Indonesia is the largest archipelago and the fourth most populous country in the world. Consisting of five main islands and 30 smaller archipelagoes, it has the total of more than 17,000 islands of which about 6,000 are inhabited. 
This necklacelike archipelago stretches more than 5,000 kilometers along the equator, between Australia and the Asian continents, dividing the Pacific and Indian Ocean. 

The outer limits of this stretch of islands - from Sabang to Merauke - is as far as California is to Bermuda or as far as Perth (Australia) is to Wellington (New Zealand). The total area of Indonesia is about 5 million sq. km. of which about 2 million sq. km. are land. Its sea area is 4 times larger than its land area. The Indonesians are the only nation in the world who called their country "Tanah Air" meaning "Land (and) Water".

The islands are inhabited by 300 ethnic groups with distinct cultures, speaking 365 languages and dialects.

Indonesia is rich in art and culture which are intertwined with religion
and age-old traditions from the time of early migrants to the Western
thoughts brought by Portuguese traders and Dutch colonialists. The
basic principles which guided life include the concepts of "gotong royong" (mutual assistance) and "musyawarah" (deliberations) to arrive at a "mufakat" (consensus). Derived from rural way of life, this system is still very much in use in community life throughout the country. 

Related Country Facts
 

National Holiday	Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Capital	Jakarta
Government Type	Republic
Climate	Tropical; Hot and Humid
Natural Hazards	Occasional Floods, Severe Droughts, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Volcanoes
Elevation Extremes	Lowest Point: Indian Ocean, 0m Highest Point: Puncak Jaya, 5030m
Birth Rate	22.78 births/1,000 population (1999 est)
Death Rate	8.14 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est)
Total Fertility Rate	2.57 children born/women (1999 est)
Life Expectancy	62.92 Years

Economic Key Indicators
Domestic
 
 

GDP Growth 1998 (%)	-13.7
Inflation (%, CPI, 5/99/yoy)	30.7
S.T. interest rate (%, 6/16/99) (SBI 1-month)	22.5
Stock market index (6/25/99)	673
% change since 12/31/98	69
Unemployment (%, 12/98)	7

External
 

Exchange Rate (IDR/US$, 6/25/99)	6,885
Gross FX Reserves (US$ billion,  6/4/99)	25.9
Import coverage, months	9.7
Consensus Forecast	-2.4
EAP Forecast	0.0

Source : http://www.worldbank.org/data