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
Religions
Sunni Muslim
Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% (2000 census)
Languages
Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
Exports
fish
oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber
External Debt
$943,000,000 $
$186,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
rufiyaa (MVR) per US dollar - NA (2007), 12.8 (2006), 12.8 (2005), 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003)
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)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
5.500%
3.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
5
Location
Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Area
298 km sq
1,904,569 km sq
Coastline
644 km
54,716 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
