Spread across a chain of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Ethnically it is very diverse, with more than 300 local languages. The people range from rural hunter-gatherers to a modern urban elite.
Sophisticated kingdoms existed before the arrival of the Dutch, who colonized the archipelago but gave in to a struggle for independence in 1949.
Indonesia has become one of the largest emerging economies in the world, but is facing demands for independence in some areas.
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Capital: Jakarta
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Area: 1,904,569 square kilometers
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Population: 275.7 million
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Languages: Indonesian, plus regional languages
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Life expectancy: 68 years (men) 72 years (women)
Chairman: Prabowo Subianto
Former military general Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as president in October 2024 after winning more than 58% of the vote against two rivals in February elections.
His election marked the end of an era under former leader Joko Widodo, known locally as Jokowi, who presided over a decade of economic growth and infrastructure development.
Prabowo was sworn in by his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
He has announced Indonesia’s largest cabinet since the 1960s. Some observers believe that the composition of Prabowo’s cabinet – which saw 17 of the 48 ministers from Jokowi’s cabinet reappointed – was a “political reward” for his predecessor, whose tacit support would have helped Prabowo’s election victory.
Prabowo had promised during his campaign to continue Jokowi’s development and infrastructure-oriented policies.
In his inauguration speech, Prabowo pledged to eradicate corruption and poverty and said he would become president for all Indonesians.
In foreign policy, he reaffirmed Indonesia’s long-standing policy of non-alignment, under which the country does not ally with major power blocs.
As a former commander of the special forces under dictator General Suharto and his son-in-law, he is dogged by accusations of human rights violations.
Television is the most important medium, but online media are catching up.
Facebook is extremely popular and Indonesians are among the most active users of Twitter in the world.
Reporters Without Borders says many journalists are censoring themselves due to laws governing blasphemy and online content.
Some important dates in the history of Indonesia:
1670-1900 – Dutch colonists bring all of Indonesia under one government as the Dutch East Indies.
1942 – Japan occupies the Dutch East Indies.
1949 – The Dutch recognize Indonesian independence after four years of guerrilla war. Sukarno is president.
fifties – Maluku (Moluccas) declares independence from Indonesia and wages a failed separatist war
1962 – West New Guinea, or West Papua, which is in the hands of the Netherlands, is placed under UN administration and then occupied by Indonesian forces. Separatists begin a low-intensity guerrilla war against Indonesia.
1963-66 – The confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia or Konfrontasi; an armed conflict between British and Commonwealth forces against Indonesian forces – mainly in Borneo – as a result of Indonesia’s opposition to the creation of the Federation of Malaysia. After Indonesian President Sukarno lost power in 1966, the dispute was resolved.
1965 – Failed coup: In the aftermath, hundreds of thousands of suspected communists are killed in a purge of leftists that culminates in vigilantism.
1966 – Sukarno transfers emergency powers to General Suharto, who becomes president in March 1967.
1969 – West Papua formally incorporated into Indonesia.
1975 – Portugal grants East Timor independence. Indonesia invades the following year and annexes it as a province.
1997 – Asian economic crisis: Indonesian rupiah plummets in value. Protests and riots topple Suharto the following year.
1999 – Free elections are held in Indonesia. East Timor votes for independence and falls under UN administration.
2002 – A jihadist bomb attack on Bali’s Kuta Beach nightclub district kills 202 people, most of them tourists.
2004 – First ever direct presidential elections, won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
2004 December – More than 220,000 people are dead or missing in Indonesia alone after a powerful undersea earthquake triggered huge tidal waves off Sumatra. The waves are devastating communities from the Indian Ocean to Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
2005 – The government signs a peace deal with separatist rebels in Aceh, to end the thirty-year conflict.
2006 – The earthquake in Yogyakarta shakes Central Java and leaves more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
2019 – President Joko Widodo announces that the country’s new capital – Nusantara – will be located in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The new capital will replace Jakarta.
2019 August–September – Thousands take part in violent pro-separatist protests in Papua’s major cities, against the backdrop of the long-running conflict in West New Guinea (Papua) between Indonesia and Free Papua Movement separatists.
2022 – Construction work on Nusantara begins.
