Factbook
History of Indonesia — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Indonesia, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1527Majapahit (1290-1527) united most of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia.
1942Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945.
1945Independence: 17 August 1945 (declared independence from the Netherlands).
1949Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan's surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949.
1957A period of sometimes unruly parliamentary democracy ended in 1957 when President SOEKARNO declared martial law and instituted "Guided Democracy." After an abortive coup in 1965 by alleged communist sympathizers, SOEKARNO was gradually eased from power.
1967From 1967 until 1998, President SUHARTO ruled Indonesia with his "New Order" government.
1998After street protests toppled SUHARTO in 1998, free and fair legislative elections took place in 1999 while the country's first direct presidential election occurred in 2004.
2005A political settlement to an armed separatist conflict in Aceh was achieved in 2005, but a separatist group in Papua continued to conduct a low-intensity conflict as of 2024.
2022Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese); note - more than 700 languages are used in Indonesia Religions: Muslim 87.4%, Protestant 7.5%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, Hindu 1.7%, other 0.8% (includes Buddhist and Confucian) (2022 est.) Urban population: 58.6% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 82% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 6.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); geothermal: 4.4% of total instal Energy use: 37.39 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: petroleum and natural gas, textiles, automotive, electrical appliances, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, medical instruments and appliances, handicrafts, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, processed food, jewelry, and tourism Agriculture: oil palm fruit, rice, sugarcane, maize, coconuts, cassava, bananas, eggs, chicken, mangoes/guavas (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 11.249 million JAKARTA (capital), 3.729 million Bekasi, 3.044 million Surabaya, 3.041 million Depok, 2.674 million Bandung, 2.514 million Tangerang (2023) upper middle-income, largest and growing Southeast Asian economy; higher lending rates to moderate inflation; ongoing relocation of capital fueling infrastructure projects; major tourism sector prompting green economy goals Inflation: 3.7% (2023 est.).
2024Military spending: 0.8% of GDP (2024 est.).
2025Population: 283.6 million (2025 estimate).
