Interesting Facts about Indonesia

45 Interesting Facts About Indonesia

 

  1. Indonesia has over 18.000 islands, making it the largest and most varied archipelago on earth. Approximately 6000 of the islands are inhabited and the majority of the islands are yet to be named. It spans nearly 2 million square kilometers between Asian and Australia, with land area 1.811.569 square kilometers and water area 93.000 square kilometers.1

 

  1. Indonesia is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active volcanic areas on the planet. Indonesia has 400 volcanoes mountain and 143 of them are still active.2

 

  1. The name “Indonesia” is derived from the Latin word Indus meaning “Indian” and the Greek word nesos meaning “island.” Indonesia was originally called Indian Archipelago or East Indies Islands.3

 

  1. Indonesia is the world’s fourth biggest population country. The number of Indonesian population in 2018 has reached to 265 million people.4

 

  1. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population where 87.2% of the country population identifies as Muslim.5

 

  1. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and has charted impressive economic growth since overcoming the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. The country’s GDP per capita has steadily risen, from $857 in the year 2000 to $3,847 in 2017. In second quarter of 2018, the real GDP grew 5.3 percent from 2017. Today, Indonesia is the world’s 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and a member of the G-20.6

 

  1. Java Island is the most populated island in the world. It has a population of over 140 million and it contains more than half of the country’s population.7

LonelyPlanet

 

  1. Indonesia is well known as the most diverse country since it has over 300 ethnic groups with over 700 languages differently while still uses Bahasa Indonesia as its formal and main language.8

 

  1. Over 40% of Indonesia’s population is comprised of the Javanese ethnic group, followed by Sundanese (15.5%), Malay (3.7%), Batak 3.6%, Madurese 3%, Betawi 2.9% and Minangkabau 2.7%.9

 

  1. The distance from the east to the west of Indonesia is about 5120 kilometers, it’s longer than the distance from London to Tehran (4.403 km).10

 

  1. Indonesia, followed by Madagascar and Papua New Guinea, is the biggest island nation (an independent state consisting of one or more islands) both by population and by the size of the land area.11

 

  1. Out of the 10 largest islands in the world, three are a part of Indonesia: Borneo, Papua/New Guinea, and Sumatra.12

 

  1. The Grasberg Mine, located at Tembagapura in Irian Jaya, the most easterly of Indonesia’s provinces, has the world’s single largest known gold reserve and the second largest copper reserves.13

Antara Foto. REUTERS/Muhammad Adimaja

 

  1. The capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta, is the most Instagrammed city on earth. In 2017, Instagram revealed that Jakarta is the city with most frequently geotagged in its Stories format.14

 

  1. Indonesia is one of the biggest online markets worldwide with over 104 million internet users. Popular online activities include mobile messaging and social media. The most popular social network in Indonesia is Facebook with 48 percent of the population using the platform. Indonesia is also one of the strongest markets for LINE's chat app.15

 

  1. The largest Buddhist temple in the world called Borobudur is located in Magelang, Central of Java in Indonesia. It took 75 years to complete with 504 Buddha statues and decorated with 2.672 relief panels.16

TripAdvisor

 

  1. Srivijaya Empire, a maritime and commercial kingdom that flourished between the 7th and the 13th centuries, is used to be what now referred to Indonesia. The kingdom originated in Palembang on the island of Sumatra and soon extended its influence and controlled the Strait of Malacca.17

 

  1. Java man, extinct hominin (member of the human lineage), inhabited the Indonesian archipelago between 1.5 million years and 35,000 years ago. A skullcap and femur (thighbone) discovered by the Dutch anatomist and geologist Eugène Dubois in the early 1890s on the Island of Java were the first known fossils of the species Homo erectus.18

Java Man, third from the left / Sydney Exponential

 

  1. Indonesia is the second richest of flora and fauna after Brazil, and the highest level of biodiversity in the world.19

 

  1. Indonesia is the home to the largest lizard in the world, called Komodo. The Komodo lives on the five islands in Indonesia. The biggest population is located in Komodo Island, then followed in Rinca, Flores, Padar and Gili Motang. The biggest Komodo can reach up to 3 meters and weigh up to 150 lbs.20

 

  1. Indonesia is the home to Orang Utan. Borneo and Sumatra Islands are the only places to see wild Orang Utans. The Sumatran Orang Utans live in the jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park near the village of Bukit Lawang.21

WildforLife

 

  1. Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species, with only 58-68 individuals that live only in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia.22

 

  1. The world’s largest flower, Raflesia Arnoldi, exists in the island of Sumatra. It weighs up to 7 kg (15 pounds) and grow to 0.5 meters long.23

Harvard Magazine

 

  1. One of the smelliest flowers on earth, Amorphophallus Titanium, can be found on Sumatra Island. The flower, also known as “the devil’s tongue” or "the corpse flower" can grow up to an average height of two meters.24

 

  1. Indonesia has the largest mangrove forest in the world. The total size of Indonesian mangrove forest is around 2.5-4.5 million hectare (occupies 25% of world’s mangrove forests), placing Indonesia as the first and followed by Brazil.25

Cool Green Science - The Nature Conservancy

 

  1. Kakaban Lake in East Kalimantan, Indonesia is the only place that you can swim with stingless jellyfish.26

ensiklopediaindonesia.com

 

  1. Raja Ampat in Papua, Indonesia lies in the heart of the Coral Triangle, one of the biggest marine biodiversity centers in the world. The vast area holds more than 75% of the world’s coral species and more than 2,000 species of fish. For ocean adventurers, this is an amazing spot in which to experience a varied marine ecosystem, and there are many ways to enjoy this vibrant marine life: diving, snorkeling, swimming, or chilling at beach resorts.27

javaindoecotourism.com

 

  1. Toba Lake in North Sumatera province is the largest volcanic lake in the world. The supervolcanic eruption happened 70.000 years ago which was known the largest eruption in the world in the last 25 million years.28

Wonderful Toba

 

  1. Puncak Jaya is one of the famous 'Seven Summits' situated on the Indonesian island of Papua New Guinea.Puncak Jaya is one of the famous world’s 'Seven Summits' situated on the Indonesian island of Papua New Guinea. At the highest peak Puncak Jaya is one of the famous 'Seven Summits' situated on the Indonesian island of Papua New Guinea. Puncak Jaya is one of the famous 'Seven Summits' situated on the Indonesian island of Papua New Guinea. of 4,884 meters, it is the highest mountain in Indonesia, Australia and Oceania regions.29

Adventure Alternative

 

  1. Lorentz National Park, one of Indonesia’s Unesco World Heritage sites, on the island of Papua, is vast – covering 9,674 square miles – and home to a huge array of ecosystems, including mangroves, rainforest, alpine tundra and equatorial glaciers.30

 

  1. Indonesia released the Palapa satellite in July 1976, made it the first developing country to operate its own domestic satellite system.31

msdailylife.wordpress.com

 

  1. The third former President of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie, is a holder 46 patents in the field of Aeronautics and has engineering formulas named after himself. He is well known as a genius scientist aircraft construction.32

 

  1. Zubir Said, the composer of the Singaporean anthem, is originally from West Sumatra, Indonesia.33

straitstimes.com

 

  1. Indonesia, under the name Dutch East Indies, was the first Asian team to participate in the FIFA World Cup. They qualified in 1938, but lost 6-0 against Hungary, in Reims, France.34

latitudes.nu

 

  1. Gamelan, a traditional Indonesian percussion originally from Java and Bali, has become popular in Singapore, America, Japan and New Zealand. Some schools in America have made Gamelan as a main curriculum for a music study.35

 

  1. Rendang and Nasi Goreng have been voted as the first and second “World’s Most Delicious Food” in 2017. Rendang is a beefy dish simmer with coconut oil and rich of spices which stew for few hours to get the tenderness. Rendang is an authentic of Padang food origin from West of Sumatra Indonesia.36

 

  1. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil and the industry has been the economy’s most valuable agricultural export sector after rice paddy for the past decade. With global demand for palm oil expected to grow further into the future, palm oil offers the most promising economic prospects for Indonesia. World production of palm oil is expected to increase by 32 percent to almost 60 million tonnes by 2020.37

 

  1. Indonesia is the world’s second-largest producer of instant noodles after China. The country is also home to the world’s largest instant noodle producer, Indofood.38

Jakarta Globe

 

  1. TransJakarta, operationalized in January 2004, is currently the world’s largest bus rapid transit (BRT) system, with a network spanning over 183.6 km, encompassing 11 corridors in Jakarta, the capital and largest city of Indonesia and serving more than 300,000 passengers daily. It was also the first BRT system in Southeast Asia.39

 

  1. The world’s second-largest earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in 2014. The result was a Tsunami that caused an estimated 300,000 deaths and displaced several millions more people. The force was so intense that surrounding land masses have shifted by up to 12 m.40

AFP/GettyImages/JoelSagget

 

  1. Indonesia is the world’s fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly due to the conversion of its forests and carbon-rich peatlands. These shifts in land use have ecological and social consequences, as Indonesia’s forests are home to thousands of plant and animal species, and 50-60 million Indonesians depend directly on the forests for their livelihoods.41

 

  1. No airline in the world is waiting on so many planes like Lion Air, a budget Indonesian operation that flies predominantly in and around South-East Asia. The airline is set to quintuple the size of its fleet and has 443 aircraft on order, to add to its current stock of 113.42

TheJakartaPost

 

  1. Indonesia and Monaco have flags that are almost identical—two horizontal stripes, red over white—but Indonesia’s is longer. Both flags date back hundreds of years. Monaco’s flag is based on the heraldic colors in the shield of the Monegasque princely arms, and the flag of Indonesia dates back to its association with the Majapahit Empire. Also similar to these two is the flag of Poland, although its stripes are reversed, white over red.43

  1. Batik is both an art and a craft originated from an ancient tradition in Java, Indonesia. Some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there. The word batik originates from the Javanese tik and means to dot. The art of decorating cloth using wax and dye has been practiced for centuries in Java.44

 

  1. One of Indonesia’s stranger exports is Kopi Luwak (Cat Poop Coffee), the world’s most expensive beverage, costing around US$1,000 per pound. Kopi Luwak is made by feeding small, catlike civets coffee berries. After they defecate, the berries are collected, washed, and ground into coffee, which supposedly has an unrivaled richness and little bitterness.45

Live Trading News

 

- Updated on January 2019 -

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