Indonesia is also prone to other natural disasters such as earthquakes, and recently suffered further destruction as a result of a powerful undersea quake in late 2004, which caused huge waves to crash over coastal areas of Sumatra, and also over coastal communities across south and east Asia. The earthquake left over 220,000 Indonesians dead or missing.Children have suffered greatly from these disasters, which have compounded existing problems caused by poverty. Twenty-eight per cent of children under five years are malnourished, and over 100 million people lack adequate sanitation. Forty million people have no access to safe drinking water, causing thousands of children to die each year from waterborne illnesses. Child labour is also a major issue, with around three million children thought to be in the labour force.
Country facts
The Republic of Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago and has a population of over 200 million. The country is spread across thousands of islands and has a diverse ethnic mix, with more than 300 local languages.Indonesia became independent of the Netherlands in 1949, but conflict and violence across the nation has harmed, traumatised and displaced children and women on a massive scale. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is estimated to be almost one and a half million.
That Indonesia's population grows by about three million each year, compounds the prolonged economic and monetary crisis and the many other issues facing Indonesians. These include widespread poverty, inadequate allocation of resources from central level, and the absence of minimum standards or regulations for basic services.
- Population: 237 million
- Capital: Jakarta
- Major languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch, local dialects \
- Major religions: Islam, Christianity, Hinduism
- Life expectancy: 70 years
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