The official name is the Republic of Indonesia (Republik Indonesia, Republic of Indonesia). It is located in the Malay Archipelago and in the western part of the island of New Guinea. The area is 1.9 million km2, the population is 215 million people. (2003). The official language is Indonesian. The capital is Jakarta (9.5 million people, 2003). Public holiday – National Independence Day August 17 (since 1945). The monetary unit is the Indonesian rupiah.
Member of the UN (since 1950), ASEAN, APEC, WTO (since 1995), OIC, etc.
Geography of Indonesia
Indonesia occupies most of the Malay Archipelago, located between the Indian Ocean to the west and south and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The length of the country from west to east from the island of Sabang to Merauke, or from longitude 94°45′ to 141°05′ east, is 5120 km. The distance from north to south from 6°08’N to 11°15’S is 1888 km. The 1996 law approved the concept of an archipelago state, including 17,508 islands and their waters, incl. 20 mile sovereignty zone and 200 mile exclusive economic zone. Indonesia owns the Greater Sunda Islands – Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java (69.37% of the total territory of the country); Lesser Sunda Islands – Timor, Flores, Sumbawa, Sumba, Bali, Lombok (4.82%); Moluccas (4.35%); the western half of the island of New Guinea (Papua) with adjacent islands (21.46%). The length of the coastline is 84 thousand km. Strategic straits – Malacca, Sunda, Makassar.
Indonesia’s borders are mostly maritime. In the northwest, the Strait of Malacca separates Indonesia from West Malaysia and Singapore (the narrow part is about 40 km), in the northeast, the Sulawesi Sea – from the Philippines, in the southeast, the Timor and Arafura Seas – from Australia. The 1,875 km long land border runs along Kalimantan, separating the Indonesian and Malaysian parts of the island of Borneo. Along 141°N longitude, the land boundary separates Papua from Papua New Guinea.
The entire territory of Indonesia is located at an altitude of 0 to 5030 m above sea level. Mountain ranges and highlands form the structure-forming basis of almost all the islands. Most of the mountains are of volcanic origin. In Papua, the highest mountain in the country, Jaya Vijaya – 5029 m, its peak is covered with snow. The country is ok. 400 volcanoes, more than 100 are active.
Inland waters, including inland seas, straits, the exclusive economic zone, amount to 7.9 million km2. The seas in the west – the South China, Javanese, Bali – are shallow (up to 100 m deep). The seas of the southeast are mostly shallow – Timor and Arafura, although the Timor depression is 3310 m. The seas north, east and southeast of Sulawesi – Sulawesi, Moluccas, Seram, Bandu, Savu, Flores, Halmahera – are small in area, but deep. The Weber depression in the Banda Sea reaches 7440 m. In external waters, the deepest depression is the Yavan depression (7450 m).
The rivers are numerous, but short-lived. The longest river (km) is the Kapuas Besar (1010) in Kalimantan, followed by the Mahakam (715) and Barito (650) rivers; the largest river in Sumatra is the Jambi (800); the most important river of Java is the Solo (540). The largest lake is Toba in Sumatra (1.3 km2).
Indonesia has the following proven mineral reserves (2001): oil 5.09 billion barrels, natural gas 92.1 trillion cubic meters. feet, coal 20 billion tons. Tin ore reserves – St. 1 million tons, bauxite reserves – 500 million tons. Significant reserves of copper and nickel ore, gold and silver.
The soils are mostly lateritic, there are also alluvial-arc soils. Soil runoff is expanding, salinization of coastal strips and erosion are increasing.
The climate is maritime, tropical, monsoon type. The average annual temperature is +26°С, in the mountains +23°С. Abundance of precipitation, high relative humidity (70-90%). The dry season is from June to September, the rainy season is from December to March. In the Moluccas, the dry season is from December to March, the rainy season is from June to September.
Most of the islands of the archipelago are covered with tropical forests, in which St. 2 thousand species of trees and 24 thousand flowering plants. Forests cover approx. 60% of the territory. There are 7 vertical zones, or belts, which make up 30 species of mangrove trees, ramp trees, 300 species of palm trees, dipterocarp forests (jungle), mountain hylaea and monsoon forests (teak trees and eucalyptus trees), oaks, beeches, chestnut trees, orchids, shrubs, cold-resistant trees, incl. coniferous, alpine meadows.
The fauna is represented by Asian and Australian fauna. The western (South Asian) and eastern (Australian) faunal regions are separated by the “Wallis Line”, passing between Kalimantan and Sulawesi, as well as between Bali and Lombok. Elephants, tigers, panthers, two-horned rhinoceroses are becoming less and less common in Sumatra. Small predators are represented by weavers, otters, martens, wild dogs and cats. Ungulates – wild bulls, tapirs, wild boars, kanchili. In Sumatra and Kalimantan, the anoa pygmy bull, the Malayan bear. The wild pig Babirussa is found in Sulawesi. Many types of primates: monkeys, lemurs, baboons. In Kalimantan, there are nosed monkeys, colonies of flying dogs. In the eastern regions – kukus, tree kangaroos, oviparous anteaters (in Papua). The birds of the east are birds of paradise, parrots, cockatoos, weed chickens, cassowaries, etc. Reptiles: crocodiles, narrow-nosed gavianes. On the island of Komodo there is a gigantic lizard monitor lizard, on other islands there are lizards-gekons, chichaki, toke.
The marine fauna is represented by St. 1500 kinds of fish. Marine animals – sperm whales, dugongs, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, rays, sword-saw, barracuda. There are many sea snakes, including poisonous ones.
Population of Indonesia
According to Countryaah, Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world. Java (less than 7% of the territory) is home to 59%, Papua – less than 2% of the population. Population density – ranging from 900 people. in Java up to 8 people per 1 km2 in the Moluccas and Papua.
The average annual population growth rate decreased from 1.97% in 1980–90 to 1.49% in 1990–2000 to 1.15% in 2000–02. Child mortality 49 people. per 1000 newborns. Average life expectancy has increased from 45.7 years in con. 1960s under 65 in 2000. Illiteracy in 2001 was 10.7%. Urban population 34% (2000). 25% of the population lives below the poverty line.
The labor force (persons aged 15 and older) in 2001 was 144 million people. The economically active population is 98.8 million people, of which 90.8 million people are employed.
The ethnic composition is represented by 367 ethnic units. St. 90% of the population of the Asian racial type speaks 400 languages and dialects belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages. More than 10 languages are written. Indonesian is the official language and lingua franca.
The largest peoples and nationalities: Javanese (approximately 40% of the total population), Sundanese, Madurese, Malays, Minangkabau. Large nationalities include the Bugis, Bataks, Balinese, Banjars, Acehnese, Dayaks, Makassars, Torajs, Sasaks. In the Moluccas, the ethnic groups that form into nationalities are the Ternats and the Ambones. The Papuans include the Asmaty and Kamoro tribes. Non-indigenous peoples are represented by the Chinese (7.5 million), Indians, Arabs, and Europeans.
The 1945 constitution guarantees freedom of religion and worship. OK. 80% of the population is Muslim. Most Muslims are Sunnis. Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism) ranks 2nd (10%). Hinduism in its specific form has been preserved in Bali and partly in Lombok. Confucianism has a certain distribution. Animism and various syncretic beliefs show great vitality.
