Social Diversity In Indonesia

Indonesia is a huge archipelago consisting more than 18,000 islands and about 256 million people living on them. This makes Indonesia the 4th country in the world by population and 14th by land size. Due to these impressive statistics Indonesia has big diversity of cultures, religions and ethnicities thorough its islands. Raging from Hindu rituals on the tropical island of Bali and Islamic celebrations of ramadan to nomadic tribes of Mentawai.

Approximately 57% of Indonesia’s total population (273.52 million) lives on Java. Such amazing numbers suggest that vast religious, ethnic, cultural and linguistic varieties are within Java’s boundaries. From Islamic Sharia Law in Aceh (Sumatra) to Hinduism to the lifestyle of the hunter-gatherer people of Mentawai.

There are 300 of these ethnic and linguistic groups scattered all across Indonesia. The Javanese people make up the largest and most dominant political group with over 40% of the total Indonesian population. The majority of Indonesians are descendants of the Austronesians. Melanesians are another large ethnic group situated in the eastern part of Indonesia. Indonesia is also the largest Muslim-majority country in the world with 87% of Indonesians being Muslim. Birth and death rates are favoring the growth of the entire Indonesian population with an annual growth rate of 1.04%.

In addition, all the different regions endured separate political and economic histories that are still visible in the current regional dynamics until a national structure was laid upon them. The amazing part of this huge mixture of hundreds of ethnic and religious groups is that their chosen national motto is Unity in Diversity (Bhinekka Tunggal Ika) signifying Indonesia’s compassionate and rich societies efforts to live in peace.