Demographics of Indonesia

Indonesia's 238 million people make it the world's fourth-most populous nation. The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 130 million people living in an area the size of Greece.

Indonesia includes numerous related but distinct cultural and linguistic groups. Since independence, Indonesian (a form of Malay and official national language) is the language of most written communication, education, government, and business. Many local ethnic languages are the first language of most Indonesians and still important.

Contents

Demographic statistics from the CIA World Factbook

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

237,512,355 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 28.4% (male 34,343,198/female 33,175,135)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 78,330,830/female 77,812,339)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male 6,151,305/female 7,699,548) (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

1.175% (2008 est.)

Birth rate

19.24 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Gender ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 31.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.14 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 70.46 years
male: 67.98 years
female: 73.07 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.34 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian

List of Indonesian provinces' population

Province Population In Cities (%)
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam 3,930,905 23.6
North Sumatra 11,649,655 42.4
West Sumatra 4,248,931 29.0
Riau 4,947,971 43.7
Jambi 2,413,846 28.3
South Sumatra 6,899,675 34.4
Bengkulu 1,567,432 29.4
Lampung 6,741,439 21.0
Bangka Belitung 900,197 43.0
Banten 8,098,780 52.2
Jakarta 8,389,443 100.0
West Java 35,729,537 50.3
Central Java 31,228,940 40.4
Yogyakarta 3,122,268 57.7
East Java 34,783,640 40.9
Bali 3,151,162 49.8
West Nusa Tenggara 4,009,261 34.8
East Nusa Tenggara 3,952,279 15.9
West Kalimantan 4,034,198 25.1
Central Kalimantan 1,857,000 27.5
South Kalimantan 2,985,240 36.3
East Kalimantan 2,455,120 57.6
North Sulawesi 2,012,098 37.0
Gorontalo 835,044 25.5
Central Sulawesi 2,218,435 19.7
South Sulawesi 8,059,627 29.4
Southeast Sulawesi 1,821,284 20.8
Maluku 1,205,539 25.9
North Maluku 785,059 29.5
Papua 2,220,934 22.2

Ethnic groups

There are over 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia. Many ethnic groups, particularly in Kalimantan and Papua, have only hundreds of members. Most of the local languages belong to Austronesian linguistic family, although a significant number, particularly in Papua, speak Papuan languages. In addition, there are roughly 8 million people of Chinese descent who some of them speak various Chinese dialects, most notably Hokkian and Hakka. Chinese Indonesian population makes up about 3 % of the total Indonesian population.

The proportional populations of Indonesian ethnic groups according to the (2000 census) is as follows:

Ethnic groups Population (thousands) Percentage Main Regions
Javanese 86.012 41.7 East Java, Central Java, Lampung
Sundanese 31.765 15.4 West Java
Malay 7.013 3.4 Sumatra eastern coast, West Kalimantan
Madurese 6.807 3.3 Madura island
Batak 6.188 3.0 North Sumatra
Minangkabau 5.569 2.7 Central Sumatra
Betawi 5.157 2.5 Jakarta
Buginese 5.157 2.5 South Sulawesi
Bantenese 4.331 2.1 Banten
Banjarese 3.506 1.7 South Kalimantan
Balinese 3.094 1.5 Bali island
Sasak 2.681 1.3 Lombok island
Makassarese 2.063 1.0 South Sulawesi
Cirebon 1.856 0.9 West Java
Chinese 1.850 0.9 Jakarta, West Kalimantan, North Sumatra

The regions of Indonesia and some of their indigenous ethnic groups are as follows. Note however that due to migration within Indonesia (as part of government transmigration programs or otherwise), there are significant populations of ethic groups who reside outside of their traditional regions.

Additionally, there are other smaller groups reminiscent of Indonesian demographic dynamics from colonial era, such as Arab Indonesian, Indian Indonesian, and Eurasian Indonesian. The latter presumably has literally diminished as an ethnic group since major emmigration from Indonesia after the World War II.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Indonesia

Although it is not an Islamic state, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, with almost 86.1% of Indonesians declared Muslim according to the 2000 census.[1] 8.7% of the population is Christian,[2] 3% are Hindu, and 1.8% Buddhist or other. Most Indonesian Hindus are Balinese,[3] and most Buddhists in modern-day Indonesia are ethnic Chinese.[4]

Languages

Indonesian is the official national language, but there are many different languages native to Indonesia. According to Ethnologue, there are currently 737 living languages [5] the most widely spoken of which is Javanese.

A number of Chinese dialects, most prominently Min Nan, are also spoken. The public use of Chinese, especially Chinese characters, was officially discouraged between 1966 and 1998.

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over and can read and write
total population: 87.9%
male: 92.5%
female: 83.4% (2005 est.)

Education is not free; however, it is compulsory for children through to grade 9. Although about 92% of eligible children are enrolled in primary school, a much smaller percentage attend full time. About 44% of secondary school-age children attend junior high school, and some others of this age group attend vocational schools.

See also

References

  1. "Indonesia - The World Factbook".
  2. of which roughly two-thirds are Protestant
  3. Oey, Eric (1997), Bali (3rd ed.), Singapore: Periplus Editions, ISBN 962-593-028-0 
  4. "Indonesia - Buddhism". U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
  5. ethnologue.com

External links