Country Profile

With the July 2014 election of a new president, Joko Widodo, a new mood of confidence and optimism is palpable in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy and most populous Muslim-majority nation. Hopes are high that a new dynamism in Jakarta will see many long-standing challenges addressed. At the same time, the country’s economic expansion is continuing apace, with a large, young population that is eager to take Indonesia to the next level of development.

This chapter features interviews with President Joko Widodo and Vice-President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla; and a viewpoint from Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan.