Interesting Facts About Indonesia

Scattered across the equatorial region, Indonesia is the Southeastern country of Asia. The island nation that lies along the ‘Ring of Fire’ is ranked as the fourth most populous country in the world. Interestingly, only two-third of the islands out of the 17,508, are inhabited, and therefore the island now encompasses one of the richest biodiversities in the world. Full of life and energy, each island has its own personality, thus making the voyage across this enormous archipelago nation an impressive one. Religion plays a vital role in the life of the common Indonesian. But faith and tradition now co-exist with the bull raging rise of modernization that the country is lately going through. Stunning landscape, beautiful beaches, and rich cultural heritage along with pleasant tropical climate has made the country one of the hot spots for tourists, Bali being one of the hot favorites. Owing to the reason that most of the archipelago remains unexplored, a treasure trove of unexplored landscape awaits a keen traveler. To know more fun and interesting facts about Indonesia, browse below.

Fast Facts

Capital: Jakarta
Largest City: Jakarta
Official Language: Indonesian
Demonym: Indonesian
Religion(s): Islam, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu
Independence: 17 August 1945
Area: 1,919,440 sq. km
Population: 237,424,363 (2011 estimate)
Currency: Rupiah (IDR)
National Animal: Komodo Dragon

Interesting And Fun Facts About Indonesia

• Indonesia was formerly known as Dutch East Indies.
• Evidences have revealed that around 45,000 years ago Indonesia was inhabited by Homo sapiens.
• During World War II, the Japanese invaded and occupied Indonesia.
• Indonesia comprises of 17,508 islands out of which 6,000 of these islands are inhabited.
• Being close to the equator, Indonesia experiences tropical climate year round and its average temperature does not fluctuate much throughout the year. Average range of the temperature remains between 26-30 degrees Celsius.
• A rich variety of flora and fauna inhabit Indonesia. The country is second after Brazil with the highest level of biodiversity in the world.
• There are about 300,000 soldiers in the Indonesian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• About half the population of Indonesia lives on less than US$2 per day and the unemployment rate here is almost 10%.
• Despite family planning programs, the population of Indonesia is increasing at faster pace and it is expected to rise to 315 million by 2035.
• Indonesia is the Muslim majority country with 87% of people following Islam while 9% follow Christianity.
• Indonesian cooking mostly uses ingredients like spices (especially chili), coconut milk, fish, and chicken.
• Two sports that are the most popular among Indonesians are badminton and soccer. Illegal gambling of sports is on the rise in the country.
• Out of the ten largest islands in the world, three are located in Indonesia.
• In terms of population, Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world.
• Indonesia is among the largest producers of nutmeg in the world. Nutmeg is native to Indonesia’s Banda islands.
• ‘Unity in Diversity’ is the national motto of Indonesia.
• The five major islands of Indonesia are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya.
• Indonesia is home to some of the rarest creatures in the world that include small deer, fish that climbs trees to catch insects and spiders that built giant webs to catch small birds as preys.
• The Indonesian archipelago is spread over the ‘Ring of Fire’ that is situated in the Western Pacific. The country has over 400 active volcanoes and records at least 3 earthquakes per day.
• The Java Island in Indonesia is one of the first places in the world where ape-man lived.
• Another early human being, Homo floresiensis (“Flores Man”, nicknamed “hobbit” and “Flo”) is the possible species, now extinct, in the genus Homo. The remains were discovered in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia.
• Puncak Jaya is the highest point in Indonesia, situated in the highlands of Papua.
• Borneo and New Guinea are among the largest islands in the world.
• ‘The Sangiran Early Man Site’ is a unique World Heritage Site of Indonesia. The place is home to half of the world’s hominid fossils found.
• One of the first Europeans to have set foot in Indonesia was Marco Polo.
• Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, is an endemic species of Indonesia; the creature is also the national animal of the country.
• In terms of endemic species Indonesia stands second after Australia with 36% of bird species and 39% of mammal species being endemic.
• The Indonesian archipelago is divided into Greater Sunda Islands, Smaller Sunda Islands, and East Indonesia.
• Indonesia is a republic, where the representatives of the parliament as well as the president are elected.
• Sumatra is the biggest island of Indonesia, which comes under the Greater Sunda Islands. It is also the sixth largest and the fifth highest island in the whole world.
• Indonesia is a very diverse country in terms of culture and around 580 languages and dialects are spoken in the country.
• The total land area of Indonesia places it at the 15th position in the world.
• Tourism is the main industry of Indonesia. The country attracts hordes of tourists and nature lovers from all across the globe for its pristine tropical forest and culture of the people.
• According to the 2009 estimates, Japan, Singapore, the United States, and China are the main export markets of Indonesia.
• The Indonesian industry mainly imports chemicals, fuels, food-stuffs, and machinery and equipments while electrical appliances, rubber, plywood, oil and gas, and textile are the main export products here.
• The Javan rhinoceros is another species that is unique to Indonesia.
• Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and it is the 13th largest city in the world.
• The flag of Indonesia is similar to the flag of Monaco. Like the Indonesian flag, the flag of Monaco also has two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white.
• As the founding member of ASEAN and East Asia Summit, Indonesia maintains friendly and close relationships with its neighboring countries.
• Indonesia became the member of the United Nations in the year 1950 and today it is the signatory to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, the Cairns group, and the WTO.
• The island country has also been a member of OPEC but it quit in 2008 as it no longer remained the exporter of oil.
• Almost 60% of the country is covered with forests.
• Indonesia has been ranked third in terms of the emitter of greenhouse gases.