Indonesia, the map of which is located below, is a state that occupies several thousand islands of various sizes. At the same time, about half of them are inhabited by people. The rest of the territory is uninhabited. The government made several attempts to relocate some of the inhabitants to free territories, but they were unsuccessful.
Demography
Over the past century, Indonesia's population has almost tripled. In this indicator, as of today, it is second only to China, India and the United States. Such a rapid growth in the number of inhabitants of the country is associated with a simultaneous decrease in the death rate and an increase in the birth rate. It should also be noted that during this period the average life expectancy in the state increased (almost 69 years). All this led to the fact that at one time the government was even forced to develop measures related to family planning and aimed at reducing the growth rate. As the latest census data showpopulation survey conducted in 2010, the population of Indonesia is now about 238 million people. It should be noted that about 15% of them are young people under the age of 15, while the elderly account for just over 5% of the population of the state. The number of women and men in it is approximately the same.
Population accommodation
The distribution of the population across the country is highly uneven. In particular, about 60% of all Indonesians live on the island of Java. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the fact that this piece of land accounts for only 7% of the state's area. The population density of Indonesia in this region reaches 990 people per square kilometer. One of the least populated provinces is Irian Jaya. It occupies almost a fifth of the country's area. At the same time, only every hundredth inhabitant of the state lives here. Thus, for every square kilometer of this region, there are just over 4 people. As a rule, Indonesians live in the regions of river valleys, in intermountain fertile basins, as well as in the vicinity of mining, logging and export ports. Since the state is an agrarian country, the population of Indonesia is predominantly rural (more than 66%). The largest local city is Jakarta, which is home to about 10 million inhabitants. It is also the capital of the state. The average population density of the country is 102 people persquare kilometer.
National composition
In Indonesia, there are more than 300 different tribal and ethnic groups. Each of them is distinguished by the presence of its own language, social organization and customs. The Javanese are the largest ethnic group. There are more than 67 million of them (about 45% of the total population of the country). Other numerical ethnic groups are Sunds - 13%, Durre and Malay Eti - 6% each, Minangkabau - 4%. It should also be noted that numerous representatives of non-indigenous peoples live in the state. The most common among them were the Chinese, Arabs, Japanese and Indians.
Languages
According to numerous studies, as of today, the population of Indonesia speaks 728 different languages and living dialects. According to this indicator, the country is in second place in the world. Indonesian is the official language. He received this status in 1945. It is included in the compulsory school curriculum, and is also widely used in colloquial speech by representatives of the urban intelligentsia. At the same time, Malayo-Polynesian, Javanese and Madurese are often used by the natives.
Religion
The population of Indonesia predominantly professes Sunni Islam. At the same time, some other religions are also quite widespread. After the Muslims, the most numerous denominations are considered to be Christians (10%), among which there are Catholics and Protestants. Quite a few Buddhists also live in the country. Less than one percent of local residents practice Taoism and Confucianism. Animism has become quite common on some of the islands - a belief in spirits that hide in trees, rocks, rivers and other natural objects. It should be noted that state law guarantees every citizen of Indonesia the right to freedom of religion and equality of representatives of all religions.
Workforce
As noted above, the country's economy is based on the agricultural sector. Almost 60% of the country's citizens are employed. In this regard, it is not surprising that the largest part of the country's inhabitants (approximately 45%) is employed in agriculture. In addition, the population of Indonesia is employed in the service sector (35%), industry (16%) and other activities. Approximately 38% of women living in the state are employed. As for the economically active population of the country, its number now stands at just over 112 million people.
