About Indonesia

The geography of Indonesia is quite magnificent, supported by tropical climate and weather. With an archipelago form, Indonesia maintains Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The relief of Indonesia is filled with volcanoes, rivers and lakes.
As one of the world's most remarkable geographical boundaries in its distribution of animals, Indonesia has alot of variety of different species of animals. Komodo reptile (Varanus Komodoensis) has been designated as Indonesia's National Animal, the red fresh water Siluk/Arwana (Scleropage Formosus) as the Fascinating Animal and the flying Elang Jawa (Javan Hawk Eagle), Spizaetus Bartelsi) as the Rare (Endangered) Species). November 5th has been designated as the National Flora and Fauna Day.
Indonesia is also rich in tropical plants including the ever famous Rafflesia Arnoldi, the largest flower in the world, and Amorphophallus Tatinum, the largest inflorescence of its kind.
The flag, emblem and map of Indonesia


Indonesia has about 500 tribes and correspondingly, it has about 500 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. The population in Indonesia has now reached the fourth most populated country in the world after China, India and the United States of America. The people of Indonesia are a mix between the native people and the newcomers that came during the Neolitic Period (3000-2000 BC) from the Asian mainland to the South through a large-scale migration. The citizenship of Indonesia is governed by the Nationality Act to distinguish the qualification of a person of being an Indonesian since the beginning of independence on August 17, 1945.
There are about 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. They normally belong to the different ethnic groups of the population. Some of the distinctly different local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Tetum of Timor, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several Irianese languages. To make the picture even more colorful, these languages are also spoken in different dialects. Bahasa Indonesia is the national language, which is akin to Malay, written in Roman script and based on European orthography. In all tourist destination areas English is the number one foreign language fairly spoken and writer, whereas some Dutch is till spoken and understood in the bigger cities and French increasing in its popularity at the better hotels and restaurants.

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. It consists of five major islands and about 30 smaller groups.The figure for the total number of islands is 17,508 according to the Indonesian Naval Oceanographic Office. The archipelago is on a crossroad between two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian, and bridges two continents, Asia and Australia. This strategic position has always influenced the cultural, social, political and economic life of the country.
The territory of the Republic of Indonesia stretches  from 6o08' North latitude to 11o15' South latitude, and from 94o45' to 141o05' East longitude. The Indonesian sea area is four times greater than its land area which is about 1.9 million sq km. The sea area is about 7.9 million sq km (including an exclusive economic zone) and constitutes about 81% of the total area of the country. The five main islands are: Sumatera, which is about 473,606 sq. km in size; the most fertile and densely populated islands, Java/Madura, 132,107 sq. km; Kalimantan, which comprises two thirds of the islands of Borneo and measures 539,460 sq. km; Sulawesi, 189,216 sq. km; and Irian Jaya, 421,981 sq. km, which is part of the world’s second largest island, New Guinea. Indonesia’s other islands are smaller in size.
The archipelago is divided into three groups. The islands of Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan, and the small islands in between, lie on the Sunda Shelf which begin on the coasts of Malaysia and Indo China, where the sea depth does not exceed 700 feet. Irian Jaya which is part of the island of New Guinea, and the Aru Isles lie on the Sahul Shelf, which stretches northwards from the Australian coast. Here the sea depth is similar to that of the Sunda Shelf.
Located between these two shelves is the island group of Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and Sulawesi, where the sea depth reaches 15,000 feet. Coastal plains have been developed around the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Irian Jaya.
The land area is generally covered by thick tropical rain forest, where fertile soils are continuously replenished by volcanic eruptions like those on the island of Java.


The climate and weather of Indonesia is characterized by two tropical seasons which vary with the equatorial air circulation (The Walker Circulation) and the meridian air circulation (The Hardley Circulation). The displacement of the latter follows the north-south movement of the sun and its relative position  from the earth, in particular from the  continents of Asia and Australia, at certain periods of the year. These factors contribute to the displacement and intensity of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which is an equatorial through of low pressure that produces rain. Thus, the west and the east monsoons, or the rainy and dry seasons, are a prevalent feature of the tropical climate.
The climate changes every six months. The dry season (June to September) id influenced by the Australian continental air masses; while the rainy season (December to March) is the result of the Asian and Pacific Ocean air masses. The air contains vapor which precipitates and produces rain in the country. Tropical areas have rains almost the whole year through. However, the climate of Central Maluku is an exception. Due to large number of islands and mountains in the country, average temperature may be classified as follows: coastal plains (28oC); in land and mountain areas (26oC); higher mountain areas (23oC), varying with the altitude. Being in a tropical zone, Indonesia has an average relative humidity between 70% and 90% with a minimum of 73% and a maximum 87%.

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