DIVE INDONESIA DIVE TRAVEL GUIDEIndonesia - Cyber Diver Top 10 Dive Destination >>  slamic fundamentalism, holy wars (jihad), political chaos and corruption, piracy, pollution, bombings, separatists AND some of the world's most beautiful reefs. Have we left anything out?
Indonesia's 13,000 islands encompass hundreds of ethnic groups that are in conflict. From the Moluccas to Lombok Island, from Jakarta to Irian Jaya, religious and ethnic hostility have claimed many lives. Since January 1999, when violence in the Moluccas was triggered by a petty squabble between a bus diver and a passenger, thousands of unarmed men, women and children have been hacked or burned to death. Soldiers and police have fought alongside both Christians and Muslims complicating efforts by the government to reestablish control and stop the two-year war. At the same time, bombings in the capital of Jakarta, separatist violence in Irian Jaya, and communal violence in Central Sulawesi have sent a message around the world that Indonesia's multicultural society is breaking up, that the melting pot is boiling over. But Indonesia is a huge country spanning a distance of some 5,000 kilometers and some areas remain, for the moment at least, peaceful and stable. Whether various regional conflicts can be resolved or will ignite violence and civil unrest in other parts of the country remains to be seen. What has become absolutely clear over the last few years is that many regions within Indonesia have become extremely dangerous and should be avoided altogether. Divers who are willing to take the risk should book with dive travel specialists who work closely with the dive operators and resorts they represent and conduct frequent onsite inspections. Click image to enlarge map |
Facts about Indonesia- Area: 1.9 million sq km
- Population: 228,437,870
- Capital city: Jakarta
- Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
- Literacy: 83.8% total, 89.6% male, 78% female
- Religions: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1%
- Life Expectancy: 65.9 male, 70.75 female
- Government Type: republic
- Currency: Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen
- GDP (per capita): $2,900 (2000 est.)
- Industry: petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, and footwear; mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood; rubber; food; tourism
- Agriculture: ice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs
- Arable Land: 10%
- Natural Resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
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