The population of Indonesia has been reclassified, not so much on the basis of their racial origins, but more so on the basis of their linguistics identities caused by mentioned diversification, into four ethnic groups. A pure classification according to their racial origins is difficult to realize due to their inter-marriages. These four main ethnic groups are the Melanesians (the mixture between the Sub-Mongoloids with the Wajaks), the Proto-Austronesians (including the Wajaks), the Polynesians and the Micronesians.

These Melanesians are again sub-divided into the Acehnese of North Sumatra, the Batak in Northeast Sumatra, the Minangkabaus in West Sumatra, the Sundanese in West Java, the Javanese in Central and East Java, the Madurese on the island of Madura, the Balinese, the Sasaks on the island of Lombok, and Timorese on Timor Island. On the island of Borneo in Indonesia's Kalimantan, one finds the Dayaks. On the island of Sulawesi in the north are the Minahasas and in the center the Torajas, and in the southern part, the Makasarese and the Buginese. The Ambonese on the group of islands in the Maluku and the Irianese in Papua are classified into the Polynesians and the Proto-Austronesians. The Micronesians are found on tiny islets of Indonesia's eastern borders.

Languages and Dialects

Languages and dialects spoken and written over the whole of the Indonesian archipelago, 150 to 250 in number are usually classified according to the above mentioned ethnic denominations. The main district local languages of Indonesia are among others: the Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, several Irianese languages and other such languages. In between these languages there exist many other different dialects.                 

Race, Culture and Ethnic Groups

The first inhabitant of Indonesia was the Javaman, who lived 500,000 years ago, named Pithecanthropus erectus by Eugene Dubois who found the fossils at several places on the island of Java in the vicinity of the Bengawan Solo River. The fossils found in 1891 and 1892 in the village of Trinil, near Solo, were called Homo Soloensis, while those found in Wajak were called Wajakensis. Homo Soloensis with the same characteristics as the Austro-Melanosoid people had roamed to the West (Sumatra) and to the East (Papua).

In the period of 3,000-500 BC, Indonesia was inhabited by Sub-Mongoloid migrants from Asia who later inter-married with the indigenous people. In 1,000 BC, inter-marriage still occurred with Indo-Arian migrants from the South-Asian sub-continent of India.

The influx of the Indian settlers until the seventh century AD brought about the Hindu religion spread throughout the archipelago.

Moslem merchants from Gujarat and Persia began visiting Indonesia in the 13^th century and established trade links between this country and India and Persia. While conducting trade, the Gujarat and the Arab people also spread the Islamic religion in this area. The first to accept the Islam religion were the coastal kingdoms, which before had embraced Hinduism.

In Aceh, Islam was widely accepted by the community with the Pasai and Perlak Kingdoms becoming the first Moslem kingdoms in the archipelago.

First accepted by court circles, Islam founds its way to the community at a later stage. Particularly in Java, the "Wali Songo" (Javanese Islamic preachers) had played a very important role.

It was in 1511, that Portuguese arrived in Indonesia. The arrival of the Portuguese should be linked to the European demand for spices. They were followed by Spaniards, the Dutch and the British. Besides search for spices, they propagate Christianity.

In the rivalry that ensued, the Dutch ultimately succeeded in gaining the trade monopoly in spices throughout the archipelago, thus making the beginning of 350 years of Dutch colonialism over the country.

In the period preceding independence, Indonesia's community was made up of a large variety of ethnic groups or rural communities. The members of each group are tied to each other by a sense of solidarity and identity which finds its roots in the land, language, art, culture and customs they share.

Apart from the indigenous communities, other sub-communities of foreign descent are the Chinese, Arabs and Indians.

POPULATION

Number, Growth Rate, and Distribution

According to the 2000 Population Census, Indonesia had total population of 205,843,000 heads placing it the world's fourth largest after China, India, and the United States of America_ with ratio between males and females over 100, meaning more male than female in number. With population growth of 1.49 percent per annum during the period of 1990-2000, the total number of population in June 2003 was estimated at 215,276,000 heads with population density at about 111 heads per sq km.

The country's Central Statistics Bureau and Statistics Indonesia quote 222 million as the population for 2006, while other sources such as the CIA Factbook “World Fact Book 2006” estimates are over 245 million. It should be noted that CIA Factbook quotes a growth rate far higher at 1.45% versus less than 1% for Statistics Indonesia. Some parts of Indonesia are some of the most densely populated areas in the world: for example, Java is the most populous island in the world.

Since its proclamation of independence in August 1945, the country has held population census for five times i.e. in 1961, 1971, 1980, 1990, and 2000. Population growth rate tended to decline during the past two decades. During the period of 1980-1990, population grew at an average of 1.97 percent per annum; it decreased to an average of 1.49 percent in the 1990-2000 period. This declining growth rate was parallel with the decrease of a households' number. Based on the 1990 Census, there were 39,546,000 households with an average of 4.5 heads per household. The following decade saw the total households numbering 52,008,000 with an average of 3.9 heads per household. The decline was chiefly due to the success of family planning programs starting into operation in 1970s.

In 2002, of 91,600,000 working population, some 44.34 percent worked in agricultural sector, 19.42 percent in trade, 13.21 percent in manufacturing employees in the sectors of services, manufacturing, trade, and agriculture, industry, and 11.30 percent in services. Higher proportion of the working population in Java earned their life in manufacturing and trade rather than in agriculture. The reverse applied in other islands. Further, the remaining 27.33 percent worked as labors or employees.                                            

With its land area of about 6.75 percent of the country's total land area, Java accounts for about 58.83 percent of the country's total population. It means population density in Java Island is 997 heads per sq km. The Greater Jakarta, which accounts for only 0.4 percent of the country's total area, is home to about 4.01 percent of the country's total population, making its population density stood at 12,985 heads per sq km. Trailing behind is Banten with 1,100 heads per sq km. Outside Java, Bali is the most dense with 596 heads per sq pm, and North Sumatra with 162 heads. On the contrary, Papua which accounts for some 19.3 percent of the country's total area, is home to only 1.10 percent of total population, making its density of only six heads per sq km; Kalimantan (part of Indonesia), which makes up some 30.37 percent of the country's total land area, accounts for only 5.49 percent of the country's total population or with an average density of 20 heads per sq km.

In overcoming such uneven distribution of population, Indonesia had for many years introduced and carried out migration programs by moving a number of people from the densely populated islands (Java and Bali) to the sparsely populated islands (Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua). The programs ended a couple of years ago.

Races and Ethnic Groups

The Indonesian people consist of hundreds of ethnic groups, with each group having distinct language, art, tradition and custom. Those ethnic groups politically and geographically unite into a nation, the Indonesian nation under the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, with Pancasila as its state philosophy.

The island of Sumatra is home to the ethnic groups of Acehnese, the Gayo, the Batak, Malays, Minangkabauan, Jambi, Palembang etc. The island of Java is home to the ethnic groups of Betawi, Javanese, Sundanese. The island of Bali is home to the Balinese, while the ethnic groups of Lombok, Sasak, Flores and Timorese live in East and West Nusa Tenggara. In Kalimantan live in the Dayak, Banjar and Malays; in Sulawesi the Minahasans, Torajans, Bugisnese, Makassar, Mandar etc. The Asmat, Marind-anim, Dani, Yali, Korowai, Biak, Serui, Artak are ethnic groups that live in Papua.

Each ethnic group adopts a different kinship system as well. The Bataks, for instance, adopt a patriarchal system, and bear clan names after their own surnames. The Bataks are known for their talented singers. The Minangkabauans, known as domestic tough migrants, stick to a matriarchal system.

The 2000 Census recorded only 15 ethnic groups, among the hundreds existing ones, with ethnic members more than one million people. It also revealed different composition from that of the 1930 Census recorded.

According to the 2000 Census, Javanese people account for the greater part, namely some 41.71 percent of the country's total population. Trailing behind are Sundanese with 15.4 percent, Malay 3.45 percent, Madurese 3.37 percent, the Bataks 3.02 percent, Minangkabau 2.72 percent, Betawi 2.51 percent, Bugis 2.49 percent, Banjar 1.74 percent, Balinese 1.51 percent, Sasak 1.30 percent, Makassar 0.99 percent, Gorontalo 0.84 percent, Acehnese 0.43 percent, Torajan 0.37 percent, and others 14.66 percent. Chinese descents make up only 0.86 percent.

Religions

Buddhism is followed by some 1.51 percent of the country's total population, with their greater concentration found in the province of Bangka-Belitung (7.23 percent of the province's total population) and in Riau Province (4.18 percent).

According to the 1971 Census, some 87.51 percent of the country's total population were followers of Islam; and according to the 2000 Census, Islam followers accounted for 88.22 percent, or an average increase of 1.86 percent annually. This makes Indonesia a country with the largest Islam followers in the world. It is worth noting that the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta is the country's largest mosque, and even the largest in Southeast Asia, and the Demak Mosque one of the country's oldest mosques.

According to the 2000 Census, some 8.92 percent of Indonesia's total population adhere to Catholicism and Protestantism. The number of the two religions' followers grew at an annual average of 2.48 percent during the past there decades. Greater concentration of the Christian denominations are found in East Nusa Tenggara Province (87.67 percent of the province's total population), Papua (75.51 percent), and in North Sulawesi Province (69.27 percent).