History: Situated on the sea
route between China and India, and possessing abundant
natural resournces, the islands of the Indonesian archipelago
have long attracted the attention of outside influences.
From 3000 BC onwards Malay peoples from western China
began to settle in the archipelago. Begininning in the
first century AD, Indonesia came into contact with the
Hindu-Buddist culture of India. The Buddhist Smatra-based
Sri-Vijaya Empire ruled the archipelago between the 7th
and 13th centuries. It was succeeded in 1293 by the Hindu-Buddhist
Java-centered Majapahit Empire, which controlled much
of the archipelago until the mid-15th centruy. Majapahit's
decline coincided with the growth in Indonesia of Islam,
introduced by traders. Indonesia was under colonial rule
from 1511-1945 and now has had a popularly elected government
since 1999--but not without much opposition by powerful
extremistes in both the military and Islamic parties.
Statistics:
Capital:
Jakarta
Population: 212,991,926
Languages:
Bahasa Indonesian (official), ethnic and regional dialects
Currency: Rupiah
GDP per capita:
$2,830
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