Location: Southeastern Asia, in the Malay Archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates:
Area:
total: 1,919,440 kmē
land: 1,826,440 kmē
water: 93,000 kmē
Land boundaries:
total: 2,830 km
border countries: Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km, East Timor 228 km
Other nearby countries: India NW of Acheh, Australia, Singapur
Coastline: 54,716 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 4 884 m
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use:
arable land: 9.9%
permanent crops: 7.2%
other: 82.9% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 48,150 kmē (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires
Environment - current issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: in archipelago of 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
See also
