Indonesia

Coordinates: 5°S 120°E / 5°S 120°E / -5; 120

Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə; Indonesian: [ɪndonesia]), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia [rɛpublik ɪndonesia]), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the largest island country in the world by the number of islands, with more than fourteen thousand islands. Indonesia has an estimated population of over 255 million people and is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. The world's most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country's population.

Indonesia's republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status. Its capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Malaysian Borneo. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP.

Tourism in Indonesia

Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. The vast country of sprawling archipelago has much to offer; from natural beauty, historical heritage to cultural diversity. In 2012 the tourism sector contributes to around US$9 billion of foreign exchange, and is estimated will surpassed US$10 billion in 2013. The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors.

In year 2015, 10.41 million international visitors entered Indonesia, staying in hotels for an average of 7.5 nights and spending an average of US$1,142 per person during their visit, or US$152.22 per person per day. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan are the top five sources of visitors to Indonesia.

Overview

Both nature and culture are major components of Indonesian tourism. The natural heritage can boast a unique combination of a tropical climate, a vast archipelago of 17,508 islands, 6,000 of them being inhabited, the third longest shoreline in the world (54,716 km) after Canada and the European Union. It is the worlds largest and most populous country situated only on islands. The beaches in Bali, diving sites in Bunaken, Mount Bromo in East Java, Lake Toba and various national parks in Sumatra are just a few examples of popular scenic destinations. These natural attractions are complemented by a rich cultural heritage that reflects Indonesia's dynamic history and ethnic diversity. One fact that exemplifies this richness is that 719 living languages are used across the archipelago. The ancient Prambanan and Borobudur temples, Toraja, Yogyakarta, Minangkabau, and of course Bali, with its many Hindu festivities, are some of the popular destinations for cultural tourism.

Komodo National Park

The Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km² (603 km² of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Komodo National Park has been selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. The waters surrounding Komodo island also contains rich marine biodiversity. Komodo islands is also a part of the Coral Triangle, which contains one of the richest marine biodiversity on earth.

History

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1991. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), first discovered by the scientific world in 1912 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.

East Nusa Tenggara

East Nusa Tenggara (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT) is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the eastern part of the Lesser Sunda Islands and includes West Timor. It has a total area of 48,718.1 km², and the population at the 2010 Census was 4,683,827; the latest official estimate in January 2014 was 5,070,746. The provincial capital is Kupang on West Timor.

The province consists of more than 500 islands, the three largest are Flores, Sumba, and the western half of Timor (West Timor). The eastern part of Timor is the independent country of East Timor. East Nusa Tenggara is the only province in Indonesia where Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion. Nusa Tenggara Timur, in Indonesian, means "eastern of the southeastern islands"; compare to Nusa Tenggara Barat, which means "western of the southeastern islands".

History

After the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, the eastern part of Indonesia declared the State of East Indonesia. The state was further included in the United States of Indonesia as part of the agreement with the Dutch contained in the transfer its sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949.

Lesser Sunda Islands

The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara ("Southeastern Islands") are a group of islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea.

The main Lesser Sunda Islands are, from west to east: Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Alor archipelago, Barat Daya Islands, and Tanimbar Islands.

Administration

The Lesser Sundas comprise many islands, most of which are part of Indonesia and are administered as the provinces of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and southern part of Maluku.

The eastern half of Timor is part of East Timor.

Geology

The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two geologically distinct archipelagos. The northern archipelago, which includes Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Wetar, is volcanic in origin, a number of these, like Mount Rinjani on Lombok, are still active while others, such as Kelimutu on Flores with its three multi-coloured crater lakes, are extinct. The northern archipelago began to be formed during the Pliocene, about 15 million years ago, as a result of the collision between the Australian and the Asian plates. The islands of the southern archipelago, including Sumba, Timor and Babar, are non-volcanic and appear to belong to the Australian plate. The geology and ecology of the northern archipelago share a similar history, characteristics and processes with the southern Maluku Islands, which continue the same island arc to the east.