It is the world’s largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres , the 14th largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area. is home to more than half of the country’s population.
Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support a high level of biodiversity.
It has been a valuable region for trade since at least the 7th century when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with entities from mainland China and the Indian subcontinent. In the early 20th century, the concept of “Indonesia” as a nation-state emerged, and independence movements began to take shape. During the decolonisation of Asia after World War II, Indonesia achieved independence in 1949 following an armed and diplomatic conflict with the Netherlands.
Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups, with the largestand politically dominantethnic group being the Javanese. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it.
The country is a member of several multilateral organisations, including the UN, WTO, IMF, G20, and a founding member of Non-Aligned Movement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
