Indonesia Country Overview
The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelago nation located in south-eastern Asia, located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and has land borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia, and with more than 700 languages is highly diverse. Indonesia has become one of the world’s major emerging economies, but faces conflict with demands for independence in several provinces and increasing attacks by Islamist armed groups.
Indonesia General Information
Capital: Jakarta
Language: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese. There are more than 700 languages used in Indonesia.
Religion: Muslim 87.2%, Protestant 7%, Roman Catholic 2.9%, Hindu 1.7%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist and Confucian), unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
Currency: Rupiahs
Cryptocurrency: Use of cryptocurrencies as payment instrument is banned by Indonesia’s central bank, but trade in the blockchain-backed assets is allowed. It was reported in March 2020 that 11% of Indonesians own cryptocurrency, and is the sixth-biggest adopter after Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand and Nigeria.
GMT: (+) 7
About Indonesia
The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelago nation located in south-eastern Asia, located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and has land borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Indonesia’s population stands at 260.58 million people, making it the fourth most populous country on earth. There is a major population concentration focused on Java, including 10.32 million inhabitants in the metropole of the capital, Jakarta. Over 700 languages are spoken across Indonesia, but Bahasa Indonesia is the only official language, although Dutch and English are also widely spoken. The state is officially secular but the population is overwhelming Muslim, with the vast majority following Sunni Islam; There are also Christian and Hindu minorities.
In terms of its political-economic outlook and business climate, Indonesia is viewed as having acceptable levels of risk. There are, however, high risks of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanic activity, as well as terrorism.
Corruption represents a major problem in Indonesia and it is widespread across the economy. Indeed, Indonesia ranks 90 of 176 in Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Index and corruption also extends to the judiciary, public services and natural resource industry.
Indonesia’s GDP currently stands at US$1.01 trillion, making it the sixteenth largest economy globally. The economy is forecast to continue to grow in real terms at a steady pace of 5-5.5% over 2018-2022. The official currency is the Indonesian Rupiah.
Indonesia is a presidential republic. Executive power rests with the president, currently Joko Widodo, who is both the head of state and of government. The president and vice-president are elected by absolute majority popular vote for five year terms.
Legislative power rests with the bicameral People’s Consultative Assembly. This is formed of the Regional Representative Council, and the House of Representatives which are both elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation. The Regional Council however, has no legislative authority.
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