So, we're obviously doing a bit of research about our next post for the upcoming year. We've never traveled in the region before so there'll be lots of things to discover and learn about in depth. But, in the meantime, here's Indonesia in a nutshell:
-It is the world's largest archipelago (group of islands), which number 17,508, over 6,000 of which are inhabited.
-Population is over 212 million, the 4th largest country population in the world, with also the largest Muslim population, too.
The island of Java, where Jakarta (Djakarta) is, has 59 to 60 percent of the total population on it. Thankfully we won't be living there!
As large as Indonesia is, it only shares borders with Malaysia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
The country extends over 5,100 kilometers from east to west and over 2,000 kilometers
north to south, from the Indian to the Pacific Oceans and the Sulu to the Timor Seas.
There are over 300 different ethnic groups, speaking more than 350 languages. However, Bahasa Indonesian is the official, communal language of the nation, and supposedly easy to learn.
Similar to the west coast of the USA, Indonesia is a major part of the 'Ring of Fire', with over 400 volcanoes spread throughout the entire region, and 129 of them are active(!). The Indo-Australian plate is moving underneath the Eurasian plate, and at a good clip.
The island of Papua (and Papua New Guinea) holds glaciated peaks. It is one of only three equatorial countries to have this unique honor. The glacier is on the highest peak in Indonesia, Mount Jaya (Puncak Jaya) which reaches 5,039 meters!). Sadly, as with most glaciers in the world, it is retreating.
Indonesia is/was home to Krakatau, a large volcano that erupted in 1883. It was a cataclysmic eruption sending debris 80 kilometers into the air. It destroyed half of its own island, covered the region in darkness and created tsunamis that killed an estimated 36,000 people. Gulp.
The land area is equivalent to Texas times 3. When you include the water surrounding the islands the area is more than double the size all 50 states.
Papua is the 2nd largest island in the world. Borneo is the 3rd. Sumatra is the 6th.
The 'Java Trench' is off the Sumatra south coast. It's more than 2,600 kms long and is up to 7,500 meters deep (Go Jacques Cousteau!)
Though it is a tropical country, the number of micro climates put San Francisco to shame. My dad says there are two seasons in Indonesia: the dry season, when it rains every day and the wet season, when it rains all day, every day. The dry season is usually April to September, however the island of Maluku has its seasons completely opposite the rest of the nation. Weird.
Major industries are: manufacturing paper, pulp, cement and fertilizers; mining of basic metals; energy production; telecommunications' and transport. Its main exports are textiles, garments, shoes, oil, gas, electronics, wood and wood products. Growing industries include tourism, banking, health and education. We'll be helping with some of those.
Indonesia is the largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with reserves of over 2.5 trillion cubic meters. About half of its production is exported annually (32 billion cubic meters).
The worlds largest coal mine is on Borneo, in Kalimantan, which makes US $450 million annually from exports. Yippee.
Indonesia is the world's 3rd largest rice producer, mostly from Java and Bali. Interestingly, in 1985 Indonesia was self-sufficient with its rice. However, with transmigration (more later) and population growth, the country had to import more rice up until very recently.
They are the greatest producers of nutmeg. Pepper is 2nd to India.
The robusta coffee bean is king here and they are the 2nd largest cocoa producer.
Sadly, palm oil cultivation is growing at an astronomical rate. Palm oils are entering ingredients' lists from common crackers and cereals to your next 'alternative energy' vehicle. The amount of rain forests being slashed and burned for oil palm plantations, legally and illegally, is staggering. More on this later. Five years ago nearly 1o million tons of palm oil were produced and exported.
Into the waters.... shrimp is the main catch, bringing in more than US $800 million annually. Illegal fishing is putting a damper on that revenue but the feds are cracking down, apparently.
Into the forests, or out of. Logging is huge and the illegal logging business is racking over US $7 billion where the 'do-gooders' are only making $3.2 billion annually. More on this later.
Tourons. Indo was booming with 5.7 million tourists annually until the political upheavel in Timor (1998) and the Bali bombings in 2002. Then SARS. Then another bombing in Bali in 2005. There are many diving destinations throughout the country and ecotourism is on the rise since these activities can damage the fragile reef habitat.
This is a good one. Or not if you're a sea captain.
The Strait of Malacca, between Sumatra and Malaysia processes one fourth of all sea trade in the world. It gets down to 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point. This straight happens to be the most pirated waterway in the world. The second is the seas north of Borneo.
Guess we'll stick to land transport.
In 1971, my birth year, Jakarta had 4.5 million people.
By 2000, my 29th year, it reached 8.4 million. Its metro area is at 23 million peeps.
Ugh.
As of 2002, about half of the Indonesian population live on less than US $2/day. About 10% live on less than one buck a day. The major cities are striving to make simple, yet great changes for the poorest of communities by at least adding potable water facilities and improved waste removal.
Yum. Smoke'm if you got'em.
59 percent of men smoke, yet only 4% of women do. They prefer their cigs mixed with cloves, wrapped in the husks of corn. As I said before. Yum.
Gosh dangit.
88% are Muslim
8% Christian
2% Hindu
1% Buddhist
1% 'other'
And this is a bit crazy. "When Indonesia gained independence, one of the country's guiding principles was the belief in a supreme god. People could freely choose their religion, even if they did not practice it, as long as it was either Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism or Christianity." Thankfully, they've added to the list the Toraja, Dayak and Kaharigan religions since.
Badminton is one of the most popular sports.
Biodiversity Rules
Indonesia is home to 25% of the world's fish, 17% of the birds, 16% of the scary reptiles and amphibians, 12% of the mammals and 10% of all the beautiful flowering plant species, including the Rafflesia arnoldi, the world's largest single flower which can grow as wide as a full meter (more than a yard for you Yanks)
And their losses:
Number of Species Number of Threatened Species
Mammals 515 147
Birds 929 114
Flowering Plants 29,375 384
(Burton notes that these birds have 'breeding range in Indonesia')
The largest butterfly in Southeast Asia, the 'birdwing' butterfly, has a wingspan of 13 inches (33 cms).
Papua, the 2nd largest island in the world, if you were paying attention above, and this is pretty crazy, too... about half of all of its plants and animal life can only be found on that island (New Guinea). They have a bunch of marsupials, but none of them made it further west.
Sumatra and Borneo are home to the orangutan, the only great ape outside of Africa. More on this later as our new school helped start a conservation program and medical house for injured or driven out species.
Hssssss
The super mighty Komodo Dragon is the national animal and the world's largest lizard. They can grow up to 3m/10 feet long and weigh more than 70kgs/150 lbs. It can eat up to 80% of its bodyweight in a single meal.
Burp/Smacznego!
With that, I am done and need a drink. Anyone know what the common beer is of Indonesia?
These fantastic tidbits of info came straight from "Indonesia" in the Countries of the World series by T. Burton and the trusty yet phenomenally thrifty, www.Wikipedia.org
Hope you enjoyed it.
Acadia National Park 2018
8 years ago
