Indonesia Geography Profile 2008

Location

Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates

5 00 S, 120 00 E

Map references

Southeast Asia

Area

total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km
water: 93,000 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 2,830 km
border countries: Timor-Leste 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km

Coastline

54,716 km

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain

mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m

Natural resources

petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use

arable land: 11.03%
permanent crops: 7.04%
other: 81.93% (2005)

Irrigated land

45,000 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

2,838 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 82.78 cu km/yr (8%/1%/91%)
per capita: 372 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires

Environment - current issues

deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean