什麼是印尼

正式名稱印尼共和國（Republic of Indonesia）

舊稱荷屬印度羣島（Netherlands Indies）

羣島國家，位於東南亞大陸海岸之外。約有島嶼13,670餘個，其中逾7,000個是無人島。面積1,922,570平方公里。人口約212,195,000（2001）。首都︰雅加達（位於爪哇島）。約有300個不同的人種粗分成三個羣體︰爪哇及其鄰近島嶼的中稻的穆斯林；沿海的穆斯林，包括了蘇門答臘的馬來人，以及達雅克人等其他人種。語言︰印尼語（官方語）；另外有約250種語言，分屬各個不同的種族。宗教︰一神論派（國教）、伊斯蘭教（信徒逾4/5）、印度教和佛教。貨幣︰盧比（Rp）。印尼國土西起蘇門答臘，東至新幾內亞，長約5,100公里。其他主要島嶼有︰爪哇（全國逾半數的人口聚居於此）、巴里、龍目、松巴哇、帝汶的西半部、婆羅洲（部分）、西里伯斯（蘇拉維西），和摩鹿加北部。島嶼的特徵是崎嶇的火山和熱帶雨林。地質不穩定，該國地震頻繁及有220座活火山，其中包括了喀拉喀託。僅十分之一的土地可供利用，稻米是主要農作物。石油、天然氣、林業產品、服裝和橡膠是該國主要輸出品。政府形式爲共和國，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦是總統。

西元前1000年原始馬來人從亞洲大陸移居印尼，約西元1世紀左右與中國建立商業關係，並受到印度的印度教和佛教文化影響的支配。13世紀時印度的貿易商引進伊斯蘭教；除巴里島仍維持印度教的信仰及文化外，整個羣島都受它支配。歐洲人的影響始於16世紀，17世紀晚期起印尼受荷蘭人統治，直至1942年日本人入侵爲止。1945年蘇卡諾宣佈印尼獨立，1949年獲荷蘭的同意，僅維持名義上與尼德蘭的聯盟關係；1954年印尼解散這個聯盟。1965年爲鎮壓一場政變造成逾三十萬人死亡，這些人被政府認爲是共產黨人，1968年蘇哈托將軍掌權。他的政府於1975～1976年強行將東帝汶併入印尼，造成多人喪生。1990年代該國受政治、經濟及環境問題所苦，1998年蘇哈托被廢黜；副總統哈比比代之。穆斯林領袖瓦希德於1999年當選總統但在2001年因受到醜聞牽連而遭政府撤換，由副總統蘇哈托的長女梅嘉瓦蒂繼任。1999年東帝汶的人民舉行公投脫離印尼而獨立，並獲得認可。東帝汶在聯合國監督下成爲非自治領地，後於2002年獲得完全獨立。

Indonesia

formerly Netherlands Indiesarchipelago nation, located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia. It comprises about 13,670 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. Area: 742,308 square miles (1,922,570 square km). Population (2001 est.): 212,195,000. Capital: Jakarta (on Java) It has more than 300 different ethnic groups which fall into three broad groups: the Muslim rice growers of Java and neighboring islands; the Muslim coastal peoples, including the Malays of Sumatra; and the Dayak and other ethnic groups. Language: Bahasa Indonesia (official); some 250 languages from different ethnic groups. Religions: monotheism (official); Islam (more than four-fifths); Hinduism; Buddhism. Currency: rupiah. Indonesia stretches 3,200 miles (5,100 km) from Sumatra in the west to New Guinea in the east. Other major islands include Java (with more than half of Indonesia's population), Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, the western half of Timor, Borneo (part), Celebes (Sulawesi), and the northern Moluccas. The islands are characterized by rugged volcanic mountains and tropical rainforests. Geologically unstable, Indonesia has frequent earthquakes and 220 active volcanoes, including Krakatau. Only one-tenth of its land is arable, and rice is the staple crop. Oil, natural gas, timber products, garments, and rubber are the country's major exports. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Proto-Malay peoples migrated to Indonesia from mainland Asia before 1000 BC. Commercial relations were established with China in about the 1st century AD, and Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences from India began to take hold. Indian traders brought Islam to the islands in the 13th century; it took hold throughout the islands, except for Bali, which retained its Hindu religion and culture. European influence began in the 16th century, and the Dutch ruled Indonesia from the late 17th century until 1942, when the Japanese invaded. Sukarno declared Indonesia's independence in 1945, which the Dutch granted, with nominal union to the Netherlands, in 1949; Indonesia dissolved this union in 1954. The suppression of an alleged coup attempt in 1965 resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 people the government claimed to be communists, and by 1968 General Suharto had taken power. His government forcibly incorporated East Timor into Indonesia in 1975-76, with much loss of life. In the 1990s the country was beset by political, economic, and environmental problems, and Suharto was deposed in 1998; he was replaced by his vice president, B.J. Habibie. Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid was elected president in 1999 but was removed from office in 2001 after being implicated in scandals. He was replaced by his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the eldest daughter of Sukarno. In 1999 the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia, which was granted. East Timor became a non-self-governing territory under United Nations supervision and in 2002 acheived full sovereignty.