Established in 1995 By nine individuals concerned and committed to self-reliant community development. This group constitutes the Board of Directors and includes medical doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers and other prominent figures.
Yayasan Mitra Mandiri Indonesia is located in the capital of Jakarta, Indonesia. Yayasan Mitra Mandiri Indonesia is managed by the following voluntary Board of Directors:
There are around 300 distinct native ethnicities in Indonesia.
The national population from the 2000 national census is 206 million, [108] and the Indonesian Central Statistics Bureau and Statistics Indonesia estimate a population of 222 million for 2006. [109] 130 million people live on the island of Java, the world's most populous island. [110] Despite a fairly effective family planning program that has been in place since the 1960s, the population is expected to grow to around 254 million by 2020 and 288 million by 2050. [111]
Most Indonesians are descended from Austronesian-speaking peoples whose languages can be traced to Proto Austronesian (PAn), which likely originated on Taiwan. The other major grouping are Melanesians, who inhabit eastern Indonesia.[112] There are around 300 distinct native ethnicities in Indonesia, and 742 different languages and dialects.[113] The largest ethnic group is the Javanese, who comprise 42% of the population, and are politically and culturally dominant. [114] The Sundanese, ethnic Malays, and Madurese are the largest non-Javanese groups. [115] A sense of Indonesian nationhood exists alongside strong regional identities.[116] Society is largely harmonious, although social, religious and ethnic tensions have triggered horrendous violence. [117] Chinese Indonesians are an influential ethnic minority comprising 3-4% of the population. [118] Much of the country's privately owned commerce and wealth is Chinese-Indonesian-controlled, [119] which has contributed to considerable resentment, and even anti-Chinese violence.[120]
The Istiqlal Mosque and Jakarta Cathedral in Central Jakarta. Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims
The official national language, Indonesian, is universally taught in schools, and consequently is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. It is the language of business, politics, national media, education, and academia. It was constructed from a lingua franca that was in wide use throughout the region, and is thus closely related to Malay which is an official language in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. Indonesian was first promoted by nationalists in the 1920s, and declared the official language on the proclamation of independence in 1945. Most Indonesians speak at least one of the several hundred local languages (bahasa daerah), often as their first language. Of these, Javanese is the most widely spoken as the language of the largest ethnic group. [91] On the other hand, Papua has over 270 indigenous Papuan and Austronesian languages,[121] in a region of about 2.7 million people. A significant fraction of the people who attended school before independence can speak Dutch to some extent. [122]
Although religious freedom is stipulated in the Indonesian constitution, [123] the government officially recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.[124] Although it is not an Islamic state, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, with 86.1% of Indonesians declared Muslim according to the 2000 census. [91] 9% of the population is Christian, [citation needed] 3% are Hindu, and 2% Buddhist or other. Most Indonesian Hindus are Balinese,[125] and most Buddhists in modern-day Indonesia are ethnic Chinese.[126] Though now minority religions, Hinduism and Buddhism remain defining influences in Indonesian culture. Islam was first adopted by Indonesians in northern Sumatra in the 13th century, through the influence of traders, and became the country's dominant religion by the 16th century.[127] Roman Catholicism was brought to Indonesia by early Portuguese colonialists and missionaries,[128] and the Protestant denominations are largely a result of Dutch Calvinist and Lutheran missionary efforts during the country's colonial period. [129] A large proportion of Indonesians—such as the Javanese abangan, Balinese Hindus, and Dayak Christians—practice a less orthodox, syncretic form of their religion, which draws on local customs and beliefs.[130]
Economy of Indonesia and Science and technology in Indonesia
Using water buffalo to plough rice fields in Java. Agriculture has been the country's largest employer for centuries.
At 13 July 2010, Japan Credit Rating Agency has upgraded Indonesia's investment grade from BB+ to BBB (Investment Grade - proper to invest). [85] Indonesia has a market economy in which the government plays a significant role. [86] It is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G-20 major economies. [87] Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product (nominal), purchasing power parity aside for 2008 was US$539.7 billion with estimated nominal per capita GDP was US$2,329, and per capita GDP PPP was US$4,157 ( international dollars). [88] The services sector is the economy's largest and accounts for 45.3% of GDP (2005). This is followed by industry (40.7%) and agriculture (14.0%). [89] However, agriculture employs more people than other sectors, accounting for 44.3% of the 95 million-strong workforce. This is followed by the services sector (36.9%) and industry (18.8%). [90] Major industries include petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, and mining. Major agricultural products include palm oil, rice, tea, coffee, spices, and rubber.
Indonesia's main export markets (2005) are Japan (22.3%), the United States (13.9%), China (9.1%), and Singapore (8.9%). The major suppliers of imports to Indonesia are Japan (18.0%), China (16.1%), and Singapore (12.8%). In 2005, Indonesia ran a trade surplus with export revenues of US$83.64 billion and import expenditure of US$62.02 billion. The country has extensive natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold. Indonesia's major imports include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs. [91]
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and the country's largest commercial center
In the 1960s, the economy deteriorated drastically as a result of political instability, a young and inexperienced government, and economic nationalism, which resulted in severe poverty and hunger. [92] Following President Sukarno's downfall in the mid-1960s, the New Order administration brought a degree of discipline to economic policy that quickly brought inflation down, stabilized the currency, rescheduled foreign debt, and attracted foreign aid and investment. [93] Indonesia is Southeast Asia's only member of OPEC, and the 1970s oil price raises provided an export revenue windfall that contributed to sustained high economic growth rates. [94] Following further reforms in the late 1980s, [95] foreign investment flowed into Indonesia, particularly into the rapidly developing export-oriented manufacturing sector, and from 1989 to 1997, the Indonesian economy grew by an average of over 7%. [96]
Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98. Against the US dollar, the rupiah dropped from about Rp. 2,600 to a low point of 14,000, and the economy shrank by 13.7%. [97] The Rupiah has since stabilised in the Rp. 8,000 to 10,000 range, [98] and a slow but significant economic recovery has ensued. However, political instability, slow economic reform, and corruption at all levels of government and business, have slowed the recovery. [5] [99] Transparency International ranked Indonesia 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. [100] The rank rose to 111st out of 180 in 2009 [101] GDP growth, however, exceeded 5% in both 2004 and 2005, and is forecast to increase further. [102] This growth rate, however, was not enough to make a significant impact on unemployment, [103] and stagnant wages growth and increases in fuel and rice prices have worsened poverty levels. As of 2006, an estimated 17.8% of the population was living below the poverty line, defined by the Indonesian government as purchasing power parity of US$1.55 per day (household income). According to the 2006 estimates, nearly half of the population was living on less than US$2 per day.[104]However, the national economy has grown strongly again since 2007 with an average 6% [105], and it has helped the unemployment rate decline to 8.46% in 2008, [106] and in comparison to its neighbours, Indonesia has been less affected by the 2008 global recession. [107]
