Facts about Indonesia

Location:
The Republic of Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia. It is the largest archipelago in the world, and includes 17,500 islands.

Population:
Total: 235 million
0-14 years: 28.8%
15-64 years: 65.8%
65 years and older: 5.4 %

Capital: Jakarta

Area: 1,950,000 sq km

Languages: Bahasa Indonesia and local dialects

Ethnic groups: (2000) Approximately 100
Javanese 41.7%
Sundanese 15.4%
Chinese 3.7%
Malay 3.4 %
Madurese 3.3%
Batak 3.0 %
Other 29.5 %

Religions: (2000)
Islam 86.1%
Protestant 5.7%
Roman Catholic 3%
Hindu 1.8%
Buddhist 3.4%

Politics:
Indonesia describes itself as the third largest democracy in the world. But it has not the parliamentary form of democracy you find in most Western nations. Their system is based on discussion, persuasion and consensus.

There are to legislative houses: House of Representatives and People’s Consultative Assembly.

Elections to the House of Representatives and president are held every five years. Today’s president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Economy:
Currency: Indonesian rupiah (Rp)

Oil and gas are responsible for about 40% of the export revenues. Tourism and mining are also important sectors. However it is the agricultural sector which employs the largest part of the population.

History:
Indonesia has a long history as a colonized nation. It was a Dutch colony until 1942, then Japan occupied the islands. The 17th of August 1945 Indonesia claimed its independence, and the 27th of December 1949 the Netherlands recognized its independence.

Governance structure in Indonesia:

School system in Indonesia:
Universitas – University.

SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan) – Senior high school. 3 years and not part of the compulsory schooling system. Students at SMK are prepared to work after high school and not continue to university.

SMA (Sekolah Menengah Atas) - Senior high school. 3 years, but not part of the 9 year compulsory schooling system in Indonesia. Students at SMA are expected to continue to university.

SMP (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) – Junior high school. 3 years and now compulsory according to the constitution.

SD (Sekolah Dasar) – elementary school. 6 years and compulsory starting from the age of 6 years. Many kinds of elementary schools. SDN being (sekolah dasar negeri) which is the public state school, SDK (Sekolah Dasar Katolik) being the catholic elementary school and so on.

Taman kanak-kanak - Kindergarten.

PAUD (Pendidikan untuk Anak Usia Dini) – day-care centre for toddlers (0-4 years).

Madrasah – Islamic schools in Indonesia which ranges from kindergarten to University level.

Health care system in Indonesia:
Rumah Sakit - Hospital

PUSKESMAS (Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat) – health center – served by a doctor (doktor). Usually one puskesmas per Kecamatan. One doctor is supposed to serve between 20-30.000 people. The puskesmas also has several other staff employed like dentists, midwifes, nurses, pharmacists, offices boys, head of puskesmas, etc. Severe incidents which cannot be treated in the puskesmas will be sent to the hospital.

PUSTU (Puskesmas Pembantu) – auxiliary health center – served by a nurse (juru rawat). This is a smaller unit which is usually located closer to the village and cooperates with the puskesmas. It is common that the pustu is run by only a couple of people where the nurse is the person in charge. Pustu can take care of smaller incidents and also hand out basic medicine. More complicated incidents will be sent to the puskesmas.

POLINDES (Pondok Bersalin Desa) or POSKESDES (Pos Kesehatan Desa) - village delivery post. Served by a midwife (Bidan) to take care of delivery and prenatal care. The midwife can also be assisted by trained traditional birth attendants. By law the midwife must be the one in charge.

POSYANDU (Pos Pelayanan Terpadu) – health service post. Healthcare posts for mothers and children where they give information and vaccination.

Sources

http://www.globalis.no/Land/Indonesia

http://www.uia.no/no/portaler/om_universitetet/study_tour_indonesia_2007/facts_about_indonesia

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia#Politikk

http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/courses/ph_nat/indonesia_pol_2002.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Indonesia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Indonesia

Janet Cochrane and Debbie Martyr: “Indonesia”, Globetrotter, 2008

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