Official Name: Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia)

Area: Asia

Size: 1,904,569 km²

Coastline: 54,716 km

Independence: from the Netherlands  17 August 1945 

Form of Govt.: Unitary multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: President

Capital: Jakarta

Largest City: Jakarta

Demographics (2005): 222,781,000.   117 /km² 

Javanese 41.7%, Sundanese 15.4%, Malay 3.4%, Madurese 3.3%, Batak 3.0%, Minangkabau 2.7%

GDP per Capita (2005): $4,458

Languages: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) (official, modified form of Malay), regional languages, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese.

Geography: archipelago of 17.508 islands (6.000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean. North to south is about 1.900 km. East to west about 5.100 km (different time zones). Tropical forests cover 49 percent of the land. Indonesia offers 40.000 species of flowering plants, including 3.000 trees and 5.000 orchids. The Komodo dragon, of Komodo and Rinca islands, is the world's largest and dangerous lizard

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands. Indonesia has two monsoon seasons (wet season from November to March, dry season from June to October)