Indonesia

Indonesia is an island country in Southeast Asia, spread between the Indian and Pacific oceans over thousands of islands. Its largest are Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and its shares of Borneo, called Kalimantan, and New Guinea, called Papua.

Jakarta is the capital, with Nusantara in East Kalimantan planned as the next one, and Indonesian, a standard form of Malay, is the official language. Cave art on Sulawesi is at least 51,200 years old. Srivijaya, founded in Sumatra in the late 7th century, became a Buddhist trading power, and Javanese rulers raised the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan between the 8th and 10th centuries. Majapahit grew in eastern Java from the late 13th century, and Islamic sultanates such as Demak, Mataram and Gowa followed.

The Dutch East India Company, formed in 1602, took Jayakarta in 1619 and renamed it Batavia, and Dutch rule spread across the islands in the 19th century. At the Youth Congress of 1928 delegates pledged one homeland and one language. Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed independence in August 1945, the Netherlands transferred sovereignty on 27 December 1949, and a unitary republic followed on 17 August 1950. Under the 1945 Constitution and its Pancasila principles, Indonesia is a presidential republic of 38 provinces, with the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, unity in diversity. Puncak Jaya on New Guinea rises to 4,884 m (16,024 ft), and Lake Toba on Sumatra is the largest lake.

Its main exports are coal, palm oil, liquefied gas and ferronickel, and nickel is increasingly processed at home. Bali draws most international visitors. Wayang puppet theater, accompanied by gamelan music, retells the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and batik, angklung and pencak silat are on UNESCO's intangible heritage lists. Rice is the staple, served with sambal, while nasi goreng and the Minangkabau dish rendang are widely eaten. Football and badminton are popular sports.