Indonesia Flag

Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is made up of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, with a land area of approximately 1.9 million square kilometers. It is also the world's fourth-most populous country, with a population of over 275 million people. The majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim, and the official language is Indonesian.

Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, is the second-most populous urban area in the world. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India (Andaman and Nicobar Islands). Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support a high level of biodiversity.

The Indonesian archipelago has a long history of trade, with the region being valued for its strategic location between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Local rulers absorbed foreign influences from the early centuries, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Islam was introduced by Sunni traders and Sufi scholars, and Christianity was spread by Europeans. The Dutch were the dominant colonial power in the region for much of their presence, and the concept of “Indonesia” as a nation-state emerged in the early 20th century. Indonesia declared its independence in 1945, but it was not until 1949 that the Dutch recognized Indonesia's sovereignty following an armed and diplomatic conflict.

Indonesia is a diverse country, with thousands of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest of these is the Javanese group. Despite this diversity, Indonesia has developed a shared identity with the motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (“Unity in Diversity” literally, “many, yet one”), which reflects the country's cultural diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it.

The economy of Indonesia is the world's 17th-largest by nominal GDP and the 7th-largest by PPP. It is considered a middle power in global affairs and is a member of several multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G20, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesia is also a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, East Asia Summit, D-8, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.