Indonesia Information

Indonesian Third President B. J. Habibie Homepage
Foreign Ministry: Foreign Ministry of Indonesia
DKI Jakarta: Capital of Indonesia

Indonesia Today: This homepage provide many information on Indonesia
LPSI: Institute for strategic studies on Indonesia
Indonesian Homepage in Jakarta: This is the Indonesian Homepage providing information about government, education, cultural, commerce and includes a monthly newsletter.
Bimasakti: Indonesian WWW Galaxy: This is an open index containing vast links to Indonesian related topics organized by topic categories.
Travelling in Indonesia: Information about special interest tours, travel formalities, transportation and description of the 27 provinces in Indonesia.
Another Indonesian Homepage: This is an alternative Indonesia homepage maintained at the University of Manitoba.
General Information about Indonesia: This gopher site contains information about economic policies, travel, criminal justice, etc.
Bali Fast Facts: Information on travel, currency, bargaining, hotels, pictures, restaurants and more.
Indonesian S & T Homepage: This is the National Research Council WWW site.
Rahajasa Media Internet: Rahajasa Media Internet (RADNET) is the nationwide provider of commercial value-added internetworking services in Indonesia. Information on government, cultural, commerce and entertainment are available.
More information: This is a list of more Indonesian information resources on the internet.
Indonesian Forum (USA): The first Indonesian-American Forum in the Internet dedicated to promoting cultural and intellectual understanding, personal development, professional networking, friendships and fun!
SunSITE Indonesia at the University of Indonesia: Meet our fellow SunSITE in Indonesia!

The soc.culture.indonesia newsgroup discusses everything about the Indonesian nation.

About Indonesia

Geography

Indonesia is an archipelago of 13,500 islands located in south-east Asia between Malaysia and Australia. It occupies a total area of 1,919,400 sq km of which 1,826,440 sq km is on land. The country has a 2,602 km land boundary (1,782 km with Malaysia and 820 km with Papua New Guinea) and 54,716 km of coastline. It has a strategic location along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean. A map of Indonesia is available.

Indonesia has a tropical climate - hot and humid, but more moderate in the highlands. The terrain is mostly coastal lowlands while larger islands have interior mountains. Natural resources include petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold and silver. Indonesia has occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis and deforestation.

People

Indonesia has a population of 197,232,428 (July 1993 est.). Nationals of Indonesia are known as Indonesian(s). The primary ethnic group is Javanese (45%) and Sundanese (14%). The predominant religion is Muslim (87%). Languages spoken include Bahasa Indonesia (official), and English

Government

The country is known officially as Republic of Indonesia and in short, Indonesia. Indonesia is a republic. the capital is Jakarta. The national holiday is on 17 August (1945).

The Indonesian flag consists of 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.

Economy

Indonesia is a mixed economy with many socialist institutions and central planning but with a recent emphasis on deregulation and private enterprise. Indonesia has extensive natural wealth, yet, with a large and rapidly increasing population, it remains a poor country. Real GDP growth in 1985-92 averaged about 6%, quite impressive, but not sufficient to both slash underemployment and absorb the 2.3 million workers annually entering the labor force. Agriculture, including forestry and fishing, is an important sector, accounting for almost 20% of GDP and over 50% of the labor force. The staple crop is rice. Once the world's largest rice importer, Indonesia is now nearly self-sufficient. Plantation crops - rubber and palm oil - and textiles and plywood are being encouraged for both export and job generation. Industrial output now accounts for almost 40% of GDP and is based on a supply of diverse natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal. Of these, the oil sector dominates the external economy, generating more than 20% of the government's revenues and 40% of export earnings in 1989. However, the economy's growth is highly dependent on the continuing expansion of nonoil exports. Japan remains Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid. Rapid growth in the money supply in 1989-90 prompted Jakarta to implement a tight monetary policy in 1991, forcing the private sector to go to foreign banks for investment financing. Real interest rates remained above 10% and off-shore commercial debt grew. The growth in off-shore debt prompted Jakarta to limit foreign borrowing beginning in late 1991. Despite the continued problems in moving toward a more open financial system and the persistence of a fairly tight credit situation, GDP growth in 1992 is estimated to have stayed at 6%.

Communications

Indonesia has 6,964 km of railroads, 119,500 km of highways and 21,579 km of inland waterways. The ports are in Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Ujungpandang, Semarang and Surabaya. There are 435 (mostly small) airports, 119 with permanent surface runways.

The telecommunications infrastructure includes an inter-island microwave system. Domestic service is fair; international service is good.