Indonesia is an independent state in South-Eastern Asia, and a member of the United Nations. Treaties and official documents call it Republic of Indonesia. Its seat of government is Jakarta.
The land area is 1,904,569 km², which ranks it 16th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Mexico and just ahead of Sudan. That makes it almost exactly the same size as Sudan.
It is home to roughly 283.5 million people, placing it 4th of 250 by population — between the United States above it and Pakistan below. Among the 11 entries in South-Eastern Asia it ranks 1st by area and 1st by population.
Geography and neighbours of Indonesia
Its reference point sits at 5.0° south and 120.0° east, which puts it in the southern hemisphere, roughly 557 km from the equator, in what geographers would call the equatorial belt.
It is one of the countries that the equator crosses. Countries on the same parallel, far away in longitude, include Tanzania, Burundi and Seychelles.
3 countries share a land border with it: Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. The largest of them by area is Papua New Guinea, while the most populous is Malaysia. Together those neighbours hold about 47.5 million people.
It has both a coastline and land borders, which is the most common arrangement of all.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The people of Indonesia
Spread across 1,904,569 km², that works out at about 149 people per square kilometre, which makes it more crowded than the typical entry on this list. The median across all 250 entries here is about 90 per square kilometre.
Officially it is monolingual: Indonesian. No other entry in this dataset lists Indonesian, so on this list it stands alone.
Someone from Indonesia is an Indonesian.
Against Asia as a whole it is the 3rd most populous of 50 entries, and it accounts for 41% of everyone living in South-Eastern Asia.
Money, codes and practical details
Money there is the Indonesian rupiah (Rp, IDR). That currency appears nowhere else on this list.
Jakarta is the city to remember for this country.
Websites there use the .id domain. Calls from overseas start with +62. Standard country codes: id and IDN.
Indonesia is one of the 193 UN member states in this dataset. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 250 rather than the familiar 195.
Neighbouring countries
Indonesia shares borders with 3 countries:
Fun facts about Indonesia
- Tanzania and Burundi sit at almost the same latitude, on the far side of the globe.
- Within South-Eastern Asia it is the 1st largest of 11.
- It lies about 557 km from the equator, in equatorial latitudes.
- Websites based there use the .id domain.
- People from Indonesia are known as Indonesians.
- The Indonesian rupiah is used here and nowhere else on this list.
- In land area it is almost exactly the same size as Sudan.
- The equator runs across or very near it.
Indonesia — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Indonesia?
- The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta.
- How big is Indonesia?
- Indonesia covers 1,904,569 km², ranking 16th of 250 by land area. That makes it almost exactly the same size as Sudan.
- What language is spoken in Indonesia?
- The official language of Indonesia is Indonesian. No other entry on this list gives it official status.
- Is Indonesia a country?
- Yes. Indonesia is a sovereign state and one of the 193 UN members listed on this site.
- What is the population of Indonesia?
- Indonesia has a population of about 283.5 million, which makes it the 4th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. The United States sits just above it and Pakistan just below.
- What currency does Indonesia use?
- Indonesia uses the Indonesian rupiah, written Rp (currency code IDR). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- Which countries border Indonesia?
- Indonesia borders 3 countries: Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is the largest of them by area.
- Where is Indonesia located?
- Indonesia is in South-Eastern Asia, part of Asia. Its reference coordinates are 5.0° south and 120.0° east, roughly 557 km from the equator in equatorial latitudes.
