Indonesia

 

 

 

Capital: Jakarta
President: Joko Widodo
Currency: Indonesian rupiah
Population: 249.9 million (2013) World Bank
Official language: Indonesian 
Indonesian people

Indonesians or Indonesian people are people who identify with the Archipelago of Indonesia, there are about 300 ethnicities in Indonesia, which makes Indonesia a multicultural country with a diversity of languages, culture, and also religious beliefs. The population of Indonesia according to the 2010 national census was 237.64 million, and it was estimated to reach 255.4 million in 2015. 51% live on the island of Java, the world's most populous island. Around 95% of Indonesians are Pribumi (Native Indonesians), with Javanese forming the majority, while the other 5% are Indonesians with ancestry from foreign origin, such as Chinese Indonesians.
Population

As for 2014, Indonesians make up 3,46% of world total population, Indonesia are fourth most populous country after China, Indiaand United States.

Despite a fairly effective family planning program that has been in place since the 1967, for the decade ending in 2010, Indonesia's population growth was 1.49 percent. At that rate, Indonesia's population is projected to surpass the present population of the USA and would - if the current US population did not rise - become the world's third biggest after China and India by 2043. The family planning already revitalised based on the 1967 program to avoid Indonesia becoming the world's third most populous country.

With a population of 150 million, Java is home to 51 percent of the Indonesian population, and is the most populous island on Earth. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally.

Other major island of Indonesia are Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua that took other 49 percent of Indonesian population. There are also other small populated island(s) such as Bali, Bangka, Madura, Nias, Maluku, Lesser Sunda Islands, Riau Islands and others.
Ethnic groups

There are over 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia. 95% of those are of Native Indonesian ancestry.

The largest ethnic group in Indonesia is the Javanese who make up nearly 52% of the total population. The Javanese are concentrated on the island of Java but millions have migrated to other islands throughout the archipelago because of thetransmigration program. The Sundanese, Malay, and Madurese are the next largest groups in the country. Many ethnic groups, particularly in Kalimantan and Papua, have only hundreds of members. Most of the local languages belong to Austronesianlanguage family, although a significant number, particularly in Papua, speak Papuan languages. The Chinese Indonesianspopulation makes up a little less than 1% of the total Indonesian population according to the 2000 census. Some of theseIndonesians of Chinese descent speak various Chinese dialects, most notably Hokkien and Hakka.

The classification of ethnic groups in Indonesia is not rigid and in some cases unclear due to migrations, cultural and linguistic influences; for example some may consider Bantenese and Cirebonese to be members of Javanese people, however some others argue that they are different ethnic groups altogether since they have their own distinct dialects. This is the same case with Baduy people that share many cultural similarities with the Sundanese people. An example of hybrid ethnicity is the Betawi people, descended not only from marriages between different peoples in Indonesia but also with foreign origin like Arab, Chinese and Indian migrants since the era of colonial Batavia (Jakarta).

Language

The Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia [baˈhasa indoneˈsia]) is the official language of Indonesia. It is a standardized register of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries. Most Indonesians also speak one of more than 700 indigenous languages.

Most Indonesians, aside from speaking the national language, are often fluent in another regional language (examples include Javanese,Sundanese and others), which are commonly used at home and within the local community. Most formal education, and nearly all national media and other forms of communication, are conducted in Indonesian. In East Timor, which was an Indonesian province from 1975 to 1999, Indonesian is recognised by the constitution as one of the two working languages (the other being English), alongside the official languages of Tetum and Portuguese.

Religion

Minang wedding

Indonesia is constitutionally a secular state and the first principle of Indonesia's philosophical foundation, Pancasila, is "belief in the one and only God". A number of different religions are practised in the country, and their collective influence on the country's political, economic and cultural life is significant. The Indonesian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.


Indonesia's political leadership has played an important role in the relations between groups, both positively and negatively, promoting mutual respect by affirming Pancasila but also promoting a Transmigration Program, which has caused a number of conflicts in the eastern region of the country.

However, the government recognises only six official religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism). Although based on data collected by the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP), there are about 245 non-official religions in Indonesia. Indonesian law requires that every Indonesian citizen hold an identity card that identifies that person with one of these six religions, although citizens may be able to leave that section blank. Indonesia does not recognise agnosticism or atheism, and blasphemy is illegal. In the 2010 Indonesian census, 87.18% of Indonesians identified themselves as Muslim (with Sunnis more than 99%, Shias 0.5%, Ahmadis 0.2% ), 6.96% Protestant, 2.91% Catholic, 1.69% Hindu, 0.72% Buddhist, 0.05% Confucianism, 0.13% other, and 0.38% unstated or not asked.

Written by Ashraf Shaharudin

This blog created for educational purpose under the subject EDG 4008 (CROSS-CULTURAL COUNSELLING) and this blog own by Ku Harudin bin ku Talib Ali (1118463) as well as Muhammad Ashraf bin Shaharudin (1317197) and supported by our beloved lecturer who is Dr. SITI KHOLIJAH BINTI KASSIM. EDG 4008 (Cross-Cultural Counseling) is one of the compulsory subjects for all GUIDE students in KOED, IIUM.