ABSTRACT
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. There are possibly 17,000 islands (13,667 is a commonly cited figure), of which about 6,000 are inhabited. These islands are strung along 5,000 kilometres of the equator, north of Australia and south of mainland Asia. Less than a fifth of the area of Indonesia is land. Indonesians often refer to their country as Tanah Air (land and water). Indonesia is divided into 27 provinces. There are still important local leaders such as the Sushunan of Surakarta, the Pangeran of Mangkunegara and the Sultan of Yogyakarta. The power of these leaders is very limited today.
