Indonesia

Prehistory, early states, and Islamisation

The Indonesian archipelago has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Fossils of Homo erectus ("Java Man") date back between 2 million and 500,000 BCE,^{[17][18][19][20]} while Homo sapiens arrived around 50,000 BCE.^[21][22] Archaeological discoveries include cave paintings in Sulawesi, where narrative rock art has been dated to at least 51,200 years ago.^[23][24] Later megalithic traditions appeared in several regions, including Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Sumba, Flores, and Nias, where stone monuments were used for burial, ancestor veneration, commemoration, and ritual life.^[25]

Beginning several millennia BCE, peoples of the Austronesian language group migrated from Taiwan into island Southeast Asia,^[26][27] and related languages spread across much of the archipelago.^[28] Rice cultivation and village life developed unevenly across the islands, while early trade in the last centuries BCE and the early centuries CE connected parts of the archipelago with South and East Asia.^[29][30] Foreign merchants, goods, technologies, writing systems, and religious ideas entered local societies through these routes, helping some coastal settlements grow into ports and centres of local rule.^[31][32]

From the 7th century, maritime kingdoms such as the Sumatra-based Srivijaya grew through trade and Buddhist religious networks.^[33][34] Hindu and Buddhist influences also appeared in Javanese court culture, religious life, and temple architecture.^[34] Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the Sailendra and Mataram dynasties built major architectural works, including Borobudur and Prambanan.^[35] Following a failed Mongol invasion of Java,^[36] the Majapahit empire emerged in the late 13th century and came to dominate much of the archipelago's maritime commerce.^[31] These kingdoms and empires linked courts, ports, and religious communities across parts of the archipelago, although their authority varied by region and period.^[31][37]

Along the trade routes of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, Islam was established in northern Sumatra by the late 13th century,^[38] and spread further through Java and Sumatra over the following centuries. Historians have linked its expansion to maritime trade,^[39] the rise of coastal sultanates,^[40] and the work of Islamic teachers and missionaries, including the Wali Sanga.^[41] In Java, older Javanese cultural forms entered Islamic practice, giving Javanese Islam a style unlike those found in Malaya and Sumatra.^[42]

European contact, colonial rule, and independence

European entry into the archipelago began in the early 16th century, when Portuguese expeditions sought the eastern sources of the Asian spice trade.^[43] Dutch voyages followed later in the century, and in 1602 competing Dutch trading companies were merged into the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC).^[44] The VOC began as a commercial company but acquired military, diplomatic, and territorial functions before it was dissolved in 1800, after which its possessions passed to the Dutch state as the Dutch East Indies.^[45]

Dutch rule expanded in stages and met repeated resistance, including in Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Aceh.^[46][47] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Dutch authority spread across several outer-island regions, bringing most of present-day Indonesia under colonial rule.^[46][48] In western New Guinea, an early Dutch outpost was abandoned in the 1830s, and permanent occupation came only after 1898.^[49] The resulting colony was governed from Batavia through centralised authority, with both direct rule and indirect arrangements across many local societies.^[50]

The Japanese invasion and occupation during World War II ended Dutch colonial rule; by 1945, Japan's impending defeat and surrender left nationalist leaders room to act.^[51][52] On 17 August 1945, shortly after Japan's surrender, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta issued the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence; Sukarno later became the country's first president and Hatta its first vice-president.^[53][52] The Netherlands then attempted to restore colonial rule, prompting the Indonesian National Revolution.^[54][55] The conflict ended in 1949, when Indonesian resistance and pressure from the United Nations and the United States led the Netherlands to agree to a transfer of sovereignty.^[56][57]

Independent Indonesia

Sukarno (left) and Mohammad Hatta (right), Indonesia's founding fathers and the first president and vice president respectively

Sukarno replaced parliamentary democracy with "Guided Democracy", concentrating authority around the presidency while balancing political Islam, the military, and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).^[58] After the attempted coup in 1965, the military blamed the PKI and, with allied civilian groups, carried out a widespread and violent anti-communist campaign.^[d] The PKI was destroyed, Sukarno lost effective power, and Major General Suharto assumed the presidency in 1968, establishing the authoritarian New Order regime.^[63][64] The new administration was supported by Western governments during the Cold War,^[65] reopened Indonesia to foreign investment,^[66][67] and governed during three decades of rapid economic growth and industrialisation.^[68]

Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975 and the occupation that followed prompted international criticism,^[69][70] and the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991 put Indonesia's human-rights record under greater international scrutiny.^[71][72] The Asian financial crisis in 1997–98 turned into a political crisis, causing unrest and Suharto's resignation in May 1998.^[73][74] In 1999, East Timor voted to secede after nearly a quarter-century under Indonesian rule,^[75] a period discussed in scholarship in relation to genocide and occupation.^[76]

In the post-Suharto era, Indonesia introduced democratic reforms, including regional autonomy and the first direct presidential election.^[77][78] The early years of reform also saw political instability,^[79] terrorism,^[80] and ethnic and religious conflict in several regions.^[81][82] A 2005 peace agreement ended large-scale fighting in Aceh after the previous year's Indian Ocean tsunami brought more international attention to the province.^[83] Since the mid-2000s, Indonesia's economy has generally grown steadily,^[84] while its electoral democracy has endured,^[85] although corruption and criticism of authoritarian practices have persisted.^[86][87]

Climate

Indonesia's equatorial position and monsoon winds give it a tropical climate. Most lowland areas are warm and humid throughout the year, while higher terrain is cooler; seasonal temperature differences are small.^[103] Much of the country has a tropical rainforest climate, with tropical monsoon and savanna climates across parts of the islands.^[89] The wet season usually runs from November to April and the dry season from May to October, although the timing differs by region.^[103] Seasonal rainfall helps set rice-planting calendars and influences droughts, floods, and fires.^{[104][105][106]}

Rainfall varies across the archipelago. Western Sumatra, Java, and the interiors of Kalimantan and Papua are among the wetter areas, while regions nearer Australia, including Nusa Tenggara, are generally drier.^[107] The surrounding oceans, island geography, monsoon winds, and topography all affect where and when rain falls.^[108] In drier parts of the country, El Niño events can reduce rainfall and lengthen dry periods, causing water shortages and crop losses.^[105][104]

Indonesia is expected to face rising temperatures, changes in rainfall, higher sea levels, and greater exposure to heat and flooding.^[103][109] These changes affect agriculture, water supply, public health, coastal settlements, and wildfire management.^[103][110] Sea-level rise is especially relevant to coastal areas, where much of Indonesia's population and infrastructure is located.^[111][103] Poorer households and communities with weaker infrastructure are likely to have less capacity to adapt.^[112]

Geology

Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several major tectonic plates meet along subduction zones and active faults.^[e][88] It is one of the world's most active tectonic regions, with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.^[114][88] Nearby communities face hazards from eruptions, lahars, ash fall, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geological events.^[115][88]

About 130 volcanoes are classified as active,^[114] with volcanism concentrated along the Sunda, Banda, and Halmahera arcs.^[116][117] Fresh volcanic ash can damage crops, settlements, transport, and health, while weathered ash helps form fertile soils in volcanic regions, including parts of Java and Bali.^[115] Large eruptions can also produce pyroclastic flows, lahars, volcanic tsunamis, and, in rare cases, affect climate and air travel beyond Indonesia.^[114][118]

Several eruptions in the archipelago have had effects far from their source. A super-eruption at present-day Lake Toba occurred around 74,000 years ago and has been examined for possible effects on climate and ancient human populations.^[119] The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 had global climatic effects and contributed to the Year Without a Summer in 1816 across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.^[120] The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 caused severe regional destruction and drew worldwide scientific attention.^[121]

Earthquakes are frequent, especially along offshore subduction zones and active faults that cross the archipelago.^[122][123] Offshore earthquakes can generate destructive tsunamis, while shallow inland and near-coastal earthquakes can heavily damage populated areas.^[123][124] Major recent events include the 2004 earthquake and tsunami near northern Sumatra, the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami.^{[123][124][125]}

Biodiversity

Indonesia is one of 17 megadiverse countries recognised by Conservation International.^[127] Its many islands, habitats, and geological history have produced a large number of plant and animal species, many found nowhere else.^[128] Deep-water channels between islands have limited the movement of many species, leaving separate island lineages and high levels of endemism.^[129][130]

Indonesia's flora and fauna include Asian and Australasian species.^[131] The Sunda Shelf islands have closer links to Asian fauna because lower sea levels once connected parts of western Indonesia with mainland Southeast Asia.^[132][133] Farther east, Wallacea—including Sulawesi, Maluku, and the Lesser Sunda Islands—lies between the Sunda and Sahul shelves and has high endemism.^[134][135] In western New Guinea, plate movement, changing island distances, and former land connections helped isolate microhylid frog lineages and diversify them.^[136]

Indonesia has 54,716 kilometres (33,999 miles) of coastline,^[3] with coastal and marine ecosystems that include coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds.^[137] Its reefs form part of the Coral Triangle and contain many coral and reef fish species.^[138] Indonesia also contains most of Southeast Asia's old-growth forest.^[139] Forest clearing and fragmentation continue to affect terrestrial habitats, while land-based pollution and destructive fishing have reduced coral diversity on some reefs.^[140][141]

Environment and conservation

Indonesia's major environmental pressures include peatland degradation, deforestation,^[140][96][f] logging, plantation expansion, and mining.^[143][140] Peat swamp forests store large amounts of carbon and support distinct plant communities and threatened fauna, but logging, fire, drainage, and land conversion have reduced them.^[145]

For many threatened species, including the critically endangered Bali myna,^[146] Sumatran orangutan,^[147] and Javan rhinoceros,^[148] the main pressures include habitat loss, habitat degradation, and illegal exploitation. Forest fragmentation and land-use change break habitats into smaller blocks, isolate wildlife populations, and reduce biodiversity.^[149] Conservation work includes protected areas, species and genetic conservation, forest and land rehabilitation, and community-based biodiversity management.^[150][151]

As of 2024, Indonesia has designated 554 protected areas covering 27 million hectares, or 14% of its land area,^[150] along with marine reserves^[152] and 54 national parks.^[153] Poaching, illegal logging, settlement expansion, tourism pressure, and non-timber cultivation still affect protected areas;^[150] implementation is also limited by weak local capacity, coordination, monitoring, and stakeholder participation.^[151] Conservation measures can affect local rights and livelihoods,^{[128][154][155]} especially where stricter rules limit access to natural resources used for income.^[156]

Parties and elections

Prabowo Subianto
President

Gibran Rakabuming Raka
Vice President

Since the 1999 election, Indonesia has had a fragmented multi-party system. No party has won an outright majority in legislative elections, and presidents have usually governed through broad coalitions that include many parties in the legislature and cabinet.^[165][166]

Political parties are often grouped into secular-nationalist and Islamic-oriented parties,^[g][167] but governing coalitions commonly include both.^[166] Party competition often relies more on patronage and elite bargaining than detailed policy programmes, although religious issues remain a source of ideological difference.^[168][169] Opposition parties have at times joined presidential power-sharing arrangements after elections.^[165][166]

Indonesia held its first general election in 1955. Since 2004, voters have directly elected the president, the DPR, and the DPD every five years. Members of the DPR are elected through party-based contests, while DPD candidates run as individuals to represent provincial constituencies.^[162][160] National elections require large-scale logistics, as ballots and other materials must reach remote islands, mountain areas, and places with limited infrastructure.^[170]

Administrative divisions

Indonesia is a unitary state divided into provinces, regencies, and cities, each with elected regional authorities regulated by law.^[11] Provinces are headed by governors and have provincial legislatures (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah, DPRD). Regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota) are headed by regents (bupati) and mayors (wali kota) and have local legislatures (DPRD Kabupaten/Kota). Governors, regents, mayors, and DPRD members are elected.^[11]

Regional autonomy after 1998 transferred substantial powers to subnational governments, especially regencies and cities.^[77] Below regencies and cities are districts (kecamatan), which are divided into villages. Rural villages (desa) have self-governing status, while urban villages (kelurahan) form part of district administration.^[171]

Special arrangements apply to nine provinces. Aceh may implement aspects of Islamic law;^[172] Jakarta has autonomy at the provincial level because of its role as the national capital;^[173] and Yogyakarta retains a hereditary sultanate within the republican system.^[174] In Papua, special autonomy includes the Papuan People's Assembly, which represents indigenous Papuans in cultural and rights-related matters.^[175]

Aceh

North
Sumatra

West
Sumatra

Riau

Riau
Islands

Bangka
Belitung

Jambi

South
Sumatra

Bengkulu

Lampung

Banten

Jakarta
↓

West
Java

Central
Java

↑
Yogyakarta

East
Java

Bali

West
Nusa
Tenggara

East Nusa
Tenggara

West
Kalimantan

Central
Kalimantan

North
Kalimantan

East
Kalimantan

South
Kalimantan

North
Sulawesi

North
Maluku

Central
Sulawesi

Gorontalo
↓

West
Sulawesi

South
Sulawesi

Southeast
Sulawesi

Maluku

Southwest
Papua

West
Papua

Central
Papua

Papua

Highland
Papua

South
Papua

Foreign relations

Indonesia follows an "independent and active" (bebas aktif) foreign policy, a doctrine formulated by Mohammad Hatta in 1948.^[177] In practice, the doctrine has meant avoiding military alliances and rival power blocs while using diplomacy to pursue national interests.^[178][179] As a middle power, Indonesia relies on regional diplomacy, multilateral forums, and flexibility in dealing with larger powers.^[180]

As a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia has made the organisation a main arena of its regional diplomacy.^[181] It has long supported Palestinian statehood and has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel, although informal contacts, visits, and trade links have existed.^[182][183] In China–United States competition, Indonesia has avoided formal alignment with either power, supported ASEAN-led forums, and sought cooperation that does not heighten regional conflict.^{[178][184][179]}

Indonesia been a member of the United Nations since 1950,^[185] apart from a brief absence from the organisation in 1965–66.^{[186][187][188]} It participates in multilateral forums including the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the East Asia Summit.^[189] After decades as a major recipient of foreign aid,^[190] Indonesia now also provides development assistance and established a foreign aid agency in 2019.^[191] Since 1957, it has sent military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, including Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali.^[192]

Military

The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) comprises the Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL), including the Marine Corps, and Air Force (TNI-AU). Active personnel number about 300,400 in the Army, 65,000 in the Navy, and 30,100 in the Air Force.^[193] The army developed out of the Indonesian National Revolution, and its leaders later claimed a political role because of their part in the struggle against Dutch rule.^[194] The TNI also built a territorial command structure that runs from regional commands to local posts, linking it to internal security and local administration.^[195][196]

During the New Order, the military held a formal political role under the doctrine of "dual function" (dwifungsi).^[197] Reforms after 1998 ended its formal parliamentary representation and removed it from day-to-day politics, but the territorial command system and off-budget military financing remained difficult to reform.^[198][196] Military businesses, foundations, and other funding sources have long raised concerns about transparency and civilian oversight.^[199] Defence spending has remained below 1% of GDP since 2007, and limited funding has pushed procurement toward foreign loans, second-hand equipment, and other lower-cost options.^[200][201]

Since independence, Indonesia has faced separatist movements and insurgencies, notably in Aceh and Papua.^[202][203] The insurgency in Aceh ended after a 2005 peace agreement,^[83] while conflict has continued in Papua alongside special autonomy and security measures.^[204] Reported abuses in Papua include torture, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention, and limits on assembly, expression, and the press.^[205]

Law enforcement and human rights

Law enforcement in Indonesia is primarily carried out by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI). The Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri), is under and responsible to the President,^[207] and post-1998 reforms separated the police from the military and made it responsible for internal security and public order.^[208] POLRI's duties include maintaining public order and security, protecting and serving the public, and enforcing the law.^[209]

Human-rights concerns include anti-Chinese racism,^[210] Papuan protests against racist treatment,^[211] and communal violence after 1998, including conflicts in Kalimantan and Maluku.^[81][h] Religious and gender minorities have faced discriminatory regulations, while anti-LGBT campaigns since 2016 have involved official statements, raids, and proposed legal restrictions.^[81][213]

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), established in 1993, is Indonesia's main state human-rights body and is authorised to promote, study, and investigate human-rights issues.^[214] Its work has faced limits from internal disputes, politicisation, and non-cooperation from some state bodies, including the Attorney General's Office and the armed forces.^[215]

Tourism

Tourism is part of Indonesia's service economy, generating about US$14 billion in foreign-exchange earnings and recording 11.6 million international visitor arrivals in 2023.^[240] It supports jobs and businesses in accommodation, food services, transport, and related activities.^[241] International tourism is concentrated in Bali and other major gateways, while domestic travellers account for most tourism spending.^[241][256] Expanding tourism beyond established destinations depends on better infrastructure, workforce skills, investment conditions, and environmental planning.^[241]

Indonesia has natural, cultural, and historical tourism sites across the archipelago. Its UNESCO World Heritage Sites include Komodo National Park and the Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta, while sites on the tentative list include Bunaken National Park and the Raja Ampat Islands.^[257] Bali is the country's main destination for foreign tourists.^[241] Historical and urban heritage tourism includes Dutch colonial sites in Jakarta and Semarang.^[258][259]

Science and technology

Research and development expenditure in Indonesia has historically remained a small share of GDP.^[261] Its research and innovation system has low R&D spending, limited private-sector research, weak coordination among agencies, and uneven technology adoption.^{[262][263][264]}

Since the 1970s, Indonesia has used state-backed strategic industries to build domestic technological capacity.^[265] Indonesian Aerospace and PAL Indonesia have used technology transfer, licensed production, and foreign partnerships in aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding.^[242][243] High costs, limited design capability, dependence on imported components, financing constraints, and small production scale continue to limit their competitiveness.^[242][243]

Indonesia established the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) in 1963.^[266] Satellite programmes have supported domestic communications,^[267] remote sensing,^[268] and maritime monitoring, including the use of Automatic Identification System data from LAPAN-A2 and LAPAN-A3 satellites.^[269] LAPAN also conducted suborbital rocket and propellant research in support of longer-term launcher development.^[270]

Transport

Transport in Indonesia serves a vast archipelago, while population and economic activity remain concentrated mainly on Java.^[233][245] Roads carry most passenger and freight traffic; on many smaller and less developed islands, inter-island shipping and air transport provide access to major markets.^[245][244] High logistics costs, port bottlenecks, and uneven infrastructure make goods movement expensive, especially outside the main western islands.^[272][273] Port availability and operations also affect internal trade and food-price gaps between provinces.^[274]

Land transport is most developed along the main population and economic corridors, especially on Java.^[244] In cities, formal public transport often operates alongside smaller public and paratransit modes, including bajaj, becak, angkot, minibuses, and motorcycle taxis.^[275][276] Public transport in many cities has not kept pace with urban growth, leading to heavy reliance on motorcycles and cars, while app-based ride-hailing has become part of daily travel.^{[275][244][277]}

Rail transport is concentrated on Java and Sumatra,^[278] with recent expansion into South Sulawesi.^[279][244] In dense urban regions, commuter and rapid-transit systems include the Greater Jakarta commuter network, Jakarta MRT, and Palembang LRT.^[244] In 2023, Indonesia opened its first high-speed rail line, Whoosh, linking Jakarta and Bandung through a project developed with China.^[271]

Maritime and air transport connect islands and long-distance routes beyond the main land corridors. Air transport serves domestic and international travel, with Soekarno–Hatta International Airport as the country's main international gateway and Ngurah Rai and Juanda International Airport among other major airports.^[244] Maritime transport is important to inter-island trade and logistics, with the Port of Tanjung Priok serving as the country's principal port and handling more than half of Indonesia's container traffic.^[280]

Energy

Indonesia produces more primary energy than it consumes.^[i] In 2023, industry and transport accounted for 40% and 36% of final energy consumption, respectively.^[282] Electricity supply is dominated by the state-owned State Electricity Company (Perusahaan Listrik Negara, PLN), which distributes power to most households and relies heavily on coal-fired generation.^[247] Extending the grid is difficult in sparsely populated and island areas, while reliability problems are reported even in places connected to the grid.^{[283][284][285]}

Indonesia had 70.8 gigawatts (GW) of installed power generation capacity in 2023.^[246] Coal is the largest source of primary energy consumption and electricity generation, with natural gas and petroleum also making large contributions.^[246][248] Renewables account for a smaller share of supply,^[286] although Indonesia has large hydropower, solar, geothermal, wind, ocean, and bioenergy resources.^[287][288] It is also among the world's leading geothermal producers.^[287]

Indonesia exports energy commodities, including coal and liquefied natural gas,^[251][246] while importing refined petroleum products.^[246] Although historically a leading LNG supplier, Indonesia has shifted more natural gas toward domestic use and gas-infrastructure expansion.^[289] Energy policy therefore has to manage both commodity production and reliable power supply across the archipelago.^{[247][283][285]}

Indonesia has set targets to increase renewable energy use and reduce emissions, including a net-zero emissions goal by 2060 or sooner.^[288][248] The transition is slowed by coal dependence, uncertain regulations, PLN's financial position, grid limits, and the cost of electrifying remote areas.^{[290][291][292]}

Ethnic groups and languages

The 2010 census listed over 1,300 suku bangsa, or ethnic groups;^[306] a later study reclassified them into about 600 groups after noting classification difficulties.^[307] Austronesian-speaking populations predominate in much of western and central Indonesia; their spread across the islands involved migration, settlement, and mixing with older communities.^[27][308] Melanesian populations live mainly in the eastern islands, including parts of Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and western New Guinea.^[27][26]

The Javanese are the largest ethnic group, making up about 40% of the population.^[307] They have filled many senior roles in government and the military, in proportions somewhat above their share of the population,^[309] although their population share has declined.^[310] Early Indonesian nationalists did not define the nation through a single ethnic tradition; they sought to accommodate ethnic difference within a united state.^[311] Other major groups include the Sundanese, Malay, Batak, Madurese, Betawi, Minangkabau, and Bugis.^[307][l]

The official language, Indonesian, is a standardized variety of Malay based on the Riau-Johor literary tradition. Malay had long served as a lingua franca in the archipelago before Indonesian nationalists adopted it as a language of unity through the 1928 Youth Pledge; it gained official status in 1945 under the name Bahasa Indonesia.^[315][316] Written in the Latin script, Indonesian has spread through education, government, and mass media, and serves as a common language across ethnic and regional boundaries.^[316]

Indonesia is also one of the world's most linguistically diverse countries, with more than 700 languages spoken across the archipelago.^[317] Most local languages belong to the Austronesian family, while eastern Indonesia includes more than 150 Papuan languages.^[318] Javanese is the most widely spoken local language^[317] and has official regional status in Yogyakarta.^[319] Several local languages also retain, or have historically used, distinct writing traditions.^[320] Local languages remain part of regional identity and cultural heritage, even as Indonesian dominates national public life.^[315][316]

Colonial-era European-descended communities were small. The 1930 census counted 246,000 Europeans in the Dutch East Indies, or 0.4% of the population, most of them Dutch nationals.^[321] Dutch did not become widely spoken: Malay was already the main lingua franca, and colonial policy promoted Malay while Dutch-language education remained largely limited to Europeans and a small indigenous elite.^[322] Dutch fluency today is limited, although the language is relevant to some civil and commercial codes whose official versions are still in Dutch.^[323]

Religion

Indonesia recognises six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism,^[326] while the constitution guarantees freedom to choose and practise religion and belief.^[11] The state regulates religious affiliation and public worship.^[326] Recognised religions receive administrative recognition for religious affiliation, marriages, and houses of worship, while followers of indigenous religions have often received weaker recognition or faced discrimination.^[326] Pancasila makes belief in one God one of the state ideology's five principles and is used to support national unity and religious harmony.^[327] Religious minorities still face discrimination, including local religious bylaws, social pressure, and restrictions on worship.^[326][328]

Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country,^[329] with 251 million Muslims in 2025, or 87.15% of the population.^[2][m] Protestants and Catholics together made up 10.44% of the population,^[2] and Christians form majorities in several eastern provinces.^[332][333] Hindus accounted for 1.66% and are concentrated in Bali,^[325] while Buddhists accounted for 0.69% and are found mainly among Chinese Indonesians, though not exclusively.^[334]

Many local belief systems predate the recognised religions and continue alongside them. They include beliefs in ancestors, spirits, and powers tied to places such as fields, forests, rivers, and mountains.^[335][336] Traditions such as Sunda Wiwitan,^[337] Kejawèn,^[338] and Kaharingan^[339] continue in different forms within or alongside the recognised religions. In Java and Bali, Islam and Hinduism also absorbed older customs and ritual practices.^[340][341]

Hinduism and Buddhism were the earliest major religions from outside the archipelago to become established there.^[325][342] Indian religious and cultural influence entered through trade, intermarriage, and religious activity, and became part of palace culture and local practice.^[343] Arabic geographers wrote about Southeast Asia by the 9th century, and Chinese records mention Muslim merchants and envoys by the 10th, while larger Muslim communities and polities developed from the late 13th century onward.^[324] Islamisation unfolded through commerce, religious teachers, and the rise of Muslim port polities and sultanates.^[39][40] Javanese traditions often present the Wali Sanga as the leading figures in the Islamisation of Java.^[41]

Christianity grew through Catholic and Protestant missions during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial periods,^[344][333] with different histories across regions and denominations.^[333] It became most established in parts of eastern Indonesia while remaining a national minority.^[333] Small Jewish communities also existed in the archipelago, but their numbers have been negligible since Indonesian independence.^[345]

Education

Indonesia's education system includes more than 50 million students and over 250,000 schools.^[346] It is managed across ministries responsible for school education, higher education, and religious education,^[n] and follows a 6-3-3-4 structure: six years of elementary school, three years each of junior and senior secondary school, and four years of tertiary education.^[347]

Since independence, schools have supported national integration through Indonesian-language instruction, national curricula, and civic education.^[348] Access and school quality differ across regions, especially between urban and rural areas and between western and eastern provinces.^[349][350] Net enrolment is highest at the primary level and lower at the secondary and tertiary levels.^[351][352]

Government spending on education accounted for approximately 1.3% of GDP in 2023.^[353] In 2022, Indonesia had 4,481 higher education institutions, including universities, Islamic institutions, service colleges, and open universities.^[354] The University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, and the Bandung Institute of Technology are among the country's highest-ranked public universities in international rankings.^[355] Higher education supplies skilled workers and supports research, but tertiary attainment, access, and institutional quality are uneven.^{[356][357][358]}

Remaining problems include unequal access,^[349] uneven infrastructure,^[359] teacher quality and distribution,^[360] and low learning outcomes for many students.^[361] Student outcomes are generally stronger in urban and more developed areas than in many rural and disadvantaged areas.^[362] International assessments have also placed Indonesian students near the bottom in reading, mathematics, and science among participating economies.^[363]

Healthcare

After independence, Indonesia began building a public health sector, but hospitals and other services faced severe resource shortages.^[364] The number of health facilities and workers later increased, although long travel times, uneven hospital access, and workforce gaps remain in several provinces.^[365]

From the late 1960s, the government expanded basic healthcare through community health centres (puskesmas) in rural areas.^[366] Routine immunisation began in the 1970s, and oral polio vaccine was added in 1981 under the expanded immunisation programme.^[367] In 2014, Indonesia launched Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), a national health-insurance programme managed by the Social Security Agency on Health (BPJS Kesehatan).^[368] JKN is one of the world's largest single-payer health-insurance systems and covered 98% of the population in 2024,^[369] but differences remain in service access, health-worker distribution, referrals, and specialist care.^[370][371]

Health expenditure was 2.69% of GDP in 2022.^[372] Services are delivered through puskesmas, hospitals, and private providers.^[373] Life expectancy rose from 54.9 years in 1973 to 71.1 years in 2023,^[374] while child mortality declined from 15.5 deaths per 100 live births in 1972 to 2.1 deaths in 2022.^[375] Indonesia has also maintained polio-free status, although polio immunisation still requires sustained national and local support.^[367]

Indonesia faces a double burden of disease: non-communicable diseases account for a growing share of health loss, while communicable diseases remain a source of disability-adjusted life years.^[376] Air pollution contributes to illness and health costs in Jakarta,^[377] and malaria elimination remains difficult in parts of eastern Indonesia.^[378] Other continuing problems include child stunting, which affected 21.6% of children under five according to 2022 data,^[379] and maternal mortality, which remains high compared with many neighbouring countries.^[380]

Art and architecture

Indonesian visual arts include textiles, puppetry, masks, carving, temple painting, and modern painting.^[387] Many are part of ritual and court life, mark status or regional identity, and have changed with trade, colonial rule, nationalism, tourism, and urban art communities.^[388]

Among regional traditions, Balinese painting includes classical Kamasan and Wayang-style narrative forms.^[389] Indonesian architecture ranges from everyday houses to ritual houses (rumah adat), whose layout, posts, roofs, heirlooms, and construction rites can mark ancestry, status, and local belief.^[390] Regional forms include the Javanese pendapa, Dayak longhouses, Minangkabau Rumah Gadang, and Toraja Tongkonan.^[391]

Sculptural traditions include megalithic monuments in parts of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Nias, Sumba, Flores, and other regions.^[25] Ngaju Dayak hampatong figures have commemorative and protective functions, while Asmat artefacts are made for aesthetic and spiritual purposes.^[392][393] Ancient Indonesian sculpture from the 8th to 15th centuries includes Hindu and Buddhist stone, bronze, and gold works.^[394] Surviving temple architecture from the same period includes Borobudur and Prambanan.^[395][396]

Music, dance and clothing

Indonesian music and dance include court, village, ritual, and popular forms. Gamelan traditions are centred especially in Java and Bali, while angklung and other bamboo ensembles are used in western Java, Banyumas, and other regions. Drums, gongs, lutes, singing, and dance music also appear across the archipelago.^[397] Islamic musical forms include gambus and qasida,^[398] while popular genres include keroncong^[399] and dangdut, which grew from Melayu music and draws on Indian, Arabic, and Western pop and rock elements.^[400]

Dance traditions serve different uses across regions. Mask dances appear in Javanese court drama and Balinese ritual performance, while Dayak mask dances are performed in agricultural rituals and community ceremonies.^[401] Javanese court dance includes forms such as bedhaya and serimpi, while other local dances accompany theatre, music, trance, healing, harvest, and rites of passage.^[402] Younger performers also adapt global forms, including K-pop cover dance in Bali and hip-hop communities in Yogyakarta.^[403][404]

Clothing traditions differ by region and are used in ceremonies, weddings, formal occasions, and markers of local identity.^[405] Batik and kebaya are widely used in national and formal dress and are especially prominent in Javanese culture.^[406] Other regional textiles and clothing traditions include the Batak ulos, Malay and Minangkabau songket, and Sasak ikat, which are used in ceremonies, weddings, exchange, and formal events.^[407]

Theatre and cinema

Traditional Indonesian theatre uses storytelling, music, movement, puppetry, masks, and actor-dance.^[408] Wayang is a major puppet-theatre tradition in Java and Bali; many performances draw on the Ramayana and Mahabharata, are led by a dalang, and are accompanied by music.^[409][410] Wayang has been used for ritual, moral instruction, comedy, political comment, and public messaging.^[411][412]

Other theatrical traditions include Ludruk, Ketoprak, Sandiwara, and Lenong.^[413] The Minangkabau Randai uses music, dance, drama, and martial arts (silat) to perform legends and historical narratives.^[414] Balinese masked dance theatre, including topeng, has also been staged with modern stories and contemporary performance.^[415] In the modern period, theatre groups and networks, including Teater Koma, staged social criticism and political opposition during the late New Order period.^[416]

Indonesian cinema began during the Dutch colonial period with Loetoeng Kasaroeng (1926),^[417] and post-independence filmmaking developed through figures such as Usmar Ismail and Djamaluddin Malik.^[417] During the Sukarno era, film became part of nationalist and anti-colonial politics,^[417] while New Order cinema was subject to censorship, state regulation, and official histories.^[418] The large film industry of the 1970s and 1980s declined in the early 1990s.^[419]

After 1998, low-budget independent films, film communities, festivals, and returning commercial producers revived the industry.^[419] Kuldesak (1999) helped launch this independent film movement, while Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (2002) showed the commercial reach of post-Suharto cinema.^[420][419] Filmmakers addressed sexuality, city life, corruption, religion, and political memory, but state censorship, self-censorship, and pressure from non-state groups still limited expression.^{[418][421][422][423]} The Indonesian Film Festival (Festival Film Indonesia), first held in 1955, is the country's main national film-awards event.^[424]

Literature and mass media

Indonesian literature includes oral storytelling, inscriptions, court chronicles, religious texts, poetry, prose, and modern writing in Indonesian and regional languages.^[425] Early writing used Indian-derived scripts and later Malay and Islamic literary forms, including Kawi, Jawi, syair, pantun, hikayat, and babad.^[426] Well-known examples include Hikayat Hang Tuah in the Malay tradition and Babad Tanah Jawi in the Javanese tradition.^[427][428]

Modern Indonesian writing grew in the early 20th century through newspapers, Malay/Indonesian-language publishing, and the colonial publishing house Balai Pustaka.^[429][430] Sumatran, especially Minangkabau, writers were prominent in early modern literature,^[431] while later figures such as Chairil Anwar, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and Ayu Utami became prominent at different points in modern Indonesian literature.^[432][433]

Indonesian mass media has operated under state rules, commercial ownership, and changing communications technology.^[434] During the New Order, newspapers and broadcasters worked under licensing, censorship, and television policies that promoted development and official ideas of national culture.^[435] In the Reformasi era, the 1999 Press Law forbade censorship, press bans, and publication permits, but criminal and civil cases, political pressure, and attacks by private groups continued.^[436]

Internet use began in the early 1990s and grew quickly after 2000;^[437][438] by 2023, Indonesia had over 210 million internet users, helped by affordable smartphones and wider mobile-broadband coverage.^[439] Mainstream outlets now use social-media distribution, shared newsrooms, shorter online formats, and cost-cutting.^[440]

Cuisine

Indonesian cuisine differs by island and region. Local crops, fish, spices, religion, trade, and migration all affect what people cook and eat.^[441] Food traditions use older local ingredients and techniques, along with later Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Portuguese, Dutch, and other foreign influences.^[442][443]

Rice is the main staple food across much of the archipelago, usually consumed with side dishes of meat, fish, vegetables, and condiments.^[443] Common ingredients and seasonings include chilli, coconut milk, shrimp paste, peanuts, garlic, shallots, tamarind, fish, and chicken.^[444] Soy-based foods such as tempeh and tahu are also common, especially in Java and Bali.^[445]

Dishes such as nasi goreng, gado-gado, mie, and sate are consumed in many parts of the country.^[446] Regional cuisines include Minangkabau dishes such as rendang.^[445][443] Tumpeng, a Javanese ceremonial rice dish, is used in rites of passage, thanksgiving, and public celebrations.^[447]

Sports

Indonesia has international sports such as football, badminton, weightlifting, and basketball, alongside local games and martial arts.^[448] Football is one of the country's most followed sports, with active club supporters and public screenings of major matches.^[449] Indonesia was the first Asian representative to appear at the FIFA World Cup, taking part in the 1938 tournament as the Dutch East Indies.^[450]

Badminton is one of Indonesia's most successful international sports. Indonesia has won both the Thomas and Uber Cups, the world team championships of men's and women's badminton.^[451] Most of Indonesia's Olympic medals have come from badminton and weightlifting.^[452] Basketball also has a long organised history in the country, having appeared at the first National Sports Week in 1948 before the national basketball association was founded in 1951.^[453]

Local sports and games are used in ceremonies, harvest events, contests, and public entertainment. Examples include sepak takraw, bull racing (karapan sapi) in Madura,^[454][455] and ritual combat traditions such as caci in Flores and pasola in Sumba.^[456] Pencak silat is an Indonesian martial art^[457] and was included as an official event at the 2018 Asian Games, where Indonesia won all fourteen gold medals contested in the sport.^[458]