Indonesia

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The Indonesian archipelago has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with early human presence evidenced by fossils of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, and megalithic sites. It became connected to regional and international maritime trade networks by the first millennium BCE. Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms developed by early centuries CE, followed by the spread of Islam and the growth of Islamic states from the late medieval period. European powers later competed to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery.

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Etymology

The name Indonesia is usually explained as a combination of India and the Greek word nesos, together meaning 'Indian islands'. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians and Malayunesians for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malay Archipelago", preferring the latter because he considered Indunesians too general. In the same journal, James Richardson Logan adopted Indonesia as a geographical term for the Indian Archipelago.

Usage remained limited for several decades.

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History

The island of Java has yielded numerous hominin fossils generally attributed to Homo erectus, including the type specimen discovered by Eugene Dubois at Trinil. Stone artefacts on Flores show that hominins had reached the island by at least 1.02 million years ago. Homo sapiens had dispersed into Southeast Asia by at least 50,000 years ago. In Sulawesi, narrative cave art has been dated to a minimum age of 51,200 years. Flores also yielded remains of the small-bodied hominin Homo floresiensis. Megalithic traditions later developed at different times across the archipelago, and stone monuments were used for burial and to honour or commemorate ancestors.

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Geography

Indonesia is an equatorial archipelago of coastal plains, mountains, and volcanic islands. It lies between latitudes 11°S and 6°N and longitudes 95°E and 141°E, and is the world's largest archipelagic state, extending 5,120 kilometres (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 kilometres (1,094 mi) from north to south. Several straits, including Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok, carry international traffic between the Indian and Pacific oceans, including ships transporting energy supplies and commercial cargo.

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Government and politics

Indonesia is a unitary republic with a presidential system under the 1945 Constitution. The Constitution's five principles of Pancasila are taught through civic education. After the fall of the New Order in 1998, four constitutional amendments between 1999 and 2002 altered the political system by introducing direct presidential elections, establishing new state institutions, reducing the MPR's role, and giving regional autonomy a constitutional basis. Indonesia remained a unitary state, while decentralisation transferred substantial powers to the provinces, districts, and cities.

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Economy

Indonesia has a mixed economy in which the private sector and the government both have large roles. It is the only G20 member state in Southeast Asia. In 2025, Indonesia's gross domestic product was Rp23.821 quadrillion (US$1.45 trillion) at current prices, making it Southeast Asia's largest economy and placing it among the world's top 20 by nominal GDP and top 10 by GDP at purchasing power parity. Services and industry account for the largest shares of gross domestic product, while agriculture remains a major source of employment.

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Infrastructure

Road transport is the predominant mode in Indonesia. Reliance on cars and motorcycles is high because public transport in many cities has not kept pace with urban growth. Rail transport is concentrated on Java, but new lines have recently begun operating in South Sulawesi. The Jakarta–Bandung high-speed railway, the first of its kind in the region, began commercial operations in 2023.

Maritime and air networks are important for linking population centres across the country. Connectivity is weaker in eastern Indonesia, where higher logistics costs contribute to regional price differences.

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Demographics

Indonesia's 2020 census recorded 270.2 million people, making it the world's fourth most populous country after India, China and the United States. The population is concentrated on Java and in urban centres, while many provinces outside Java and Bali are much less densely populated. Java is home to 56.1% of the population, and its population density is far above the national average, reaching 1,171 people per square kilometre (3,030 people/mi2).

Indonesia has a median age of 30.7 years as of 2026, while about 69% of the population was aged 15–64 in 2025.

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Culture

Indonesia's cultures differ across islands, languages, and communities. Older populations and later Austronesian migrations contributed to this diversity, with Papuan and Melanesian populations prominent in the east. Movement by sea placed the Indonesian archipelago within trading and migration networks involving Indian, Arab, Persian, Chinese, and mainland Southeast Asian peoples, followed later by Europeans. Religious and courtly influences entered through these routes, and European expansion ultimately brought colonial domination. Coastal commercial centres often encountered outside influences before they reached inland communities.

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