About Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia consists of almost 18,000 islands located in the South East Asian Archipelago. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected in 2004. Jusuf Kalla is Vice-President.

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic nation, bordered by the nations of Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Malaysia and Singapore. With a population of over 200 million, it is the world's fourth most populous country and most populous Muslim-majority nation. The national language is Indonesian, also refered to as Bahasa Indonesia. However, there are several hundred diverse linguistic and ethnic groups across the country, as well as other religious communities.

Indonesia is also a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. Indonesia itself has the largest number of active volcanoes in the world and is prone to frequent earthquakes.

 
Facts at a glance