Page last updated on January 28, 2014

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: 1,904,569 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 15
land: 1,811,569 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
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
54,716 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Puncak Jaya 4,884 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 12.34%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 10.5%
other: 77.16% (2011)

Irrigated land:
67,220 sq km (2005)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
2,019 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 113.3 cu km/yr (11%/19%/71%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 517.3 cu m/yr (2005)

Natural hazards:
occasional floods; severe droughts; tsunamis; earthquakes; volcanoes; forest fires
volcanism: Indonesia contains the most volcanoes of any country in the world - some 76 are historically active; significant volcanic activity occurs on Java, Sumatra, the Sunda Islands, Halmahera Island, Sulawesi Island, Sangihe Island, and in the Banda Sea; Merapi (elev. 2,968 m), Indonesia's most active volcano and in eruption since 2010, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Agung, Awu, Karangetang, Krakatau (Krakatoa), Makian, Raung, and Tambora

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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

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