Indonesia
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Name: The Republic of Indonesia Introduction: Indonesians are basically of Malay origin whose ancestors arrived in the island between 2500 and 500 BC. Many kingdoms of Hindu, Buddhist and Islam succeeded one another over the centuries till 1799, when Dutch controlled that area. In 1942 Japan captured Indonesia during Second World War. After the war it became independent in 1949. Sukarno was named the president for the life in 1966 with the mass support. But his mismanagement of the economy led to his failure and he was ousted in 1967 and Suharto took over Sukarno’s government. The new government ended tentative moves towards communism. Location: South East Asia Borders: Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Malaysia and by sea with Singapore, Australia and Philippines. Area: 1,904,569 sq km Capital: Jakarta Currency: Rupiah (IDR) Population: 245,452,739 (2006 est). It has world’s fourth largest population. Population Growth Rate: 1.45% (2005 est) Population below Poverty Line: 27.1% (1998) Life Expectancy: 69.57 years (2005 est) Internet TLD: .id Calling Code: +62 Terrain: There are more than 13,500 islands but only 5 are inhabited and they are Java, Sumatra, Celebes, Bore, and Bali. Seven other islands have sizeable population. Java, Sumatra and Celebes are mountainous with volcanoes; most of them are covered with tropical forests. Climate: Hot throughout the year cooler only in mountains. Monsoon bring two seasons; wet and dry. Wet from Dec to March and dry during rest of the year, some of the islands have wet monsoon through out the year. Ethnic Group: There are 16 main ethnic groups with 250 languages. Main are Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese and Coastal Malays. Religion: Islam (87%), rest are Protestants, Roman Catholics, Hindu and Buddhist. Language: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) Literacy Rate: 87.9% (2005 est) Nationality: Indonesian Independence: 27 Dec 1949 from Netherlands Government: Presidential Republic. It is considered as world’s third largest democracy. Constitution: 1945 Executive Branch: President is both head of State and government and of pluriform multy party system. Executive power rests with government. President and Vice president are elected by the vote of citizens for 5 years. Legislative Branch: Legislative power rests with both the government and two People’s Representive Councils (DPR) and Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) or Senate, which was added in 2004 and it became Bicameral Legislature. Judicial Branch: Judiciary is independent of the legislative and executive. Supreme Court is the highest court and its judges are appointed by the president. Military Branches: Indonesia’s armed forces include the Army (TNI – Tentara National Indonesia. AD), Navy (including marines) and Air Force. About 3% of the National budget is spent on Defense. National Anthem: Indonesia Raya Motto: “Unity in Diversity” National Flag: It is called Sang Me rah Patih. It has two coloured bands; red on top and white on bottom with 2:3 ratios consecutively. Red signifies bravery and white represents spiritual. Coat of Arm: It is called Garuda Pancasila and there is a `Garuda with a shield on its chest a scroll gripped by its leg. Shield has 5 emblems representing Pancasila or five principles of Indonesia national philosophy. Economy:After Independence Indonesia economy deteriorated due to political instability, later the new government in 1960,s tried to bring discipline to economic policy, stabilized the currency, and managed foreign debts and attracted foreign aid and investment. Indonesia has large mineral resources mostly undeveloped. It is worlds second biggest producer of tin, third in production of rice and cassava and second in coconuts and rubbers, other agricultural products include palm oil, spices, tea and coffee. Manufacturing includes ship building, cement, chemicals and textile. The GDP growth exceeded 5% in 2004 and 2005. It is biggest oil producer in Southeast Asia. Exports: Crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, gold, plywood, textile and rubber. Imports: Machinery and equipment, chemical fuel and foodstuff. |