Republic of Indonesia

E

Energy

Indonesia is well endowed with energy resources. It is an important producer of crude petroleum, yielding 421 million barrels in 2004. Refineries are located at Cilacap in West Java and at Balikpapan in East Kalimantan. A hydrocracker unit, which breaks down petroleum into simpler forms of energy such as gasoline, is located at Dumai on Sumatra. In 2003 Indonesia produced 74.2 billion cu m (2.6 trillion cu ft) of natural gas, mainly from Arun in northern Sumatra and Badak in East Kalimantan. Proven oil reserves total 10.4 billion barrels, and gas reserves are equivalent to 14.5 billion barrels of oil, much of which is located in the South China Sea near the Natuna Islands. Even after the decline of oil prices in the mid-1980s, the economy has been particularly dependent on oil exports. In 2004 fuels made up 18 percent of Indonesia’s exports and 20 percent of its imports.

Hydroelectric facilities, including a large dam on the Asahan River in North Sumatra, generate 8 percent of Indonesia’s electricity. Thermal stations powered by locally produced oil and coal provide almost all of the remaining electricity.

F

Mining

Mining, especially of tin, bauxite, nickel, copper, coal, manganese, and iron ore, supplies about 10 percent of Indonesia’s GDP. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of tin, with production in 2004 of 65,772 metric tons of concentrate. Most of the tin reserves are located on the islands of Bangka and Belitung and in the Java Sea between Sumatra and Borneo.

Bauxite production totals 840,318 metric tons of concentrate per year. Coal yields are 120 million metric tons annually. Since the mid-1980s, Indonesia has expanded its output of precious metals, especially gold. The largest share of the total output of 93 metric tons in 2004 came from a single mine in Papua.

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G

Forestry and Fishing

About three-fifths of Indonesia is covered with forest and woodland, most of which is concentrated in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and eastern Indonesia. Most forestland is state-owned, and forestry accounts for about 1 percent of Indonesia’s GDP. Roundwood production totaled 99 million cubic meters (3.5 billion cubic feet) in 2006. Almost all of the timber harvested was hardwood, more than four-fifths of which was used for fuel. In addition, valuable industrial woods were produced in large quantities, including teak, ebony, bamboo, and rattan. Indonesia is the world’s leading exporter of plywood. Many forestry companies defy government regulations for harvesting; as a result, rapid deforestation and overexploitation of timber stands are growing concerns in Indonesia.

About 90 percent of Indonesian fishers use traditional methods such as hooks and lines, traps, and various forms of nets. These fishers eat their catch or sell it locally. The remaining 10 percent of fishers practice commercial fishing. They use large boats and export much of their catch, which accounts for more than half of Indonesia’s total catch. In 2005 the fish catch totaled 6.5 million metric tons, about three-quarters of which was the product of sea fisheries and one-quarter inland fisheries. The fisheries made up about 1.8 percent of GDP and 3.8 percent ($1.4 billion) of exports. Shrimp and prawns, scad, carp, Indian mackerel, goldstripe sardinella, milkfish, anchovies, and skipjack tuna were the chief catches. Indonesia’s main fishing grounds are the shallow, warmer coastal waters along the northern rim of Sumatra and Java.

H

Transportation

Until the mid-1960s Indonesia’s transportation system was very poor. Suharto’s New Order government improved much of the infrastructure, although many problems remain.

As an island nation, well-maintained waterways and interisland shipping are vital to Indonesia’s economy. In 1958 the Dutch withdrew most of their shipping equipment and personnel. Afterward, rebuilding and development progressed slowly until the early 1980s, when several of the main ports were modernized and interisland transport services were improved. Interisland shipping was also partially deregulated, giving ship owners greater freedom to choose routes and schedules. The main ports for international trade include Surabaya, Medan, Makassar, and Tanjung Priok, which serves Jakarta.

In 2002 Indonesia had 368,360 km (228,888 mi) of roads, of which 58 percent were paved. Between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s the amount of road nearly doubled. Inexpensive minibus services have grown in both cities and rural areas, improving mobility for many Indonesians. Government-owned bus companies and privately owned taxis and minibuses provide transit services in the larger cities. Low-cost transportation include bemos (small motorized vehicles), ojek (motorbikes that transport passengers on a rear seat), and becak, three-wheeled pedicabs. Becak have recently been banned from Jakarta because they are said to cause traffic congestion.

Railways are confined to Java, Sumatra, and Madura. Air services in Indonesia are provided by Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara airlines, both owned by the government; and by the privately owned Bouraq, Mandala, Serpati, and Seulawah airlines. Garuda Indonesia is the main international carrier; it also provides a full range of domestic services. Sukarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta is the country’s main airport, although there are several other international airports, including Ngurah Rai, serving Denpasar in Bali.

I

Communications

A lack of modern communications has long been a serious problem in Indonesia, largely because relatively few Indonesians can afford them and because settlements are scattered over many islands. The government, however, has increased investment in several areas. In 1990 Indonesia had 7 telephones for every 1,000 people. In the early 1990s Indonesia increased its satellite capacity by one-third in order to improve telephone services, and the country has installed fiber-optic cables across Java and between the main islands. As a result of these and other improvements, local telephone calls doubled between 1991 and 1994; however, in 2005 Indonesia still had just 58 phones and 213 mobile telephones for every 1,000 people.

Indonesia’s main government-owned television station, TVRI (Yayasan Televisi Republik Indonesia), was founded in 1962. The first privately owned commercial television station, RCTI (Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia), began operating in 1989. In 2000 there were 145 television sets and 155 radios per 1,000 people.

The country’s first private company to provide Internet services began operation in May 1995. Several government departments and leading newspapers were online in 1996. However, Indonesia is far behind Malaysia and Singapore in terms of the population’s access to the Internet. Many of the nations of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, continue to debate whether to restrict access to certain kinds of information on the Internet.

Most of Indonesia’s large daily newspapers are published in Jakarta in the Bahasa Indonesia language. These newspapers include Kompas, Pos Kota, and Berita Buana. The Jakarta Post is a well-known English-language daily. Many major cities also have local newspapers, such as Pedoman Rakyat, a daily published in Makassar. The government owns the Indonesian National News Agency, which is known as Antara. Suharto’s government maintained a tight control on newspapers and magazines, censoring content that was critical of the government and especially the president. In June 1994 the government revoked the licenses of Tempo, Editor, and DeTik, three widely read current affairs magazines. After Suharto left office in 1998, censorship was relaxed, resulting in more varied content in newspapers and the launching of many new publications.

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