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.
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The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.
| 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 |
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.
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]
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.
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.
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