Indonesia

republicIndependence 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence

Indonesia as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalJakarta
Area1,919,440 km2
Populationas each edition published it
195.68 million July 1992 · 190.14m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1.61% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 25.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 60.26 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.8 children per woman 1992 · 3.1 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
70 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 75 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $680 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 6% in 1993

Geography

13 fields
Total area
1,919,440km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Coastline
54,716km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
2,602km
Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km

Land area

1,826,440 km2

Disputes

sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Portugal

Climate

  • tropical;
  • hot, humid;
  • more moderate in highlands

Terrain

mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Natural resources

crude oil, tin, natural gas liquids, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use

  • arable land 8%;
  • permanent crops 3%;
  • meadows and pastures 7%;
  • forest and woodland 67%;
  • other 15%;
  • includes irrigated 3%

Environment

  • archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited);
  • occasional floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis;
  • deforestation

Note

straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean

People

14 fields
Population
195,683,531
(July 1992), growth rate 1.7% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth
25Death
8Net migration
0

Ethnic divisions

majority of Malay stock comprising Javanese 45.0%Sundanese 14.0%Madurese 7.5%coastal Malays 7.5%other 26.0%

Religions(1985)

Muslim 87%Protestant 6%Roman Catholic 3%Hindu 2%Buddhist 1%other 1% (1985)
Literacy
77%
(male 84%, female 68%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

70 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

59 years male, 64 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

2.8 children born/woman (1992)

Nationality

noun - Indonesian(s); adjective - Indonesian

Languages

  • Bahasa Indonesia (modified form of Malay; official);
  • English and Dutch leading foreign languages;
  • local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese

Labor force

67,000,000; agriculture 55%, manufacturing 10%, construction 4%, transport and communications 3% (1985 est.)

Organized labor

3,000,000 members (claimed); about 5% of labor force

Government

Republic

19 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

73%
Golkar 73%UDP 16%PDI 11%

Long-form name

Republic of Indonesia

Type

republic

Capital

Jakarta

Administrative divisions

  • 24 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, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor Timur, Yogyakarta*

Independence

17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands)

Constitution

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Executive branch

president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch

  • unicameral House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR);
  • note - the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the DPR plus 500 indirectly elected members who meet every five years to elect the president and vice president and, theoretically, to determine national policy

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government: President Gen. (Ret.) SOEHARTO (since 27 March 1968); Vice President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) SUDHARMONO (since 11 March 1988)

Political parties and leaders

  • GOLKAR (quasi-official party based on functional groups), Lt. Gen. (Ret.) WAHONO, general chairman;
  • Indonesia Democracy Party (PDI - federation of former Nationalist and Christian Parties), SOERYADI, chairman;
  • Development Unity Party (PPP, federation of former Islamic parties), Ismail Hasan METAREUM, chairman

Suffrage

universal at age 17 and married persons regardless of age

Elections

House of Representatives:
  • last held on 23 April 1987 (next to be held 8 June 1992);
  • results - Golkar 73%, UDP 16%, PDI 11%;
  • seats - (500 total - 400 elected, 100 appointed) Golkar 299, UDP 61, PDI 40

Communists

  • Communist Party (PKI) was officially banned in March 1966;
  • current strength about 1,000-3,000, with less than 10% engaged in organized activity;
  • pre-October 1965 hardcore membership about 1.5 million

Member of

APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

  • Ambassador Abdul Rachman RAMLY;
  • Chancery at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036;
  • telephone (202) 775-5200;
  • there are Indonesian Consulates General in Houston, New York, and Los Angeles, and Consulates in Chicago and San Francisco
US:
  • Ambassador John C. MONJO;
  • Embassy at Medan Merdeka Selatan 5, Jakarta (mailing address is APO AP 96520);
  • telephone [62] (21) 360-360;
  • FAX [62] (21) 360-644;
  • there are US Consulates in Medan and Surabaya

Flag

  • 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

17 fields
Unemployment rate
3%
underemployment 45% (1991 est.)
External debt
$58.5billion
(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$17.2 billionExpenditures
$23.4 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $8.9 billion (FY91)

Overview

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. GDP growth in 1985-91 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 23% 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 30% 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 is Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid. In 1991, rapid growth in the money supply prompted Jakarta to implement a tight monetary policy, forcing the private sector to go to foreign banks for investment financing. Real interest rates remained above 10%, off-shore commercial debt grew, and real GDP growth dropped slightly from the 7% of 1990.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $122 billion, per capita $630; real growth rate 6.0% (1991 est.)

Exports

$25.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990)

commodities:
petroleum and liquefied natural gas 40%, timber 15%, textiles 7%, rubber 5%, coffee 3%
partners:
Japan 40%, US 14%, Singapore 7%, Europe 16% (1990)

Imports

$21.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990)

commodities:
machinery 39%, chemical products 19%, manufactured goods 16%
partners:
Japan 23%, US 13%, EC, Singapore

Industrial production

growth rate 11.6% (1989 est.); accounts for 30% of GDP

Electricity

11,600,000 kW capacity; 38,000 million kWh produced, 200 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

petroleum, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, food, rubber

Agriculture

  • accounts for 23% of GDP;
  • subsistence food production;
  • small-holder and plantation production for export;
  • main products are rice, cassava, peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, other tropical products, poultry, beef, pork, eggs

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade, but not a major player; government actively eradicating plantings and prosecuting traffickers

Economic aid

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion;
  • OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $213 million;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $175 million

Currency

Indonesian rupiah (plural - rupiahs); 1 Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen (sen no longer used)

Exchange rates

Indonesian rupiahs (Rp) per US$1 - 1,998.2 (January 1992), 1,950.3 (1991), 1,842.8 (1990), 1,770.1 (1989), 1,685.7 (1988), 1,643.8 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 387 ships by type

short-sea passenger 5passenger-cargo 13cargo 231container 8roll-on/roll-off cargo 3vehicle carrier 3petroleum tanker 79chemical tanker 5liquefied gas 6specialized tanker 7livestock carrier 1bulk 25passenger 1387 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,698,946 GRT/2,560,414 DWT

Airports, 437 total, 410 usable

permanent-surface runways
114runways | over 3,659 m
1runways 2,440-3,659 m
12runways 1,220-2,439 m
64

Networkskm

Highways
119,500Railroads
6,964Inland waterways
21,579
Highways: ; 11,812 km state, 34,180 km provincial, and 73,508 km district roads · Railroads: ; 6,389 km 1.067-meter gauge, 497 km 0.750-meter gauge, 78 km 0.600-meter gauge; 211 km double track; 101 km electrified; all government owned · Inland waterways: ; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Celebes 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km

Railroads

  • 6,964 km total;
  • 6,389 km 1.067-meter gauge, 497 km 0.750-meter gauge, 78 km 0.600-meter gauge;
  • 211 km double track;
  • 101 km electrified;
  • all government owned

Highways

119,500 km total; 11,812 km state, 34,180 km provincial, and 73,508 km district roads

Inland waterways

21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Celebes 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km

Pipelines

crude oil 2,505 km; petroleum products 456 km; natural gas 1,703 km (1989)

Ports

Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Ujungpandang, Semarang, Surabaya

Civil air

about 216 commercial transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • interisland microwave system and HF police net;
  • domestic service fair, international service good;
  • radiobroadcast coverage good;
  • 763,000 telephones (1986);
  • broadcast stations - 618 AM, 38 FM, 9 TV;
  • satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station;
  • and 1 domestic satellite communications system

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police

3 fields

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 51,906,415;
  • 30,668,815 fit for military service;
  • 2,095,698 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.7 billion, 2% of GNP (FY91)

Cite this entry

Central Intelligence Agency. “Indonesia.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/indonesia/1992.