Indonesia Culture

Indonesia is a tropical country made up entirely of islands. How many islands? It’s got more than 13,600 of them! Tigers, pythons, and crocodiles live in thick rain forests that cover some of the islands. Towering mountains and active volcanoes rise across Indonesia, the world’s largest island nation.

People live on about half of Indonesia’s islands. The main islands include Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. Thousands of Indonesia’s smaller islands are little more than tiny dots of land. Indonesia also owns parts of the islands of Borneo, New Guinea, and Timor. Many Indonesians use boats for fishing and traveling between the islands.

 

Facts About Indonesia

Official name	Republic of Indonesia
Capital	Jakarta
Official language	Bahasa Indonesia
Population	242,000,000 people
Rank among countries in population	4th
Major cities	Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya
Area	735,000 square miles 1,900,000 square kilometers
Rank among countries in area	15th
Highest point	Mt. Jaya 16,503 feet/5,030 meters
Currency	Indonesian rupiah

WHERE IS INDONESIA?

The Indonesian islands lie near the equator, the imaginary line that encircles Earth around its middle. They stretch for thousands of miles, from the Malay Peninsula almost to Australia. The islands form a chain that separates the Indian and Pacific oceans. 

PEOPLE OF INDONESIA

For centuries, traders sailing between India and China had to pass through Indonesian waters. Most traders sailed through the Straits of Malacca, a narrow waterway between Sumatra and Malaysia. Over time, many different people settled in Indonesia. The islands have many native tribes, too. Today, about 300 different languages are spoken across Indonesia.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, after China, India, and the United States. Some Indonesian islands are very crowded. More than half of Indonesia’s 242 million people live on just one island, Java. Java covers an area about the size of New York state. Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital and largest city, is located on Java.

TROPICAL WEATHER

Indonesia is in the tropics, so the climate is hot and humid all year round. Instead of hot and cold seasons, Indonesia has wet seasons and dry seasons.

Winds called monsoons cause Indonesia’s wet and dry seasons. From November through March, the winds carry heavy rains to Indonesia. From June to October, the winds bring dry air to the islands.

MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES

Mountains and volcanoes cover much of Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other place in the world. Volcanoes rise on all the major islands except Borneo and New Guinea. A volcano erupts somewhere in Indonesia at least once a year.

Many Indonesian people live near volcanoes. That’s because volcanic ash (dust that falls from the air after an eruption) makes the soil good for farming. When volcanoes erupt, they can kill many people.

CUSTOMS OF INDONESIA

Rice is the main food of Indonesians. Rice is grown throughout Indonesia, and it is usually eaten at every meal. Black tea is a popular beverage.

One of Indonesia’s best-known arts is called batik. It’s a method of dyeing cloth to make beautiful patterns. Batik is cloth painted with melted wax and then dyed. The waxed areas do not absorb the dye. When the wax is removed, the patterns remain.

Puppet shows are another famous art form of Indonesia. The puppets are usually made from wood or leather. Yet the audience never sees the puppets. The puppeteer moves the puppets behind a white screen to act out a story. The audience sits on the other side. It sees only the shadows of the puppets on the screen.

HINDUISM AND ISLAM

The shadow puppet plays often tell stories from Hindu poems. The people of Bali, a small Indonesian island, follow a form of Hinduism. Hinduism is a religion that came to Bali from India. Hinduism has greatly influenced the culture of Indonesia.

Yet most Indonesians are not Hindus. They are Muslims, or followers of Islam. In fact, nearly 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslim. That makes Indonesia the largest Muslim country in the world.

Hindu Temple on Bali

The temple of Pura Besakih is one of the largest and most sacred Hindu temples on the island of Bali, a part of Indonesia. Indonesia is mainly a Muslim country today, but the ancient Hindu religion has had a lasting influence on Indonesia's culture.

Embassy of Indonesia