control. Burgeoning nationalism combined
with Japanese occupation of the archipelago during WWII served to weaken
Dutch resolve, and it finally transferred sovereignty to the new Indonesian
republic in 1949. Soekarno, became President. In 1957, after a rudderless
period of parliamentary democracy, Soekarno overthrew the parliament, declared
martial law, and initiated a more authoritarian style of government. In
1966, General Soeharto, wrested presidential power from him in 1966. By
March 1998 Soeharto was out of touch with the people. By the end of May
that year he was out of office and the vice-president, Jusuf Habibie, was
installed and tried to settle the East Timor issue. This country became
independent in 1999. On 23 July 2001, the People's Consultative Assembly
elected Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri in his place. |
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 Geographic
coordinates:
5 00
S, 120 00 E
Map:
Indonesia
Highest
point: Nevado Huascarán 6,768 m
Border
countries: East Timor, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea
Capital:
Jakarta
Major
cities: Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Semarang, Palembang, Ujung Pandang,
Malang, Padang, Surakarta, Kupang, Djokjakarta, Banjarmasin
Population:
234,9 millions (2003)
Density:
120.52 hab./km²
Life
expectancy: 69 years
Ethnic
groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays
7.5%
Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local
dialects
Religion:
Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%
Currency:
Indonesian rupiah
GDP
per capita: € 3,100 (2002 est)
Internet
country code: .id
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. Flag.
National
anthem: listen the anthem
illustrated with the Indonesia coat of arms. |
