The population of Indonesia is expected to increase until 2050 when it will reach 288 million people. From 2050 to 2100 the population is projected to decrease with 45 million people and reach 243 million.

Republic of Indonesia

Indonesia (or formally the Republic of Indonesia) has 34 provinces. The three largest (West, East and Central Java) together have a population of more than 110 million people. Jakarta is the most populous city with 10 million inhabitants.

Life and death in Indonesia

Indonesia has an average fertility rate of 2.5 children per woman (which is also the world average). The median age in Indonesia is 30.2 years which is also very close to the world average of 30.4 years. With 68.6 years the life expectancy in Indonesia is slightly higher than the world average of 67.5 years.

Working population

Indonesia has the 4th largest labor force in the world with 117 million people (2011 est.). 38.3 percent work in the agricultural sector, 12.8 percent in the industrial sector, and 48.9 percent in the service sector.

Main export goods

The main export goods of Indonesia include coal briquettes, palm oil, and petroleum.

To become 4th largest economy in the world

A GDP of around $1 trillion makes Indonesia the 16th largest economy in the world (in 2016). But the economy of Indonesia is growing fast. By 2030 Indonesia will be the 9th biggest economy in the world and by 2050 the 4th with only China, the US, and India being bigger in terms of economic output.

Still a poor country

According to Statistics Indonesia, from 2008 to 2017 the share of the Indonesian population living in relative poverty fell from 15.4 percent to 10.1 percent. Of course, the share of people living in poverty depends on the definition. According to the Asian Development Bank, in 2015, almost half (47.2 percent) of the population lived below the national poverty line.  Indonesia is ranked number 97 of the world’s countries in terms of purchasing power per capita.

An optimistic people

Despite the widespread poverty, Indonesia is a very optimistic country with 91 percent of Indonesians being optimistic about their financial future. This is a higher percentage of people than in ANY other country in the world. Indonesians expect to make more money in the time ahead and that their children will have better lives than they have had themselves.

A rising consumer class

The consumer class in Indonesia will double in size and grow from 74 million people in 2014 to an expected 141 million people by 2020. So will the disposable income. The young, expanding and optimistic middle class will fuel an increasing demand and consumer spending.

One of the most biodiverse places in the world

Indonesia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries in the world - possibly the most species rich country on earth. Indonesia’s rainforests have immense biological diversity. Even though they only represent one percent of the Earth’s land area, Indonesia’s rainforests contain 10 percent of the world’s known plant species, 12 percent of mammal species, and 17 percent of all known bird species. Even so, it’s estimated that more than half of Indonesia’s species are yet to be discovered.

More different mammals than anywhere in the world
Indonesia has an estimated 515 different species of mammal which is more than any other nation in the world. Unfortunately, 135 of these are under risk of extinction which is also more than any other country in the world.

Environmental challenges of Indonesia

The economic growth and rise of the consumer population in Indonesia is not without consequences.

Natural habitats under heavy pressure

According to the World Bank, the pressure of a growing population combined with inadequate environmental management is a challenge for Indonesia. The forest sector has played a key role in the economic development of Indonesia but these natural resources have not been managed in a sustainable manner and there is little integration of environmental considerations in national and regional plans for land and resource use.

Accelerating deforestation...

In 1900, 84 percent of Indonesia was covered by forests equivalent to around 170 million hectares. Since then, the rainforest has seen a continual depletion that was intensified in the 1970s and accelerated further in the 1990s and 2000s. By  2010, more than 75 million hectares of forests had disappeared. An area the size of Turkey or Chile.

...that gets worse: World record deforestation in 2012

In 2012 alone an estimated 840,000 hectares of rainforest were lost in Indonesia. A rate surpassing the rate of deforestation in Brazil (where “only” 460,000 hectares were lost) despite the fact that the Indonesian rainforest is just one fourth the size of the Amazon rainforest.

Illegal logging major cause of the shrinking rainforest

An estimated 80 percent of the total logging in Indonesia is performed illegally. Some estimates even suggest that as much as 88% of logging in the country is illegal.

Why are natural rainforests being cut down?

There are several reasons the rainforest is disappearing.

Pulp and paper production: Multinational pulp and paper companies have cleared large forest areas for their production. According to the Rainforest Action Network, Asia Pulp and Paper and Asia Pacific Resources International Limited have historically been responsible for most of the rainforest loss to supply wood for the pulp and paper industry.

The Logging / wood industry: Forest has been cleared to satisfy demands for wood and wood products such as furniture especially from Chinese and Japanese consumers.

Agriculture including palm oil: Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil. The country provides about half of the world's total supply and the palm oil plantations occupy 6 million hectares of land corresponding roughly to the size of Sri Lanka or three times the size of Israel.

The destruction of habitat put endangered species at risk

The Orangutan, the Sumatran Tiger and the Sumatran Elephant are some of the species that are highly endangered by the loss of rainforest and habitat caused by the palm oil and the pulp and paper industries.

Indonesia a major greenhouse gas emitter

The intense logging and burning of forests has made Indonesia the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, only surpassed by China and the US - ahead of India and industrial countries such as Japan and Germany.

Mercury Poisoning from Gold Mining

In Indonesia, the gold industry supports some three million people, many of them small time miners in Kalimantan. The industry is largely unregulated and uses mercury to extract gold from the earth. The effects on workers and the local environment have been devastating and mercury poisoning is widespread.

Most Polluted River in the World?

The Citarum River in West Java is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The Blacksmith Institute found lead levels in the river of over 1,000 times the standard limits. The river provides as much as 80 percent of Jakarta’s water supply and is essential for the water supply of farms that supply 5 percent of Indonesia’s rice. The river is also a source of water for more than 2,000 factories. 

Environmental Footprint

The ecological footprint of Indonesia is 1.58 global hectares per person. Globally there is an average “biocapacity” of 1.73 global hectares available per person on the planet. This means that the population of Indonesia is currently consuming within the limits of Earth’s capacity. With the booming consumer class this is likely to change in the years to come.