Indonesien
Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and
Oceania Indonesia is an
archipelago comprising approximately 17,508
island .
It has 33 provinces with over 238 million
people and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a
republic with an elected legislature and
president The nation's capital city is
Jakarta The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the
India territory of the Andaman and Nicobar
Island . Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian
economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and fifteenth largest by purchasing power parity.
The Indonesian
archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with
China and
India Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign
cultural religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources.
Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice
Island of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic
change
Across its many
island , Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct
native ethnic and
linguistic groups. The largest—and politically dominant—ethnic group are the
Javanese A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity,
religious pluralism within a majority
Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources, yet poverty remains widespread.