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INDONESIA

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. Current issues include: alleviating widespread poverty, preventing terrorism, continuing the transition to popularly-elected governments after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing reforms of the banking sector, addressing charges of cronyism and corruption, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, and resolving armed separatist movements in Aceh and Papua.

LOCATION

Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

POPULATION

Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998)

NATURAL RESOURCES

Petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

NATURAL PROBLEMS

Occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires, deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fir.

ECONOMICS

Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces economic development problems stemming from recent acts of terrorism, unequal resource distribution among regions, endemic corruption, the lack of reliable legal recourse in contract disputes, weaknesses in the banking system, and a generally poor climate for foreign investment. Indonesia withdrew from its IMF program at the end of 2003, but issued a "White Paper" that commits the government to maintaining fundamentally sound macroeconomic policies previously established under IMF guidelines. Investors, however, continued to face a host of on-the-ground microeconomic problems and an inadequate judicial system. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth.

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2004 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $52.13 billion
expenditures: $55.88 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:

56.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:

rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, poultry, beef, pork, eggs

Industries:

petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism.

Oil - proved reserves:

4.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

2.549 trillion cu m (2004)

Debt - external:

$141.5 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$43 billion
note: Indonesia finished its IMF program in December 2003 but still receives bilateral aid through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which pledged $2.8 billion in grants and loans for 2004 and again in 2005; nearly $4 billion in aid money pledged by a variety of foreign governments and other groups following the 2004 tsunami; money is slated for use in relief and rebuilding efforts in Aceh.

Internet hosts:

62,036 (2003)

Internet users:
8 million (2002)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Capital: Jakarta

Administrative divisions:

30 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts or regencies became the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services

Independence:

17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed); 27 December 1949 (Netherlands recognizes Indonesian independence)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Constitution:

August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959

Legal system:

based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004);
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year terms by direct vote of the citizenry; last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2009)
election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4%

Legislative branch:

unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching President and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50
note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the number of votes received by parties

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Makhama Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights

Political parties and leaders:

Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Democratic Party or PD [Subur BUDHISANTOSO, chairman]; Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA, chairman]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [MAHFUD, acting chairman]; United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ, chairman]

CONFLICTS

East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on a southern maritime boundary; numbers of East Timor refugees in Indonesia refuse repatriation; the Australia-East Timor 1999 maritime delimitation establishes partial maritime boundaries over part of the Timor Gap, but temporary resource-sharing agreements over an unreconciled area hamper creation of a shared maritime boundary with Indonesia; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesian secessionists, squatters and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

ImageS and data: US CIA. September 30, 2005.