Indonesia

=** __Indonesia 1945-1990__ **=



Geography Indonesia is the worlds largest archipelago, which is a chain of islands, specifically comprised of 13,466 islands. The total amount of land area that makes up Indonesia is 735,358 square miles The five main islands of Indonesia are Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya. Indonesia is rocky and mountainous with a hot and humid climate. Their seasons are like ours with a dry season from June to September and a rainy season from December to March. Due to the location of the country Indonesia is prone to natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis. Indonesia borders Timor-Leste, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea.

Government Changes Indonesia struggled to gain independence after WWII and the Japanese Occupation of 1942-1945 (War for Independence). Not only did the Indonesian people have to deal with the Japanese occupation, but they also had to deal with the Dutch and gaining independence from them. This movement dates back to 1908 all they way to 1949, 1950 when the indonesian people drove the dutch out of their land and gained their independence. Right after the revolution Indonesia became a Liberal democracy and later in 1957, President Sukarno replaced the Western parliamentary government with a Guided Democracy and the Gotong Royong which provided assistance from all political parties. Later, in 1965 when the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was eliminated as a political party and the PKI had a failed coup, a violent movement was sparked know as the Anti--Communist Purge of 1965-1966 which was aided by the Indonesian army and all communist believers were murdered and the PKI was banned. The death toll is around 500,000 and it is estimated that 1 million were imprisoned. This lead to the downfall of President Sukarno and the start of President Saharto's thirty year riegn over Indonesia, which ended in 1998.

(Indonesian President Soekarno)

Society 195,683,531 people living in Indonesia as of July 1992. Jakarta, located on the island Java is the largest city in terms of population with 11.5 million people as of 1990. Like America, Indonesia is very diverse with a few main ethnicities including Javanese people, Sundanese people, Madurese, Malays and more. The life expectancy as of 1990 was 62 years for women and 58.4 years for men.

The official language of the Indonesian people is Bahasa Indonesia, although there are 668 different languages also spoken by people who live in Indonesia. The religion that is practiced by most people is Islam although few practice other religions like Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist. Rice like many asian nations is a very popular food. Rice is usually served with ever meal along with meats skewered on a stick, friend shrimp, fish, curry chicken and goat. Silverware or fingers are to eat food. Night life for Indonesians is dedicated to movies, shopping and of course food. In addition to the cinema being a large attraction, some people prefer their own household television sets where a few stations are broadcasted.
 * Culture**

Economy (Industry/Agriculture) Transformed from a world with absolutely no industrial products to producing steel, aluminum and cement in 1965. Little government involvement in private business. Agriculture: Only 10 percent of land used for farming purposes. The biggest crop is obviously rice and others that are grown are as follows; corn, sweet potatoes, sugar, coffee, peanuts, soybeans, fruits. Other items grown are oil palm, rubber, and coconuts. With new technology, irrigation systems were installed to farms and immensely helped poverty-stricken areas. Industry: main industrial fields were; oil, natural gas, food processing, forestry products, cigarette production.

Indonesia first joined the UN in 1950 then later withdrew in 1962 and then re-joined in 1964. Indonesia is also in the organization ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. After Independence, Indonesia became a beneficial region with its natural resources and strategic location. This became to foundation for US relations with Indonesia. During the Cold War, America wanted to to create a relationship with Indonesia because of it's abundant resources, and it did not want the Soviet Union to gain control of the region and turn Indonesia into a communistic state. America needed a hold on the Southeastern countries. Indonesia capitalized on its abundance of natural gas and oil and exported about 70 percent of its petroleum and generated an estimated amount of 500 million barrels, around 6 billion in US dollars. Globalization has had a major affect on Indonesia with everything from their natural resources to the people that inhabit the region to cause interdependence to become more present within the country.
 * Globalization**