Indonesia, Republic of

I

Introduction

Indonesia, Republic of, island republic and largest nation of South East Asia, constituting most of the Malay Archipelago and including all of the former Netherlands Indies. Indonesia comprises 13,677 islands straddling the equator, 6,000 of which are inhabited. From the island of Sumatra in the west to that of New Guinea in the east, Indonesia stretches across some 5,150 km (3,200 mi) of ocean, or almost one eighth of the Earth’s circumference; Indonesia’s north-south spread is about 1,931 km (1,200 mi). The republic shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam; Indonesian Borneo, equivalent to about 75 per cent of the island, is called Kalimantan. The western half of New Guinea is the Indonesian province of Papua (formerly West Irian and Irian Jaya); the eastern half is part of Papua New Guinea. Kalimantan and Papua, together with Sumatra (also called Irian Sumatera), Java (Jawa), and Celebes (Sulawesi) are the largest islands of Indonesia and, together with the insular provinces of Kalimantan and Jaya, account for about 95 per cent of its land area. The smaller islands, including Madura, Timor, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, and Bali predominantly form part of island groups. The Moluccas (Maluku) and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusatenggara) are the largest island groups. In 2003, satellite data suggested that Indonesia had an additional 500 islands than previously thought. The marine frontiers of Indonesia include the South China Sea, the Celebes Sea, and the Pacific Ocean to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the south and west. Indonesia has a land area of 1,904,570 sq km (735,359 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Jakarta.

II

Land and Resources

A stretch of relatively open water (consisting of the Java, Flores, and Banda seas) divides the major islands of Indonesia into two unequal strings. The comparatively long, narrow islands of Sumatra, Java, Timor (in the Nusatenggara group), and others lie to the south; Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and New Guinea lie to the north. A chain of volcanic mountains rising to heights of more than 3,568 m (12,000 ft) extends west to east through the southern islands, from Sumatra to Timor. The highest points of the chain are Kerinci (3,800 m/12,467 ft) on Sumatra, and Semeru (3,676 m/12,060 ft) on Java. Each of the major northern islands has a central mountain mass, surrounded by coastal plains. Puncak Jaya (5,030 m/16,503 ft), in the Sudirman Range of Papua, is Indonesia’s highest peak. The most extensive lowland areas are in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Papua.

The volcanism that characterizes much of Indonesia reflects the fact that the country lies at the juncture of the Asian and Australian continental plates. At Flores island, west of Timor, the volcanic arc running west-east through the southern islands of Indonesia, meets another running north-south through Celebes and the Moluccas. Indonesia has about 220 active volcanoes and many more which are considered extinct. It is the site of the two greatest volcanic explosions in recorded history—Krakatau (or Krakatoa) and Mount Tambora. The volcanic island of Krakatau, lying between Java and Sumatra, erupted in 1883 destroying two thirds of its land area. The resulting tsunamis caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people throughout south-eastern Asia. The noise the explosion created travelled more than 4,830 km (3,000 mi), while the millions of tons of ash it threw into the Earth’s atmosphere caused spectacular sunsets worldwide for the next year or so. Tambora, on the northern coast of Sumbawa, erupted in 1815 blowing off its top half and killing an estimated 50,000 islanders. Earthquakes also occur: recent ones include the 1992 earthquake that struck Flores, killing 2,000 people; two earthquakes on the island of Sumatra: one that struck in February 1994, killing 180 people, and one six years later, in June 2000, killing 90; and an earthquake measured at 8.7 on the Richter scale that hit just off Sumatra in March 2005, killing an estimated 1,000 people on the island of Nias.

The world’s third most powerful earthquake on record, measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale, occurred on December 26, 2004, 160 km (100 mi) off the western coast of the island of Sumatra. The resulting tsunamis, the most devastating ever witnessed, caused widespread destruction when they hit land. The wall of water up to 15 m (50 ft) high wiped out entire village populations and left an estimated 200,000 people dead in Indonesia alone.

Volcanic activity also, however, brings significant benefits to Indonesia. Volcanic ash and lava have enriched the soil in many areas, and there is a strong correlation between agricultural development, population density, and the location of volcanoes. Java has the greatest concentration of recently active volcanoes (22), and some of the richest soils and highest population densities in Indonesia.

A

Climate

Indonesia’s climate is tropical, with two monsoon seasons—a wet season from November to March and a dry season from June to October. The weather is more moderate between monsoons. The northern islands have only slight differences in precipitation during the wet and dry seasons; the southern islands east of Java have more sharply defined dry seasons, which increase in length with proximity to Australia. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80 per cent yearly; the daily temperature range (about 20° to 32° C/about 70° to 90° F at Jakarta) varies little from winter to summer. Rainfall in the lowlands averages about 1,780 to 3,175 mm (about 70 to 125 in) annually; in some mountain regions it reaches about 6,100 mm (240 in).

B

Natural Resources

The rich volcanic soil of Indonesia is ideal for crops and many varieties are grown. Indonesia has the world’s largest tropical forest reserves outside the Amazon. Logging has been intensive in some areas, notably Kalamantan, but forests still cover about two thirds of the total land area. Tin, bauxite, oil, natural gas, copper, nickel, and coal are major mineral resources; small amounts of silver, diamonds, and rubies are also found. Salt-water fish are abundant, and the surrounding seas also yield pearls, shells, and agar, a seaweed extract.