The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia. The nation is the worlds’ largest archipelagic state comprises with 17508 islands. It is the world’s most populous nation and most populous Muslim majority nation. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected parliament and president. The Capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta. The countries that border Indonesia are, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Indonesia has been an important trade region since the ancient times. In the seventh century the Srivijaya Kingdom formed trade links with China. The history of Indonesia is strongly affected with foreign powers. Hindu and Buddhist kingdom find place in Indonesia due to Indian cultural impact. Muslim traders introduced Islam in Indonesia. Europeans fought to one another to monopolize trade in the islands of Maluku famous as Spice Island. Dutch ruled Indonesia around three and half centuries. Indonesia got freedom from Dutch after World War II. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka tunggal ika" ("Unity in Diversity" lit. "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country.
Indonesia is a republic. The government system has undergone for complete reform after resignation of President Suharto in 1998. Constitution has also amended. The president of Indonesia is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces, and the director of domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, who are not required to be elected members of the legislature. First time in 2004, the president of Indonesia has chosen by the general public through vote. The president can serve up to a maximum of two five-year terms.
Of 17508 islands, about 6000 thousand islands are populated. Theses islands are distributed over both sides of the equator. The five largest Indonesian islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi. In terms of land area, Indonesia is worlds’ 16th largest island. Java is the world’s most populous island. Puncak Jaya in Papua is Indonesia's highest peak, and Lake Toba in Sumatra its largest lake. The largest rivers in Indonesia are in Kalimantan, and include the Mahakam and Barito; such rivers form the communication and transport links between the island's river settlements.
Indonesia's location on the edges of the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates makes it the site of numerous volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
Lying along the equator, Indonesia offers tropical climate with two different monsoonal wet and dry seasons. Average annual rainfall in the lowlands varies from 70–125 in, and up to 240 in. Mountain regions particularly in the west coast of Sumatra, West Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua—receive the highest rainfall. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80%. Indonesia supports world’s second largest biodiversity after Brazil because of its size, climate and archipelagic geography.
The Indonesian forests that covers approximately 60% of the geography are home to species like tiger, rhinoceros, orangutan, elephant, and leopard. Indonesia has 80000 Km long coastlines surrounded by tropical seas. Indonesia has a range of sea and coastal ecosystems, including beaches, sand dunes, estuaries, mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass beds, coastal mudflats, tidal flats, algal beds, and small island ecosystems. Alfred Wallace described a dividing line between the distribution of Indonesia's Asian and Australasian species. This line is known as Wallace line.
Agriculture employs largest number of work force. Approximately 95 million people earn living from agriculture. The major agricultural products include palm oil, rice, tea, coffee, spices, and rubber. Major industries include petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, and mining. Indonesia export goods to countries like Japan, Singapore, China and the United States. Indonesia's major imports include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs. Indonesia is rich in under earth resources like crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold. The service sector in Indonesia accounts for approximately 45% of GDP. Industry accounts for approximately 41%. Agricultural activities hold approximately 14% of Indonesian GDP.
