Indonesia

With some 17,500 islands tied into a single political system, a centralised unitary government has not proved adaptable to Indonesia’s geography or society. Decentralisation, which began in 1999 and devolved power to local administrative units, has seen both successes and failures, but should hopefully prove more stable in the long run. Critics see the programme as multiplying local bureaucracies...

While roughly 89% of the country’s citizens subscribe to Islamic beliefs, according to official government statistics, the country prides itself on its tolerance and diversity. There are six officially recognised religions in Indonesia according to the constitution, which guarantees the rights of citizens to practice their religion freely. The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) oversees not...

Having already mandated basic education and made it accessible to all citizens, at least in theory, Indonesia’s next challenge is to boost access to, and quality of, secondary and higher education. Other goals include lowering illiteracy and decreasing disparities in quality of education nationwide. The government is hoping to address challenges like teacher absenteeism, and poor scientific and...

Already known worldwide for the hugely popular island destination of Bali, Indonesia has been trying to market its full range of opportunities. At the same time, the country is hoping to build its profile as a business travel venue, a policy helped along by ongoing economic growth. 2011 tourist arrivals were up 7.5% year-on-year for the January-July period, well on their way to meeting the...

Long a major exporter of raw natural resources, including agricultural products, Indonesia is looking to maintain its strengths in this sector while expanding downstream industries to fuel domestic industry. The country imports over 20m tonnes of food annually, but major investment plans are designed to mitigate the need for imports by boosting domestic output. Indonesia’s strengths are...

Much of Indonesia’s construction sector is awaiting the unveiling of major infrastructure projects that will be necessary to unlock the high growth potential of the domestic market. The government has pledged to spend $150bn on infrastructure projects over five years in its 2011 budget, but sector figures are looking to see results, not just promises. The industry grew at 5.3% in Q1 2011,...