History---
Indonesians are mostly ethnically Austronesian, particularly in more populous western and central Indonesia and much of eastern Indonesia is Melanesian. About 300 distinct native ethnicities and 742 different languages and dialects have been traced. A significant amount of populations have also come from ethnic Chinese, Indians, Europeans and Arabs, they being some of the few early settlers. Still the Chinese hold the record with about five million people as their descendent.
The population of Indonesia is expected to grow to around 315 million in 2035 in spite of a successful family planning program over the last four decades. The current population growth rate is 1.213% and is still increasing. More than 65% of the people of Indonesia live on the islands Java, Madura, and Bali, which comprise only 7% of the land area. According to the 2000 census the ethnic Indonesian population is as follows:
- Batak 3.0%
- Minangkabau 2.7%
- Betawi 2.5%
- Buginese 2.5%
- Bantenese 2.1%
- Banjarese 1.7%
- Balinese 1.5%
- Sasak 1.3%
- Makassarese 1.0%
- Cirebon 0.9%
- Chinese 0.9%
- Others 16.1%
Recent Growth---
Broadly though the people of Indonesia can be classified into:
- Javanese 45%,
- Sundanese 14%,
- Madurese 7.5%,
- Coastal Malays 7.5%,
- Other 26%
About 28.7% are in the age group of 0-14 years, 65.6% between the age group of 15-64 years and 5.7% are over 65 years. The state of Indonesia recognizes a total of six religions, namely Islam, Catholicism, Hinduism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Animism is also still practiced in some remote areas. According to the 2005 data there were:
- Muslim 87%
- Protestant 6%
- Roman Catholic 3%
- Hindu 2%
- Buddhist 1%
- Other 1%
For further information on the demography of Indonesia scroll through 123independenceday.com
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