All about Indonesia

INDONESIA???

Indonesia is a vast country of sprawling archipelago with a diverse demographic range of over 300 ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group in Indonesia is the Javanese who make up 41% of the total population. The Javanese are concentrated on the island of Java but millions have migrated to other islands throughout the archipelago because of the transmigration program. The Sundanese, Malay, and Madurese are the next largest groups in the country. Many ethnic groups, particularly in Kalimantan and Papua, have only hundreds of members. Most of the local languages belong to Austronesian language family, although a significant number, particularly in Papua, speak Papuan languages. The Chinese Indonesian population makes up a little less than 1% of the total Indonesian population according to the 2000 census. Some of these Indonesians of Chinese descent speak various Chinese dialects, most notably Hokkien and Hakka.

 According to the CIA factbook there are 17,000 islands in Nusantara (another name of Indonesia). 8,844 islands have been named according to estimates made by the Government of Indonesia, with 922 of those permanently inhabited.

More than 700 living languages are spoken in Indonesia. Most belong to the Austronesian language family, with a few Papuan languages also spoken. The official language is Indonesian (locally known as Bahasa Indonesia), a modified version of Malay, which is used in commerce, administration, education and the media, but most Indonesians speak local languages, such as Javanese, as their first language.Since Indonesia only recognizes a single official language, other languages are not recognized either at national level nor regional level, thus making Javanese the most widely spoken language without official status, and Sundanese the second in the list (excluding Chinese dialects).