Indonesia has about 500 tribes and correspondingly, it has about 500 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. We started to describe different tribes in all regions of Indonesia. If you have more information or articles to share, it will help us to improve this site from Travelers to Travelers. Thank you in advance - Your info-indo.com team

The Land

Administrative Divisions

Indonesia is divided into 26 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), which include 2 special regions (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa) and 1 special capital city district (daerah khusus ibukota), which are further sub-divided into smaller entities of districts, sub-districts, villages and neighborhoods. They are:

Aceh, Bali, Bengkulu, Papua, Jakarta Raya, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta.

New Provinces

The new regional autonomy laws, which took effect on January 1, 2001, have influenced the creation of new provinces across the archipelago. In 2000 these new provinces were created - North Maluku - formerly a part of Maluku; Gorontalo - formerly a part of North Sulawesi; Banten - formerly a part of West Java; and Bangka-Belitung - formerly a part of South Sumatra. Papua (also now referred to as Papua or West Papua) has been split into three provinces as well. The two special regions are Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra and Yogyakarta in Central Java. The special capital city district is Jakarta (DKI). The former province of East Timor became independent of Indonesia in 1999 after an UN-sponsored referendum was held.

The People

Indonesia has about 500 tribes and correspondingly, it has about 500 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. The population in Indonesia has now reached the fourth most populated country in the world after China, India, and the United States of America. The people of Indonesia are a mix between the native people and the newcomers that came during the Neolithic Period (3000-2000 BC) from the Asian mainland to the south through a large-scale migration. The citizenship of Indonesia is governed by the Nationality Act to distinguish the qualification of a person of being an Indonesian since the beginning of independence on August 17, 1945.

Many Indonesians may see themselves first by their ethnic and cultural group and secondly as Indonesians. The glue that binds the people together is the usage of the Bahasa Indonesia, the national language, and Pancasila, the national philosophy, which stresses the doctrine of unity and universal justice for all Indonesians.