Indonesia Tourist Guides — Introduction

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago state, consisting of about seventeen thousand islands stretching from mainland South-East Asia in an arc down to Papua New Guinea and the Australian continent. It has a coastline of about 80,000 kilometers. The islands range from small, uninhabited islands a few square kilometers in size to New Guinea and Borneo, which are one of the largest islands in the world. The main islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (on Borneo), Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Iran Jaya (on New Guinea).

Most of Indonesia consists of rain forest and swampy land, with very little land for agriculture. The distinctive feature of Indonesia's highlands is a string of volcanoes stretching in an arc throughout the islands, many of which are active.

Straddling the Equator, Indonesia's climate is uniformly hot and humid throughout the year, with temperatures ranging from 68 to 89 degrees. Humidity ranges from 60 to 90 percent. The wet season is from November to April.

Although the island of Bali is world-renowned as an idyllic tourist spot, there are a lot of areas in Indonesia that remain untouched by mass tourism. Unfortunately, the country has been troubled by internal strife, secessionist movements and more recently, devastating terrorist attacks, and some areas are not save to travel in.

Indonesia achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1949. Post independence, the country has seen decades of an authoritarian government, corruption and military excesses and gross violations of human rights. The economy still does not inspire investor confidence.

Country name: Republic of Indonesia
Capital City: Jakarta
Geographic Coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E
Area: 1,919,440 sq. km
Climate: tropical: hot, humid, more moderate in highlands
Terrain: coral and volcanic islands
People: 365 ethnic and tribal groups. The main ones are Acehnese, Bataks, Minangkabaus, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Sasaks and Dani
Language: Bahasa Indonesia, 583 local dialects, English
Industries: Petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism
Agricultural products: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, poultry, beef, pork, eggs.

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