BEAUTIFUL INDONESIA
Apa Khabar? That means "how are you" in Bahasa Indonesia. Hello, I'm Yuliati Conley and welcome to Beautiful Indonesia. I am a native of Indonesia and I am happy to provide you with information about my country as well as some links to interesting Indonesian sites.
INDONESIA AT A GLANCE
The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean consisting of over 13,500 islands (6,000 of which are inhabited). The republic has a total area of approximately 1,919,440 square kilometers. In comparison, it is nearly three times the size of Texas. Indonesia shares borders with Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. The highest point in Indonesia is Puncak Jaya at 5,030 meters above sea level. The lowest point is the Indian Ocean at sea level. The capital and largest city is Jakarta followed by Surabaya, Medan and Bandung. The population of Indonesia is approxiamtely 239,000,000.
The Indonesian flag is two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white. The major ethnic divisions in Indonesia are: Javanese, Sudanese, Madurese and Coastal Malay. Languages spoken in Indonesia include: Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch and several local dialects of which Javanese is the most widely used. The most prominent religion in Indonesia is Muslim, but others include: Protestant, Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist.
Indonesia is a republic and is governed by the president who is elected every 5 years. In the elections of October 1999, Abdurrahman Wahid was elected as only the fourth president in the country's history. Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected as Indonesia's vice-president two days after the presidential election. Past presidents of Indonesia are B.J. Habibie, Suharto and Sukarno (the father of current vice-president Megawati).
Independence was declared on 17 August 1945, and on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands. The national holiday is Independence Day celebrated on 17 August. The currency of Indonesia is the rupiah (Rp) and the rate of exchange is around 10,000Rp to the dollar. For the current exchange rate, click on the Oanda Currency Rate Converter link below.
| PICTURES OF INDONESIA | OUR FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM |
| INDONESIAN LIFESTYLES | WHAT IS PANCASILA? |
| INDONESIAN LEGENDS | JAVANESE GAMELAN |
| BALINESE MUSIC & DANCE | SEND US AN E-MAIL |
English/Indonesia Look-up Dictionary
