Indonesia is a country of about 17,000 islands located in Southeast Asia with a total area of approximately 1,910,931 square kilometres. The main islands include Sumatera, Java, Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, Mollucas, Timor, and Papua. The archipelago spans over the equator and lies between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Malaysia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea are the countries that share land borders with Indonesia, while other closely located countries include Singapore, the Philippines, and Australia. The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta, located in the most populous island of Java.
Statistics show that as many as 237,641,326 people lived in Indonesia as of 2010, making the country the fourth largest country by population after China, India, and the U.S. (Statistics Indonesia, 2012, p.78; UNDESA, 2011). Indonesia has a heterogeneous and multicultural society that stems from numerous indigenous ethnicities with different customs and cultures. lthough there are countless of traditional languages spoken within particular ethnics, Bahasa Indonesia is the formal national language. Islam is the predominant religion in Indonesia and there are also followers of Catholics, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucianism. Although being a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia is not an Islamic state.Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, after being colonised by the Dutch for about 350 years and being occupied by Japan for three and a half years.
