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Indonesia - insights into:

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Once called the Spice Islands, Indonesia, the fourth largest nation in the world, is a nation in which it is impossible to make generalisations. Spanning the equator, it is an archipelago of over 13,500 islands divided into 27 provinces. The people of Indonesia represent hundreds of languages and cultures and religions. Traveling from one area of Indonesia to another one will experience a diverse range of foods, music, dance and sport. From lush rice fields to active volcanic slopes, (Indonesia has approximately 700 volcanoes, 220 which are still active) from deserted beaches to crowded city streets, the complexity of Indonesia should never be underestimated.

Developments in Indonesia

Despite its long and ancient history, todays Indonesia is a young nation having gained independence in 1948 from centuries of colonialisation. Recent economic development has brought profound changes to Indonesian society. The inflation rate currently hovers at around 10% and the 1997 Asian economic crisis has left many sectors of the country crippled. Each year 2 million people enter the workforce yet only 3% will find employment. Even if they do find work the income is usually not enough to live on. A civil servant earns a mere US$20 per month, a factory worker will earn US$40 per month, a rice farmer will earn .17 cents per day.

Recent laws in Indonesia, such as having to carry an identity card, and the legacy of the trans-migration scheme, have done little to unify this vast and diverse nation. Indeed, many believe that these new laws have created ethnic tension in previously quiet regions.

Rapid urbanisation has meant that now an estimated 40% of the entire population live in massive cities particularly on the island of Java with Jakarta, Surabaya and Jogyakarta.

Indonesia is the Largest Muslim Nation

Today Indonesia is at a point of crisis. Recent leadership changes, scandals, student riots, ethnic murders and more, have created an unstable political scene. Indonesia is a difficult place to govern in the best of times with such huge cultural and ethnic diversity. Every major region of Indonesia has suffered. In March 2001 more than 500 Madurese were brutally massacred by Dayaks with more than 40,000 Madurese fleeing the area. Since 1975 independent Muslim movements in the province of Aceh have caused the deaths of at least 6,000 people. In the past two years clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku Islands have left 500 dead and half a million people homeless.

As the largest Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia is one of the greatest challenges to missions today. There are literally thousands of villages and towns throughout Indonesia that are 100% Muslims with no Christian witness. Yet, throughout Indonesia, particularly in the cities, there are large churches and the Body of Christ is growing rapidly.

Prayer Guide for Indonesia

* Pray for those in leadership in Indonesia. For government officials, for police and military chiefs, for heads of tribes and households.

* Pray for those who have recently lost family members and homes, that God would bring comfort.

* Pray for those enduring economic hardship. Ask God to open doors for Christian workers to create employment opportunities.

* Ask that the Holy Spirit would bring conviction upon Muslim and non-Muslim ethnic groups who may be retaliating against recent massacres in the name of God. (Zechariah 4:6)

Background on Indonesia (World Factbook)

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan’s surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state and home to the world’s largest Muslim population.

Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, and holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations. Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, which particularly affected Aceh province causing over 100,000 deaths and over $4 billion in damage. An additional earthquake in March 2005 created heavy destruction on the island of Nias. Reconstruction in these areas may take up to a decade. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, but it continues to face a low intensity separatist guerilla movement in Papua.

Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited)

Economy of Indonesia

Indonesia still grapples with persistent poverty and unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, endemic corruption, a fragile banking sector, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions. Declining oil production and lack of new exploration investment turned Indonesia into a net oil importer in 2004. The resulting inflation and interest rate hikes dampened growth through mid-2006, while large increases in rice prices pushed millions more people under the national poverty line. Economic reformers introduced three policy packages in 2006 to improve the investment climate, infrastructure, and the financial sector, but translating them into reality has not been easy. Unfortunately, Indonesia suffers new natural disasters all the time. Donors are assisting Indonesia with its disaster mitigation and early warning efforts.

About Indonesia

Population: 237,512,355 (July 2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 70.46 years

Ethnic groups: Javanese 40.6%, Sundanese 15%, Madurese 3.3%, Minangkabau 2.7%, Betawi 2.4%, Bugis 2.4%, Banten 2%, Banjar 1.7%, other or unspecified 29.9%

Religions: Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4%

Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese

Literacy: 90.4% — Male: 94%, Female: 86.8%