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The name Indonesia has
its roots in two Greek words: "Indos" meaning Indian and "Nesos"
which means islands. It is an appropriate description of the
archipelago as there are estimated to be a total of 17,508 islands,
of which only about 6,000 are inhabited, stretching for 5,150 km
between the Australian and Asian continental mainlands and dividing
the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator.
Five main islands and 30 smaller archipelagos are home to the
majority of the population. The main islands are Sumatra (473,6O6
sq.km), Kalimantan 1539,400 sq.km), Sulawesi (189,216 sq. km), Irian
Jaya (421,981 sq. km), and last but not least Java (132,187 sq.km),
home to 70 percent of the country's population. Indonesia shares
Irian Jaya with Papua New Guinea and two thirds of the island of
Kalimantan with Malaysia and Borneo.
The islands and people of Indonesia constitute the fourth most
populated nation in the world. As a democratic republic, Indonesia
is divided into 30 provinces and special territories and classified
geographically into four groups. First are the Greater Sundas, made
up of the larger islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Second are the Lesser Sundas, consisting of smaller islands from
Bali eastward to Timor. Third is Maluku, which includes all the
islands between Irian Jaya and Sulawesi. The fourth and final group
is lrian Jaya in the extreme eastern part of the country.
Welcome to Indonesia. It's just a smile away.
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