17 August 1945 (declared) note: recognized by the Netherlands on 27 December 1949; in August 2005, the Netherlands announced it recognized de facto Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945
12 March 1968 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% (2000 census)
Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
Languages
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Exports
oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish
External Debt
$187,100,000,000 $
$5,768,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar - 9,558.1 (2008 est.), 9,056 (2007 est.), 9,159.3 (2006), 9,704.7 (2005), 8,938.9 (2004)
Mauritian rupees (MUR) per US dollar - 27.973 (2008 est.), 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
0.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
1
Location
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Area
1,904,569 km sq
2,040 km sq
Coastline
54,716 km
177 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)