Indonesia
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| Republik Indonesia Republic of Indonesia |
| |
Motto: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Old Javanese)
Unity in Diversity
National ideology: Pancasila[1] |
Anthem: Indonesia Raya
|
| |
Capital
(and largest city) | Jakarta
 (land)) 6°10.5′S 106°49.7′E / -6.175, 106.8283 |
| Official languages | Indonesian |
| Demonym | Indonesian |
| Government | Presidential republic |
| - | President | Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
| - | Vice President | Jusuf Kalla |
| Independence |
| - | Declared | 17 August 1945
(formerly Dutch East Indies) |
| Area |
| - | Total | 1,919,440 (land) km² (16th)
735,355 sq mi |
| - | Water (%) | 4.85 |
| Population |
| - | July 2007 est. estimate | 234,693,997 (4th) |
| - | 2000 census | 206,264,595 |
| - | Density | 134/km² (84th)
347/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate |
| - | Total | $838.479 billion[2] (16th) |
| - | Per capita | $3,728[2] (120th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2007 estimate |
| - | Total | $432.944 billion[2] (20th) |
| - | Per capita | $1,925[2] (115th) |
| Gini (2002) | 34.3 |
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.728 (medium) (107th) |
| Currency | Rupiah (IDR) |
| Time zone | various (UTC+7 to +9) |
| Internet TLD | .id |
| Calling code | +62 |
The Republic of Indonesia (pronounced /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/, /ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/) (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asia. Comprising 17,508 islands, it is the world's largest archipelagic state. With a population of 222 million people in 2006, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation; however, no reference is made to Islam in the Indonesian constitution. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the seventh century, when the Srivijaya Kingdom traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually adopted Indian cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest and most politically dominant ethnic group. As a unitary state and a nation, Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka tunggal ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. However, sectarian tensions and separatism have led to violent confrontations that have undermined political and economic stability. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty is a defining feature of contemporary Indonesia.
[edit] Etymology
The name Indonesia derives from the Latin Indus, meaning "India", and the Greek nesos, meaning "island".[3] The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia.[4] In 1850, George Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians — and, his preference, Malayunesians — for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago".[5] In the same publication, a student of Earl's, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago.[6] However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia. Instead, they used the terms Malay Archipelago (Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and even Insulinde.[7]
From 1900, the name Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and Indonesian nationalist groups adopted it for political expression.[8] Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularized the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first Indonesian scholar to use the name was Suwardi Suryaningrat (Ki Hajar Dewantara), when he established a press bureau in the Netherlands with the name Indonesisch Pers-bureau in 1913.[4]
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