Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Comprising between 13,000 and 17,000 islands—including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea—it is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area. Indonesia has extensive tropical forests and marine ecosystems that support some of the world's highest levels of biodiversity. The Indonesian archipelago has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with evidence of early human presence including fossils of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, and megalithic sites. By the first millennium BCE, it had become connected to regional and international maritime trade networks. Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms developed by the early centuries CE, followed by the spread of Islam and the growth of Islamic states from the late medieval period. European powers later competed to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Dutch commercial and colonial control expanded from the 17th century and extended over most of the archipelago by the early 20th century, before Indonesia proclaimed its independence in the aftermath of World War II. Since independence, Indonesia has experienced separatist conflicts, corruption, political upheaval and natural disasters, alongside democratisation and rapid economic growth. The country today is a presidential republic with an elected legislature and consists of 38 provinces, some of which enjoy greater autonomy than others. Home to over 290 million people, Indonesia ranks fourth in the world by population and has the largest Muslim population of any country. More than half of Indonesians live on Java, the most heavily populated island in the world, while the capital Jakarta is the world's most populous city. Indonesia has hundreds of ethnic groups and more than 700 languages, as well as diverse regional cultures. This diversity is reflected in the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, meaning "unity in diversity". Indonesian, a standardised variety of Malay, is the official and national language and serves as the country's lingua franca. Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia, with services and industry accounting for most output and economic activity concentrated on Java. Sea and air transport are the primary means of connecting the country's many islands. Indonesia is a middle power active in regional and global affairs and is a member of the United Nations, G20, the Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

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