Earth Science Journals

Description of the country:

Indonesia is a “primate” nation in South­east Asia; it leads its next rival, Vietnam, in population by a ratio of 2.6 to 1. With a population of 206 million and an area close to three-fourths of a million sq miles (1.9 million sq. km), it is the world’s largest Muslim country and fifth most populous nation.

Geography of the country:

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. It consists of five major islands and about 30 smaller groups. The figure for the total number of islands is 17,508 according to the Indonesian Naval Hydro-Oceanographic office. The archipelago is on a crossroads between two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and bridges two continents, Asia and Australia. This strategic position has always influenced the cultural, social, political and economic life of the country. The territory of the Republic of Indonesia stretches from 6o08' north latitude to 11o15' south latitude, and from 94o45' to 141o05' east longitude. The Indonesian sea area is four times greater than its land area, which is about 1.9 million sq. km. The sea area is about 7.9 million sq. km (including an exclusive economic zone) and constitutes about 81% of the total area of the country.

Status of economy, research and development:

Indonesia, one of the best performing emerging market economies, can take its economic success to the next level by more investment, particularly in infrastructure, and finding new sources of economic growth, says the IMF in its annual assessment. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects Indonesia's economic growth this year to slow slightly compared to the 5.78 percent growth rate recorded in 2013. GDP growth of Southeast Asia's largest economy is expected to slow to 5.7 percent in 2014 but will accelerate to 6 percent in 2015. Indonesia’s economy grew 4.7 percent year over year in Q3, more or less the same as the previous quarter. Growth picked up across expenditure segments, except for exports.

Status about the different subjects in which extensive research is going on:

Indonesia contains a large variety of min­eral deposits including petroleum, tin, manganese, copper, nickel, bauxite and coal, but most of these have not been fully prospected. In 1925 minerals contributed less than 15 percent to the ex­port earnings, which increased to over 34 percent by 1954. Petroleum production and refining is Indonesia’s largest economic enterprise. In normal years it produces about 2.5 to 3 percent of the world’s output which may not be remarkable by world standards, but makes Indonesia the leading producer of oil and gas in Southeast Asia. Major oil fields are located in the northern and eastern parts of Sumatra, eastern coast of Kalimantan, and off-shore sites in the Java Sea. Indonesia is also the world’s second largest producer of tin; the output is nearly 12 to 13 percent of the world’s to­tal production. Agriculture accounts for one-sixth of nation’s domestic product earnings, al­though it employs a little less than a half of country’s labor-force. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1924 was awarded to Willem Einthoven "for his discovery of the mechanism of the electrocardiogram".