Indonesia

Note: This column mainly includes countries along the Belt and Road and countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China on Belt and Road Initiative.

Indonesia is the largest archipelago andthe forth populous country in the world, consisting of five main islands namelySumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. It has a total of 17,508islands, among which 6,000 are inhabited. It stretches 5,150 km between the Australianand Asian continental mainland, and divides the Pacific and Indian Oceans atthe Equator.

Climate

The east monsoon from June to Septemberbrings dry weather while the west monsoon from December to March brings rainyseason. Transitional period between these two are interposed by occasional rainshowers, but even in the midst of west monsoon, temperature range from 21°C(70°F) to 33°C (90°F), except at the higher altitudes, the temperature iscooler.

Heavy rainfalls are recorded in Decemberand January. Humidity is between 60%-100%.

Language and Dialects

There are more than 483 languages anddialects spoken in Indonesia, belong to 350 different ethnic groups ofpopulation. Bahasa Indonesia is the national language, written in Roman scriptand based on European orthography. In all tourist destination areas, English iswidely spoken and written.

Economy

Indonesia is an emerging global powerhousein Asia. With the GDP expected to reach US$ 1 trillion in 2012, Indonesia isthe largest economy in Southeast Asia. Much less affected by the globalfinancial crisis compared to its neighboring countries, Indonesia’s economygrew by 5.7% in 2013, making “The World’s Most Stable Economy in the Last FiveYears” according to The Economist Magazine.

Indonesia grew by 6.2% in 2012 and in 2014,stronger economic growth is expected around the lower end of the 5.8-6.2%range. Future economic expansion is expected to include more inclusive growthas nominal per-capita GDP is expected to quadruple by 2020, according to aStandard Chartered report.

A large part of the economic success is aresult of growing middle class and stable economic growth. Indonesiais in list of MINT economies (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), namelythose that were the most attractive to long-term investors due to theirfavorable demographic profiles.

Indonesia’s debt to GDP ratio has steadilydeclined from 83% in 2001 to be less than 26% by the end of 2013, the lowestamong ASEAN countries, aside from Singapore, which has no governmentdebt.

Source: indonesia.hu