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), Netherlands New Guinea
etymology: the name is an 18th-century construct of two Greek words, "Indos" (India) and "nesoi" (islands), meaning "Indian islands"
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Jakarta; note - Indonesian lawmakers on 18 January 2022 approved the relocation of the country’s capital from Jakarta to a site in East Kalimantan, a jungle area of Borneo; the move to Nusantara, the name of the new capital, will take several years
geographic coordinates: 6 10 S, 106 49 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
time zone note: Indonesia has three time zones
etymology: "Jakarta" derives from the Sanscrit "Jayakarta" meaning "victorious city" and refers to a successful defeat and expulsion of the Portuguese in 1527; previously the port had been named "Sunda Kelapa"
Administrative divisions
31 provinces (provinsi-provinsi, singular - provinsi), 1 autonomous province*, 1 special region** (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 national capital district*** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta***, Jambi, Jawa Barat (West Java), Jawa Tengah (Central Java), Jawa Timur (East Java), Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan), Kalimantan Selatan (South Kalimantan), Kalimantan Tengah (Central Kalimantan), Kalimantan Timur (East Kalimantan), Kalimantan Utara (North Kalimantan), Kepulauan Bangka Belitung (Bangka Belitung Islands), Kepulauan Riau (Riau Islands), Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara (North Maluku), Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa Tenggara), Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Nusa Tenggara), Papua, Papua Barat (West Papua), Riau, Sulawesi Barat (West Sulawesi), Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi), Sulawesi Tengah (Central Sulawesi), Sulawesi Tenggara (Southeast Sulawesi), Sulawesi Utara (North Sulawesi), Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra), Sumatera Selatan (South Sumatra), Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra), Yogyakarta**
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, regencies and municipalities have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services
Independence
17 August 1945 (declared independence from the Netherlands)
National holiday
Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Constitution
history: drafted July to August 1945, effective 18 August 1945, abrogated by 1949 and 1950 constitutions; 1945 constitution restored 5 July 1959
amendments: proposed by the People’s Consultative Assembly, with at least two thirds of its members present; passage requires simple majority vote by the Assembly membership; constitutional articles on the unitary form of the state cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2002
Legal system
civil law system based on the Roman-Dutch model and influenced by customary law
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Indonesia
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 continuous years
Suffrage
17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
Executive branch
chief of state: President Joko WIDODO (since 20 October 2014, reelected 17 April 2019, inauguration 19 October 2019); Vice President Ma'ruf AMIN (since 20 October 2019); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joko WIDODO (since 20 October 2014); Vice President Ma'ruf AMIN (since 20 October 2019)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 April 2019 (next election 2024)
election results: Joko WIDODO elected president; percent of vote - Joko WIDODO (PDI-P) 55.5%, PRABOWO Subianto Djojohadikusumo (GERINDRA) 44.5%
Legislative branch
description: bicameral People's Consultative Assembly or Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) consists of:
Regional Representative Council or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (136 seats; non-partisan members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies - 4 each from the country's 34 electoral districts - by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the Regional Representative Council has no legislative authority
House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (575 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 5-year terms) (2019)
elections: Regional Representative Council - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 17 April 2019 (next to be held 2024) (2019)
election results: Regional Representative Council - all seats elected on a non-partisan basis; composition - men 102, women 34, percent of women 25%
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDI-P 19.3%, Gerindra 12.6%, Golkar 12.3%, PKB 9.7%, Nasdem 9.1%, PKS 8.2%, PD 7.8%, PAN 6.8%, PPP 4.5%, other 9.6%; seats by party - PDI-P 128, Golkar 85, Gerindra 78, Nasdem 59, PKB 58, PD 54, PKS 50, PAN 44, PPP 19; composition - men 449, women 126, percent of women 21.9%; total People's Consultative Assembly percent of women 22.5% (2019)
Judicial branch
highest courts: Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (51 judges divided into 8 chambers); Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi (consists of 9 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by Judicial Commission, appointed by president with concurrence of parliament; judges serve until retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court judges - 3 nominated by president, 3 by Supreme Court, and 3 by parliament; judges appointed by the president; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts: High Courts of Appeal, district courts, religious courts
Political parties and leaders
Berkarya Party [Muchdi PURWOPRANJONO]
Crescent Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA]
Democrat Party or PD [Agus Harimurti YUDHOYONO]
Functional Groups Party or GOLKAR [Airlangga HARTARTO]
Great Indonesia Movement Party or GERINDRA [PRABOWO Subianto Djojohadikusumo]
Garuda Party [Ahmad Ridha SABANA]
Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]
Indonesian Justice and Unity Party or PKPI [Yussuf SOLICHIEN]
Indonesian Solidarity Party or PSI [GIRING GANESHA]
National Awakening Party or PKB [Muhaiman ISKANDAR]
National Democratic Party or NasDem [Surya PALOH]
National Mandate Party or PAN [Zulkifli HASAN]
People's Conscience Party or Hanura [Oesman Sapta ODANG]
Perindo Party [Hary TANOESOEDIBJO]
Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Ahmad SYAIKHU]
United Development Party or PPP [Suharso MONOARFA] (2021)