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Geologically, Indonesia is an active volcanic zone, but it was a political volcano which blew up in 1998. After 30 years of solid economic progress, during which a variety of political and ethnic conflicts were militarily contained, the collapse of the economy in 1998 triggered an outbreak of violent protest against the government. A change of leadership followed, and promises of new and more open elections. Nevertheless, long suppressed class, ethnic, and religious conflicts have been unleashed, and a climate of political instability prevails. The national unity imposed on the numerous Indonesian islands has always been somewhat artificial. Insurrection by guerrilla groups such as Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) in north Sumatra, for example, have long been at odds with the urban elite in Jakarta.
The 13,677 islands that make up the world's largest archipelago (6,000 of them inhabited) rest on the platform of two continental shelves. The southern chain of islands, from Sumatra in the west to Timor in the southeast, and including Borneo to the north, form part of the Sunda shelf. This is a largely submerged extension of the Asian continent. Eastward, the northern Moluccas and New Guinea rest on the Sahul shelf, which is a northern extension of the Australian continent. Between the Asian and Australian ocean shelves, Sulawesi and the southern Moluccas form the island summits of suboceanic mountain ranges which are flanked by sea trenches 4,500 m (14,800 ft) deep.
All Indonesia's main islands are mountainous: this is an area of great crustal activity. Sumatra, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tengara) form an arc containing 200 volcanoes, many of which are active-Krakatoa (Pulau Rakata) among them.
In Sumatra the Barisan Mountains run the length of the southwest-facing coastline. Along with 10 active volcanoes there are a number of crater lakes, Lake Toba, at an altitude of 900 m (2,953 ft), being one of the more spectacular. Much of Sumatra was once forested but over-cutting of timber in the lowlands means that native forest is now vil1ually restricted to reserves and national parks. However, isolated mountain forests remain over wide areas. The heavily populated island of Java, next in the island chain, has a long range which contains 50 active volcanoes and 17 that are only recently dormant.
Throughout the archipelago many coasts are lined with mangrove swamps, notably in eastern Sumatra and southern Kalimantan. Several of the islands are of great beauty: tourism, not only to Bali, has been a major activity in recent years.
Indonesia's complex and varied population, and its four major religions-Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism-reflect the country's varied history. Hinduism was the first major religious influence 2,000 years ago, followed by Buddhism in the seventh century AD. Hindu Buddhist religious authority began to decline with the collapse of the Majapahit Empire in the fourteenth century, and the arrival of Arab traders from the west gradually established Islam as the dominant religion.
Under Dutch colonial rule from 1608, the islands were from 1830 subject to a severe extractive regime known as the Culture System. This involved the forced cultivation of commercial crops for export and resulted in a distortion of the traditional economy. Indonesia fell to the Japanese in the Second World War. This additional colonial experience guaranteed that the Indonesians would expect independence after 1945 and not accept the return of the Dutch.
About one-tenth of Indonesia's land area is under permanent cultivation. The majority of the people live by agriculture, growing rice, maize, cassava, and sweet potato. There are also extensive plantations producing rubber, palm oil, sugarcane, coffee, and tea. The last 30 years, however, have seen an intensive state-directed drive toward industrialization, based on diverse and abundant natural resources: oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal.
Foreign investment has played in important role in increased industrialization. Prosperity was initially tied to oil exports, but now the economy's growth depends on the continuing expansion of non-oil exports. East Timor
East Timor, mainly Catholic after 300 years of Portuguese rule, was forcibly incorporated into Indonesia in 1975. Since that time, the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin) has continued to fight for independence. Indonesian troops have bombed villages and carried out mass executions of suspected Fretilin sympathizers. The situation is still unresolved.
Fact File
OFFICIAL NAME Republic of Indonesia FORM OF GOVERNMENT Republic with single legislative body (House of Representatives) CAPITAL Jakarta AREA 1,919,440 sq km (741,096 sq miles) TIME ZONE GMT + 7/9 hours POPULATION 216,108,345
PROJECTED POPULATION 2005 234,875,553 POPULATION DENSITY 112.6 per sq km (291.6 per sq mile)
LIFE EXPECTANCY 62.9 INFANT MORTALITY (PER 1,000) 57.3
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE Bahasa Indonesia OTHER LANGUAGES English, Dutch, indigenous languages LITERACY RATE 83.2% RELIGIONS Muslim 87%, Protestant 6%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1 %, other 1 %
ETHNIC GROUPS Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% CURRENCY Rupiah
ECONOMY Agriculture 54%, services 38%, industry 8% GNP PER CAPITA US$980
CLIMATE Tropical, with wet season December to March (except in Moluccas where wet season is June to September) HIGHEST POINT Puncak Jaya 5,030 m (16,502 It)
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