Economy

Stretching 5120 km from the shores of Aceh to the mountains of Papua, Indonesia encompasses 17,000 islands – around 6000 of which are permanently inhabited – and comprises 34 different provinces, each with its own capital city. Within these islands, 300 distinct ethnic groups exist, speaking more than 700 languages between them. Until the turn of the new millennium, centralisation was seen as...

Indonesia is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources. With extensive oil, gas and solid mineral deposits, it is also one of the largest global economies. In 2017 the economy passed the $1trn mark, making it the 16th largest in the world. Its growing middle class, emphasis on industrialisation and services, and drive to improve infrastructure are laying the...

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Although Indonesia’s export receipts hit a five-year high in 2018, imports surged as the country moved to deliver a massive infrastructure development programme, bringing the trade deficit to an all-time high after three years of surplus. The country remains dependent on raw commodities for much of its export revenues; global commodity price volatility has weighed on the trade balance in...

While the Republic of Indonesia is just over seven decades old in its current form, the South-east Asian nation of more than 17,000 islands has a much longer history. The name Indonesia was first used in 1850 by British anthropologist James Richardson Logan in reference to the extensive group of islands that was known at the time as the Indian or Malay Archipelago. Archaeological analysis...