Land, People and Government

The Republic of Indonesia is considered the world's largest archipelago, comprising more than 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited) spread across the equator in Southeast Asia. Lying along major sea-lanes from the Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean, Indonesia commands vital sea routes between Australia, Europe and Asia.

Total population is estimated at 234, 893,453 (July 2003) growing at an average annual rate of 1.54%. Indonesia is home to the world's most ethnically diverse populations consisting of more than 300 distinct groups. The largest is Javanese constituting 40-50% of the population, followed by the Sundanese (15%) and Madurese (5%). Chinese form the largest non-indigenous group at 3%.

Formerly part of the Netherlands East Indies, Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945. The executive power of the Government is vested on the President, elected by the Consultative Assembly for a five-year term. Legislative power rests with the Council of Representatives. Governors, district heads and mayors appointed by the Central Government administer the 27 provinces, 241 districts and 55 municipalities.

Indonesian EAGA provinces:

Kalimantan

Kalimantan constitutes 28% of Indonesia's total land area, occupying most of the central and southern parts of Borneo and is the largest region in the island of Borneo. It is divided into four provinces: East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan. Each province is further divided into districts, administratively referred to as municipalities - urban municipality or "Kotamadya" where the capital city is situated, and up to 10 or more rural municipalities or "Kabupaten" in each provinces.

The population of Kalimantan comprises two major groups - the natives or indigenous people, and those migrated from other places around Borneo and Asia. The original inhabitants of Kalimantan, the "Orang Gunung" or hill people are collectively referred to as the Dayaks to be identified by seperate tribal names such as Banjarese, Ibans, Punans, and Banuaqs. The newcomers consist of the Chinese, Arabs, Bugis, Bajaus, Javanese, Madurese, and others.

Kalimantan is governed under the Republic of Indonesia, which uphold the Pancasila, the ideological and philosophical basis of the Republic. Each province is under autonomous rule and is headed by a Governor.

Economy

Kalimantan's economy is predominantly timber, and agriculture. Forestry is also a core sector in the economy, with more than 75 percent of Kalimantan still covered by forest. Oil, food crops, rubber, and fishing are the other main contributors to its small and very open economic structure. In terms of major exports, processed wood, rubber, and fish are the major exports for West Kalimantan; log, sawn timber, rattan, and resin for Central Kalimantan; sawn timber, plywood, blackboard, processed wood, moulding, rattan, and rubber for South Kalimantan; and petroleum, plywood, sawn timber, veneer, and chips for East Kalimantan. Kalimantan's real GDP growth rate is around 5.0 to 8.0 percent per annum.

Relevant Indicators

Infrastructure

Airports

Indonesia has a total of 631 airports in 2002, 153 of which are with paved runways, while 478 are unpaved.

Roads

Indonesia's road network totaled 268, 030 km. Highways or secondary roads connect most cities totaling to 342,700 km.

Railways

Indonesia has a total track length of 6,458 km. mainly used for freight transportation and long distance passenger services.

Telecommunications

Telecommunication services are provided by state-owned enterprises. Telephones subscribers total 5,588,310 in 1998, while mobile cellular users account to 1.07 M. Indonesia is equipped with inter island microwave system and HF radio police net, domestic satellite earth stations for domestic use. There are two satellite earth stations2 Intelsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean) for international connectivity.

Central Kalimantan

Roads

Total roads length in Central Kalimantan is 10,311.67 km consisting of 1,707.53 km government roads, 1,059.26 km provincial roads, 6,908.17 km regency roads, and 636.71 km city roads.

Airports

There are seven airports with one domestic airport, Cilik Riwut in Palangkaraya. The six other airports are perintis airports namely Iskandar muda in Pangkalan Bun, H. Asan in Sampit, Sanggu in Buntok, Beringin in Muara Teweh, Kuala Pembuang and Tumbang Samba.

Seaports

Three important seaports: Pulang Pisau with pier length of 90 meters, Sampit pier with 216 meters and Kumai pier with 280 meter long.

Telecommunications

The province has 36,105 telephone connections facilitated by an automatic system. Most telephones are found in Palangkaraya. From the existing network connection, there are 34,810 lines that have been used by consumers.

Energy and Electricity

Available electrical capacity reaches 66.66 Mw. All Electric generations in this province are diesel powered. The installed power reaches 178.57 MVA.

West Kalimantan

Roads

West Kalimantan province has 10,524 km road networks, consisting of 1,006.62 km state road, 2,036.92 km provincial road and 7, 80.82 km regency/city road, while the river transportation provided all 3,735 km long.

Airports

Five airports are available with one international airport classification (Supadio airport in Pontianak) and 4 domestic airports (Susilo and Nangah Pino in Sintang). The Supadio international airport has 2,250 m airstrip which can serve the type of Boeing 737,200 aero plane.

Seaports

There are four big seaports (Nipah Kuning, Sintete and Ketapang).

Telecommunications

In 2001, the available 98,943 automatic telephone line units met all regencies/cities need, with the consumers/installed lines of 98,872 units.

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is Indonesia's third-largest island, with an area of 172,000 square km. The capital city of South Sulawesi, Makassar, has been the gateway to eastern Indonesia. This bustling commercial, shipping, and government center constitutes a major air-sea crossroads between western and eastern Indonesia.

Relevant Indicators

Economy

Key Indicators links:

Republic of Indonesia

W. Kalimantan

E. Kalimantan

C. Kalimantan

S. Kalimantan

Infrastructure C. Kalimantan

Infrastructure W. Kalimantan

Sulawesi

S Sulawesi