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Country Pages > The Republic of Indonesia
The Republic of Indonesia has a land area of approximately 1,904,443 sq km. As of July 2007, its population is estimated at 234,693,997 and is the fourth largest populated country in the world. The country is located in Southeast Asia and is the largest archipelago, consisting of 17,508 islands. It is also the largest economy in the ASEAN. Indonesia¡¯s GDP in 2004 was about 267.8 billion USD. Agriculture contributed to approximately 2.51£¥ of its GDP in 2003.
Indonesia¡¯s population was about 220 million in 2005. Sixty two percent of that population lived in Java Island, which only occupied 7% of the total area. The proportion of active agricultural economic population was more than 50% in 2004, while the contribution of agriculture to the nation¡¯s GDP was only 17%. At the same time, the industrial population was approximately 25%. This situation indicates that there is a natural shifting of economic structure. Indonesia¡¯s agricultural sector carrying a large portion of population with low income is a problematic situation. The ratio between agricultural income and non-agricultural income is about 1 to 6.
Based on this structural transformation process, the newly elected government in 2004 has launched a programme to revitalize agriculture with the objectives to (a) increase food security system, (b) develop agribusiness, and (c) increase farmers¡¯ welfare. Increasing the food security system will include increased food production through crop intensification, land development for new rice land and other food crops, irrigation efficiency, optimum usage of farm machinery, and post harvest losses reduction.
Additionally, agribusiness development will include product diversification, quality achievement and small scale industry development in rural areas. These will be supported by quality human resource development for extension, education and training. Financial aid will also be created to enable small farmer¡¯s access to credit easier. In this revitalization program, agricultural engineering plays an important role in increasing farming system efficiency, reducing post harvest losses, preserving quality of products, increasing added value of products and by products. Through the agricultural engineering development, Indonesia has the ability to modernize its agricultural industry while simultaneously contributing to rural poverty reduction and rural economic development.
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Area:
total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km
water: 93,000 sq km
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain:
mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use:
arable land: 11.03%
permanent crops: 7.04%
other: 81.93% (2005)
Irrigated land:
45,000 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires
Current environmental issues:
deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires |
