Fossil evidence suggests the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by Homo erectus, During the war, Sukarno, a popular leader of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, cooperated with the occupying Japanese with the intention of strengthening the independence movement. On August 17 1945, Sukarno, with the Japanese organized National Committee of Independence (BPUPKI) unilaterally declared Indonesian independence. Sukarno then became the first president, while Muhammad Hatta became the vice-president. Over the next four years, the Netherlands mounted military campaigns to reoccupy Indonesia, but in the face of international pressure acknowledged Indonesian independence in 1949.


Increasing tensions between the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) and the Indonesian military culminated in an abortive coup on 30 September 1965 which saw six top-ranking generals murdered in circumstances that remain contentious even today. A quick counter-coup led by Major General Suharto resulted in an anti-communist purge centered mainly in Java and Bali, and to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of communists and their sympathizers. Suharto capitalized on Sukarno's gravely weakened position and, by 1967, had maneuvered himself into the presidency. Commonly referred to as the ''New Order'', Suharto's administration encouraged major foreign investment in Indonesia, which was to become a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth.

From 1997 to 1998, however, Indonesia became the country hardest hit by the East Asian Financial Crisis, aggravating popular discontent with Suharto, who already faced accusations of corruption, and further inflaming popular protests in early 1998. On 21 May 1998, President Suharto announced his resignation, ushering in the ''Reformasi'' era in Indonesia. A wide range of reforms have been introduced since then, including Indonesia's first direct presidential election in 2004, but progress has been slowed by political and economic instability, social unrest, terrorism and recent natural disasters. Although relations between different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute sectarian discontent, even violence, remains a problem in some areas. Political settlements relating to separatism issues have been achieved in Aceh and East Timor, the latter having seceded from Indonesia in 1999.

Indonesia currently has 33 provinces, three of which have special status. One is a special capital region. The provinces are subdivided into regencies and cities, which are further subdivided into subdistricts.

Indonesian provinces:


(

) indicates the provinces with special status.

Indonesia's 18,108 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited,• are scattered around the equator, giving the country a tropical climate. The five main islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea) and Sulawesi. Indonesia borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo (Indonesian, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea and East Timor on the island of Timor. The capital Jakarta is the nation's largest city, followed by Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and Semarang.


At 1,919,440 km² (741,050 mi²), Indonesia is the world's 16th-largest country in terms of land area, after Saudi Arabia. • Its population density is 134.39 people per square kilometer, 79th in the world.•

Its location on the edges of three tectonic plates, specifically the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian plates, makes Indonesia a site of frequent earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis. Indonesia has at least 66 volcanoes, including Krakatoa, located between Sumatra and Java, and famous for its massive 1883 eruption.

Indonesia has around 300 ethnic groups each with cultural differences which have shifted over the centuries and the concept of Indonesian culture is a fusion of this diversity. One example is the Borobudur temple, which is a mix of Hinduism and Javanese culture, as it was built by a Javanese dynasty, the Sailendra. Indonesia has also imported cultural aspects from Arabic, Chinese, Malay and European sources.

Art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology as does the Javanese and Balinese wayang kulit shadow puppet shows, depicting several mythological events. Cloth such as batik, ikat and songket are created across Indonesia with different areas having different styles and specialisations. The most dominant influences on Indonesian architecture have traditionally been Indian, however, European architecture has had a significant influence, particularly from the 19th century. Pencak Silat is a unique martial art originating from the archipelago.


Indonesian music varies within cities and groups as people who live in the countryside would listen to a different kind of music than people in the city. Although rock was introduced in Indonesia by Indonesian rock band, God Bless (see Ian Antono),•

Media freedom in Indonesia increased considerably after the end of President Suharto's rule, during which the now-defunct Ministry of Information monitored and controlled domestic media and restricted foreign media.• The TV market includes 10 national commercial networks, which compete with public TVRI. Some provinces also operate their own stations. Private radio stations carry their own news bulletins and foreign broadcasters can supply programmes. The radio dial is crowded, with scores of stations on the air in Jakarta alone. Internet use is increasing Bisnis Indonesia reported in 2004 that there were 10 million users.