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Population of Indonesia
With a population totaling around 255 million individuals, Indonesia is the
fourth-largest country with regard to population sizes. Its ethnic composition
is characterized by variety, in fact wide variety, as the country contains
hundreds of different ethnic groups and cultures. However, more than half of
the population can be classified as belonging to two main ethnic groups. This
section zooms in on the people of Indonesia.
These two groups are the Javanese (41 percent of the total population) and
Sundanese (15 percent of the total population). Both groups originate from the
island of Java, Indonesia's most populous island, which contains almost sixty
percent of the country's total population. When the island of Sumatra is
included, this figure rises to approximately eighty percent of Indonesia's
total population, indicating a significant population concentration in the
western part of the country. The most populous province is West Java (with more
than 43 million people), while the least populous province is that of West
Papua in the far eastern region of Indonesia (home to around 761,000 people).
Indonesia's national motto "unity in diversity" (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) reflects
the multitude of ethnic, cultural and linguistic varieties that can be found
within the boundaries of a nation state that is the world's largest
archipelago. Indeed, when you imagine an animist Papuan (in the far east of
Indonesia) meeting a Muslim from Aceh (in the far west) there are more
differences - in terms of religion, clothes, lifestyle, tradition, native
language, etc. - between both persons than there are similarities.
Map of Indonesia
This diverse cultural makeup of Indonesia is the result of a long process of
colonization initiated by the Dutch. In a time-span of about three centuries
this small European nation managed to (gradually) expand its political power in
the Archipelago - conquering the various indigenous kingdoms - until the
present-day boundaries were established.
On the one hand, cultural diversity is a blessing for Southeast Asia's largest
economy. Each culture offers something interesting and this is what attracts
millions of foreign tourists to Indonesia every year (hence tourism is an
important foreign exchange earner). For example, cultural relics such as the
Borobudur and Prambanan in Central Java and Yogyakarta but also contemporary
culture such as Balinese Hinduism are reasons to book a ticket to Indonesia. On
the other hand, having a multitude of different beliefs (religions),
traditions, ethnics and cultures also implies having difficulties in terms of
governance. In fact, on various occasions there have been violent clashes
between different groups within Indonesia that had their roots in ethnic or
religious differences, events that undermined Indonesia's national motto.
There also exists a high degree of inequality in Indonesia and this has also
fed negative sentiments among part of the Indonesian population. For example,
income distribution inequality (reflected by a high - and rising - Gini ratio)
but among the so-called "Outer Regions" there also exists a feeling of
resentment toward the dominating political and economic position of Java
(Jakarta in particular). These emotions were reason why the Indonesian
government was forced to usher in the era of decentralization in the
post-Suharto period.
Five Most Populous Provinces of Indonesia (in millions)
Province Population
2000 Population
2010
West Java 35.8 43.1
East Java 34.8 37.5
Central Java 31.2 32.4
North Sumatra 11.6 13.0
Banten (Java) 8.1 10.6
Indonesia 206.3 237.6
Sources: Statistics Indonesia Population Census 2000 & 2010
This section discusses a number of important aspects regarding Indonesia's
demographic composition. Topics that are discussed include Indonesia's
population growth, age structure and urbanization. Each of these topics is
linked to Indonesia's economic growth potential.
Indonesia's Population Growth
The annual national population growth rate of Indonesia between 2000 and 2010
stood at an average of 1.49 percent. This growth was highest in the province of
Papua (5.46 percent) and lowest in Central Java (0.37 percent). Family planning
in Indonesia is coordinated by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board
(NFPCB), a government institution. Under president Suharto an effective family
planning program was initiated in 1968 and - up to the present - continued by
his successors. This program is a key strategy with regard to the country's
economic development as a low population growth rate translates into a higher
per capita gross domestic product (GDP) which translates into higher incomes,
higher savings, higher investments and implies a fall in the poverty rate among
the population. The national population growth rate was 1.2 percent in 2015
according to data from the World Bank.
Annual Population Growth Rate Indonesia
Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), the government's statistics agency only conducts
thorough studies on the Indonesian population size once every decade. According
to the latest study (2010) Indonesia had a total population of 237.6 million
people. However, according to recent estimates (from various institutions)
Indonesia is estimated to have more than 255 million inhabitants in 2016.
The United Nations (UN) earlier stated that the population of Indonesia is
estimated to exceed 270 million by 2025, exceed 285 million by 2035 and exceed
290 million by 2045. After 2050 the UN expects that the size of the Indonesian
population starts to decline.
Population of Indonesia
The UN also projects that by 2050 two thirds of Indonesia’s population will
live in urban areas. Over the last forty years the country has experienced a
process of rapid urbanization, resulting in the current situation in which over
half of Indonesia's total population resides in urban areas (see table below).
For the economy this constitutes a positive development as urbanization and
industrialization are necessary to grow into the ranks of a middle income
country.
The biggest cities of Indonesia are found on the island of Java. Here we find
the capital city of Jakarta that had more than 10 million inhabitants according
to the latest official census (2011 data). The unofficial figure is probably
much higher. Moreover, every morning a huge amount of workers travel from the
satellite cities toward Jakarta to do their jobs. In the afternoon or evening
they travel back to the satellite cities around Jakarta. This massive daily
inflow and outflow of people causes severe traffic congestion in Jakarta.
After Jakarta, the biggest cities in Indonesia are Surabaya (East Java),
Bandung (West Java), Bekasi (West Java), and Medan (North Sumatra).
Rural and Urban Population of Indonesia
1995 2000 2005 2010 2050
Rural Population
(% of total population) 64 58 52 46 33¹
Urban Population
(% of total population) 36 42 48 54 67¹
¹ indicates UN forecast
Source: World Bank
Age Structure of Indonesia
One important strength of Indonesia's demographic composition in relation to
its economy is that the country has a young population. This young population
implies a - potentially - large workforce (thus making it of vital importance
that this workforce can be educated to obtain higher skills and can be absorbed
by employment opportunities). Indonesia's total median age is 28.6 years (2016
estimate). This indicates that one half of the population is older than 28.6
years, while the other half is younger than this figure. When divided in sexes
the female median age is one year older (29.1 years) as compared to the male
counterpart (28.1 years).
Below we present a table that indicates the percentage shares of the Indonesian
people categorized in three age groups and the corresponding division in sexes
(in absolute numbers)
Indonesian Population by Sex and Age Group
% of total
population Male
(absolute) Female
(absolute)
0-14 years 27.3 34,165,213 32,978,841
15-64 years 66.5 82,104,636 81,263,055
65 years and over 6.1 6,654,695 8,446,603
Source: CIA World Factbook
In 2010 around 19 percent of the Indonesian population was below ten years of
age, around 37 percent was below twenty years of age, and around half of the
population was below thirty years of age. Such numbers indicate that - from a
demographic perspective - there is great potential for both productivity and
creativity in Indonesia.
Demographics and Economic Waves
General Outline
A temper in population growth caused by decreases in fertility (which can be
caused by matters such as better access to birth control, rising incomes,
urbanization and higher levels of education for women) helps to stimulate a
significant shift in the age distribution of the population towards those of
the working age (but at a later stage decreases in mortality and fertility will
cause an aging population). This shift is able to accelerate economic growth as
the working age population increases while the (relative) number of dependent
children declines.
This process can be thought of as constituting a series of waves. The first
wave begins when this working age population is employed which results in
increased production. Employment also implies higher incomes and consequently
causes households to consume more products. Households might also save more due
to the reduced number of child dependents which subsequently leads to increased
investment, as well as rising capital stock and further increases in economic
production.
The second demographic wave occurs when large portions of the population
approach the end of their working lives and commence to save and invest for
their retirement. Thus, the resulting increased capital accumulation may help
to drive economic growth further. After this stage concern about the economy
can arise because of stagnating population growth and an aging population.
The Indonesian Case
Currently Indonesia is positioned somewhere in the middle stage of that first
wave. Both child mortality and fertility are declining quickly and the working
age population is growing at a relatively fast rate while the total population
is growing at a relatively slow rate. This has resulted in a large population
group (around half of the total population, thus 125 million Indonesians) that
is below the age of thirty years old, which -potentially- is productive and
therefore can function as the engine of the national economy.
Domestic consumption is a huge source of Indonesia's continuously strong GDP
growth performance as household consumption accounts for more than 55 percent
of total economic growth. The country's reliance on domestic consumption was
actually one of the reasons why Indonesia weathered the global financial crisis
of 2008-2009 relatively smooth with an average GDP growth of 5.6 percent in the
years 2008-2010. Moreover, solid economic growth has resulted in an influx of
Indonesians into the country's middle class. Annually, around seven million
Indonesians join the ranks of this middle class according to a World Bank
report released in 2012. However, after 2013 the depreciating rupiah (versus
the US dollar) and higher interest rates (as well as low commodity prices amid
sluggish global economic growth) have managed to somewhat undermine the
strength of Indonesia's consumer force.
A critical note, however, is that there are currently millions of (educated)
unemployed Indonesians who cannot be absorbed by the Indonesian labor market.
In fact, one characteristic of Indonesia is that the unemployment rate is
highest for people between the age of 15 and 24, far above the country's
national average. For a detailed overview of unemployment in Indonesia, visit
our unemployment section.
Largest Ethnic Groups in Indonesia
Group % of total
Population
Javanese 42.65
Sundanese 15.41
Malay 3.45
Madurese 3.37
Batak 3.02
Minangkabau 2.72
Betawi 2.51
Bugis 2.49
Bantenese 2.05
Banjarese 1.74
Source: Statistics Indonesia Population Census 2010
Religions of Indonesia
In terms of religion, Indonesia contains a clear Muslim-majority. Approximately
87.2 percent of the total Indonesian population - or 207.2 million individuals
in absolute numbers - is Muslim. However, Indonesia is not an Islamic nation
(only in the special region of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra Islamic
Sharia law is being applied). But despite being a secular democracy, principles
based on Islamic doctrine do play a large role in the politics, the economy and
society of Indonesia. For example, if a restaurant serves halal food (food
prepared in line with Islamic principles) it should see more customers and
therefore most restaurants will put it on the menu. Another example is that it
is very hard to imagine Indonesia having a non-Muslim president.
There are also some 16.5 million Protestants (6.9 percent of the total
population), 6.9 million Catholics (2.9 percent of the population), and 4
million Hindus (1.7 percent) living in Indonesia. Lastly, there exist small
minorities of Buddhists as well as those who practice Confucianism, mostly
members of the ethnic Chinese community.
Contrary to the West, for many Indonesians religion still plays an important
role in every-day life and therefore is a big part of their identity. For more
information on this topic, visit our Religions of Indonesia section.
Further Reading:
• How to Act Indonesian?
• Indonesia's Business Culture
