British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) | Indonesia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 30 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts or regencies became the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 29.4% (male 35,635,790; female 34,416,854)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 78,097,767; female 78,147,909) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 5,308,986; female 6,845,646) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, poultry, beef, pork, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 661 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 154
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 44 914 to 1,523 m: 49 under 914 m: 44 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 513
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 480 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km water: 93,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. Current issues include: alleviating widespread poverty, preventing terrorism, continuing the transition to popularly-elected governments after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing reforms of the banking sector, addressing charges of cronyism and corruption, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, and resolving armed separatist movements in Aceh and Papua. |
Birth rate | - | 21.11 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $40.91 billion
expenditures: $44.95 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | - | Jakarta |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
Coastline | 698 km | 54,716 km |
Constitution | - | August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia local long form: Republik Indonesia local short form: Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies |
Currency | - | Indonesian rupiah (IDR) |
Death rate | - | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $135.7 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador B. Lynn PASCOE
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5, Jakarta 10110 mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520 telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000 FAX: [62] (21) 385-7189 consulate(s) general: Surabaya |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador SOEMADI Brotodiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200 FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001 the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1965 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest island in the chain; | East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary; numbers of East Timor refugees in Indonesia refuse repatriation; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $43 billion Indonesia finished its IMF program in December 2003 but still receives bilateral aid through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which pledged $2.8 billion in grants and loans for 2004. (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The country makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. | Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces economic development problems stemming from recent acts of terrorism, unequal resource distribution among regions, endemic corruption, the lack of reliable legal recourse in contract disputes, weaknesses in the banking system, and a generally poor climate for foreign investment. Indonesia withdrew from its IMF program at the end of 2003, but issued a "White Paper" that commits the government to maintaining fundamentally sound macroeconomic policies previously established under IMF guidelines. Investors, however, continued to face a host of on-the-ground microeconomic problems and an inadequate judicial system. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 89.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 95.78 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | - | Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% |
Exchange rates | - | Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 8,577.13 (2003), 9,311.19 (2002), 10,260.8 (2001), 8,421.77 (2000), 7,855.15 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president were elected by direct vote of the citizenry election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4% |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber |
Exports - partners | - | Japan 22.3%, US 12.1%, Singapore 8.9%, South Korea 7.1%, China 6.2% (2003) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with 2001, has been changed to calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $758.8 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 43.6% services: 39.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E | 5 00 S, 120 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 22 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 342,700 km
paved: 158,670 km unpaved: 184,030 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 26.7% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; possible growing role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle heroin |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | - | Japan 13%, Singapore 12.8%, China 9.1%, US 8.3%, Thailand 5.2%, Australia 5.1%, South Korea 4.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | - | 17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed); 27 December 1949 (Netherlands recognizes Indonesian independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | - | petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 36.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 42.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 31.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6.6% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | - | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 48,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Makhama Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights |
Labor force | - | 105.7 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 45%, industry 16%, services 39% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,830 km
border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 11.32%
permanent crops: 7.23% other: 81.45% (2001) |
Languages | - | Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching President and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50 note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the number of votes received by parties |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 69.26 years
male: 66.84 years female: 71.8 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.9% male: 92.5% female: 83.4% (2002) |
Location | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 718 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,192,847 GRT/4,319,739 DWT
by type: bulk 47, cargo 398, chemical tanker 13, container 57, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 13, petroleum tanker 128, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 15, short-sea/passenger 9, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 7 foreign-owned: France 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 2, Japan 3, Malaysia 1, Monaco 2, Panama 1, Philippines 2, Singapore 12, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 1 registered in other countries: 109 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Indonesia Armed Forces (TNI): Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL, including Marines, Naval Air arm), Air Force (TNI-AU) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1 billion (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.3% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 66,458,805 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 38,728,029 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 2,196,424 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 17 August (1945) |
Nationality | - | noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 850 km; condensate/gas 128 km; gas 8,506 km; oil 7,472 km; oil/gas/water 66 km; refined products 1,329 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Democratic Party or PD [Subur BUDHISANTOSO, chairman]; Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA, chairman]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [MAHFUD, acting chairman]; United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2006 est.) |
238,452,952 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 27% (1999) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.49% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Makassar, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 6,458 km
narrow gauge: 5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (125 km electrified); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | - | Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: domestic service fair, international service good
domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system international: country code - 62; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 7.75 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 11.7 million (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 41 (1999) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) | mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.47 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 8.7% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 21,579 km
note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km (2004) |