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Government of Indonesia

Country name:conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia
local long form: Republik Indonesia
local short form: Indonesia
former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies
Government type:republic
Capital:name: Jakarta
geographic coordinates: 6 10 S, 106 49 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Indonesia is divided into three time zones
Administrative divisions:30 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, the 440 districts or regencies have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services
Independence: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
National holiday:Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Constitution:August 1945; abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959; series of amendments concluded in 2002
Legal system:based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
Executive branch:chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004); Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry; last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4%
Legislative branch:House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching president and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50
note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by parties
Judicial branch:Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates selected by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006
Political parties and leaders:Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [MS KABAN]; Democratic Party or PD [Hadi UTOMO]; Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [MUHAIMIN Iskander]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]; United Development Party or PPP [Suryadharma ALI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:NA
International organization participation:APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador SUDJADNAN Parnohadiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200
FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 4-5, Jakarta 10110
mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520
telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000
FAX: [62] (21) 3435-9922
consulate(s) general: Surabaya
consulate(s): Medan; Denpasar (consular agency)
Flag description:two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red

Indonesia Quickstats

  • Population: 234,693,997 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 1,919,440 sq km
  • Density: 134 /km² (84th)
  • GDP (total): US$1,038 bn[²]
  • GDP (per capita): US$4,616[³]
  • Literacy: 90.4%

Languages of Indonesia

Useful to know

  • Currency: Rupiah (IDR)
  • Dial code: +62

International Trade

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