The largest economy in Southeast Asia and the largest Muslim population in the world are both found in Indonesia, which is made up of a chain of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia.
It has a large ethnic diversity and more than 300 regional languages. Hunter-gatherers in the countryside coexist with affluent urbanites.
Before the Dutch colonized the archipelago but gave up their claim to it in 1949, there were sophisticated kingdoms there.
Indonesia, one of the world's largest emerging economies, is currently dealing with demands for independence in several provinces as well as an increase in attacks from armed Islamist groups.
- : capital. Jakarta.
- Area:. 1,904,569 sq km.
- Population:. 275.7% of a million.
- Languages:. Indonesian as well as local tongues.
- Expected lifespan: (Men) 68 years; (Women) 72 years.
Joko Widodo is the president.
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, one of a new breed of politician that emerged in the developing democracy, won the elections in July 2014.
The fact that he came from a humble background—his father sold wood, and he was a furniture maker—led to the widespread perception that he was largely untainted by the country's pervasive corruption and in touch with ordinary Indonesians.
Since taking office, he has prioritized infrastructure expansion, economic expansion, and a comprehensive health and education agenda. In 2019, he won reelection to a second five-year term, defeating Prabowo Subianto once more.
The dominant medium is television, but online media are catching up.
Indonesians are among the most active Twitter users in the world, and Facebook is enormously popular.
According to Reporters Without Borders, because of laws governing online content and blasphemy, many journalists self-censor.
A few significant dates in Indonesian history are:.
1670-1900. - Dutch colonists establish the Dutch East Indies to unify Indonesia under a single government.
1942 . Dutch East Indies are occupied by Japan.
1949 . - After four years of guerrilla fighting, the Dutch recognize Indonesian independence. Sukarno is the leader.
1950s. Maluku (Moluccas) declares its independence from Indonesia and engages in a vain attempt at secession.
1962 . - Dutch-held West Papua, also known as Western New Guinea, is handed over to the UN for administration and subsequently occupied by Indonesian forces.
1963-66. - The Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, also known as Konfrontasi; this war pitted Malay, British, and Commonwealth forces against Indonesian troops as retaliation for Indonesia's rejection of the Federation of Malaysia. The conflict is resolved after Sukarno's ouster as president of Indonesia in 1966.
1965. - Failed coup: Thousands of suspected Communists are killed in the aftermath in a purge of leftists that turns into vigilantism.
1966. - General Suharto, who succeeds Sukarno as president in March 1967, receives the emergency powers from Sukarno.
1969. - The official incorporation of West Papua into Indonesia.
1975. - Portugal grants East Timor independence. The following year, Indonesia launches an invasion and claims it as a province.
1997. - Indonesian rupiah value falls due to the Asian economic crisis. Suharto is overthrown by protests and rioting the following year.
1999. - Indonesia holds free elections. East Timor declares its independence and is placed under UN control.
2002 . 202 people are killed by a jihadist bomb attack on Bali's Kuta Beach nightclub district, the majority of them tourists.
2004 . – The first direct presidential elections ever.
2004 . December - After a strong undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused enormous tidal waves, more than 220,000 people are either dead or missing in Indonesia alone. Communities in the Indian Ocean that are as far away as Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and Somalia are destroyed by the waves.
