Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Land of Indonesia


The Land of Indonesia

Indonesia is an archipelago consisting of about 13.677 islands, spread out along 3,000 miles from the mainland of South-east Asia to Australia. The territory of Indonesia Stretches from Sabang, in the west, to Merauke, in the east. The climate is tropical and volcanic mountains range from Sumatra to Java, the Celebes, sulawesi, the Lesser Sundas and other islands. Most of the people and resources are found on the four largest island.
The national capital, Jakarta, is situated in the west and is a centre of trade and finance; Surabaya in the east is the second most important centre of trade. While Semarang is the third most important in central java. The small island of Madura is situated near java produces cattle and salt.
Sumatra is three times larger than java and produces the main exports like rubber, tobacco, pepper, coconut, palm oil, petroleum, and bauxite. Medan is the main trading centre. Other cities like Palembang and Pekan baru are Oil-cities, and Padang is also vital to ensure the live hood of the island.
Borneo is the second largest island after West Irian. Its coastal plain covered by thick jungle and Wide River, has about 7,000,000 inhabitants. The main products are timber, copra, rubber and diamonds with huge area of resources that have yet to be discovered. Borneo is also the second most important area for oil after Sumatra, the small twons include Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Samarinda and balik papan. The northern part of the island was formerly colonized by the British and is now part of Malaysia.
The Celebes is a mountainous island with an area of 75,000 square miles. Apart from agriculture, the main industries are fishing and copra. Nickel has recently been discovered but other mineral have not yet been exploited. Makasar, is the larger city in the south while Manado is in the north.
The Moluccas, Bali and the lesser Sundas are made up of the many small islands between java, the Celebes and West Irian. Their total area is about 60,000 square miles. The Moluccas produce fish, spices and pearls; while the lesser Sundas produce cattle and horses. Culturally, Bali is unique and is the main attraction for tourists from all corners of the globe. Bali also produces agricultural products and handicrafts.
West Irian lies in the most eastern region and has common border with Australian New Guinea. It is by far the largest region with an area of 160,000 square miles. Most of its resources such as timber and rattan have not yet been exploited. Among the main towns are Jayapura, Biak, Fak-fak, sorong, Manokwari, Merauke, Wamena, and Enarotali. However West Irian is relatively back ward compared with other parts of Indonesia.
More than 95 % of the Indonesian people are of Malay stock, with a long-established Chinese minority as well as Indians and Arabs. In Indonesia there are about 80 sub-national groups who speak about 300 different regional languages and dialect. 90 % of the people are Muslims, 5 % are Christians, 2 % are Balinese Hindus and the other are animist of Buddhists.