Indonesia
Picture Source: CIA

Did you ever wonder what island chain was the largest in the world? Did you answer the question in your mind by thinking it was Hawaii? Well if you did, guess what, you were wrong. There are a few very large island chains but the biggest one in the world is Indonesia. There are over 17,000 islands in Indonesia. Can you even imagine that amount of islands, I know I can't? There is a population of 234,893,433 (2002) people living there. The life expectancy at birth is 66.54 years for men and 71.47 years for women.

Not only does Indonesia have the distinction of being the largest island chain but is also the home to the largest Muslim population in the world. The population breakdown by religion is Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998). It was a possession of the Netherlands, but achieved independence in 1949. The total area of Indonesia is 1,919,440 sq km which is made up of 93,000 sq km of water with the rest, 1,826,440 sq km, being land. If one had to compare the size of Indonesia to a known quantity we could say it is almost three times the size of Texas.

The climate is mostly tropical and the land is mostly flat but there are mountains on some of the islands. Indonesia has the largest rain forest. Some of the current problems being experienced is deforestation, pollution, poverty and sewage, just to mention a few. The languages spoken are Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese. The literacy rate is over 88%.

Indonesia is a republic with its capital being Jakarta. Anyone 17 years of age or older can vote and if you are married the age requirement is waived. The government has a Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branch. There are many economic problems in Indonesia. Much of this is said to be due to unrest. According to the CIA the countries purchasing power in 2002 was 714.2 Billion Dollars with the purchasing power for each individual set at 3,100 dollars. 27% of the population live below the poverty line. The labor force has been estimated at 99 million people as of 1999. There is an unemployment rate of 10.6% (2002) but an industrial growth rate of 4.9% (2002). Industries include petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, and footwear; mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood; rubber; food; tourism.

There was 342,700 km of highways in 1999, but 184,030 were unpaved. There are 631 airports but only 153 have paved runways. There are 65,665,721 (2003) men available for the military between the ages of 15-49 years and every year another 2,213,727 (2003) reach the age. The country spends about 1 Billion Dollars a year on the military which is 1.3% (1998) of its Gross National Product. Jakarta, the capital, has a huge population. Think of a city with 50 percent more people than New York City and you have Jakarta which had a population of over 12,000,000 people several years ago.

Jakarta
Picture Source: USDA

Indonesia is the world's fourth largest populated country and the third largest democracy. For contrast Tuvalu totals 26 square kilometers and contains 9 coral atolls. Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu is home to just over 10,000 people, mostly of Polynesian ancestry. This is the smallest island chain and the country is about 10% of the size of Washington D.C.

Tuvalu
Picture Source: CIA

What I have found to be quite disturbing is that the facts about Indonesia seem to differ, depending on where you are looking. Even among different U.S. Government agencies. I have tried to be as accurate as possible.