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🌍 Countries of the world 🏯 Asia

Indonesia

Indonesia

📖 In short

Indonesia is a Muslim country in Southeast Asia made up of thousands of islands spread along the equator between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It's the most populous Muslim country in the world. Its capital is Jakarta, and Indonesia is building a new capital called Nusantara.

🤩 Did you know?

  • Indonesia's islands stretch over more than 5000 kilometers.
  • The official language is Indonesian, and the currency is the rupiah.
  • The Japanese occupied Indonesia in 1942, and it became independent afterwards in 1945.
  • A large part of the island of Borneo belongs to Indonesia.

🗂️ Fact file

Indonesia's flag became official on Independence Day, 17 August 1945. Red stands for courage and white for purity.
Indonesia's flag became official on Independence Day, 17 August 1945. Red stands for courage and white for purity.
The coat of arms carries Indonesia's national motto, “Unity in Diversity”. The motto dates back to the thirteenth century.
The coat of arms carries Indonesia's national motto, “Unity in Diversity”. The motto dates back to the thirteenth century.
Capital
Jakarta
Official language
Bahasa Indonesia
Official name
Republic of Indonesia
Currency
Basic unit: the rupiah.
Area
1,904,569 km²
Population
According to the 1990 census Indonesia had 179,378,946 people, and in 2002 the estimate was 217,314,000.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Land of islands

Indonesia has more than 13 thousand islands, the best known being Java, Sumatra, Bali and Borneo. People live on only about six thousand of them.

🔍 Lots of volcanoes

Indonesia lies on the “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific, so it has a great many active volcanoes. Volcanic ash makes the soil fertile, so crops grow well.

💡 The Komodo dragon

The Komodo dragon, the biggest lizard in the world, lives on Komodo Island and nearby islands. And the orange orangutan lives in Sumatra's forests.

🎯 Land of spices

Indonesia's islands were called “the Spice Islands” because they produce cloves and nutmeg. Islam arrived long ago with Arab traders.

🧩 Test yourself

1 What is Indonesia made up of?

2 What is the biggest lizard in the world, which lives in Indonesia?

3 Indonesia's islands stretch over more than ?? kilometers.

4 Which picture shows “Indonesia”?

🌍 Discover more

📷 Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons