Indonesia
Jill G. 3rd Period
Indonesia-Background Summary
Indonesia is an archipelago made up of about 17,508 islands. The Dutch began populate Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan's surrender. The capital is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with East Timor and Malaysia. The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region.
Flag of Indonesia
Indonesia's Capital
The Malaysian and East Timor Flags
Slogan of Indonesia
"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity")
Climate and Geography
Indonesian Archipelago
Monsoons in Indonesia
The Bali Volcano
People and Culture in Indonesia
Population, Religion, Sports, and Livelihood
Traditional sports enjoyed by Indonesians include pencak silat, a form of martial arts, and boating. Indonesians are also fond of soccer. They are also “passionate” about badminton (which rarely fails to earn them Olympic gold). A cool fact is that kite flying is so popular. In fact, kites have their own museum, which is the Kite Museum in Jakarta.
Part of livelihood is agriculture. Agricultural products involve rice, peanuts, nutmeg, cloves, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, meat and eggs. Some of Indonesia's other main industries are petroleum, natural gas, cement, rubber, textiles, clothing. Tourism is also an important industry.