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Southeastern Asia, archipelago
between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Capital: Jakarta
Jakarta
Hotels, Motels, and Inns
Largest City: Jakarta
Jakarta
Hotels, Motels, and Inns
Lowest Point: Indian Ocean
0 m
Highest Point: Puncak Jaya
5,030 m
Religion: Muslim 88%, Protestant
5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1%
Languages Spoken: Bahasa Indonesia
(official, modified form of Malay), English,
Dutch,
local dialects, the most
widely spoken of which is Javanese
See also: Languages
spoken in Asia, Languages of the
world
Introduction - Brief History
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia
in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942
to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but
it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities,
and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony.
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. Current issues include:
alleviating widespread poverty, preventing terrorism, continuing the transition
to popularly-elected governments after four decades of authoritarianism,
implementing reforms of the banking sector, addressing charges of cronyism
and corruption, and holding the military and police accountable for human
rights violations. Indonesia has been dealing with armed separatist movements
in Aceh and in Papua. |
Indonesia
