Okay, so I did promise in my last post about remote island living that sooner or later in my next few posts I will write about Indonesia. And here it is, sooner rather than later. I spent some time of the night staying awake just so I could get this fully researched up and posted to hopefully present some facts about Indonesia and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised and rather intrigued at the facts I read online. Especially the fact that it is the largest archipelago in the world. Hearing the word archipelago I now have an itch to play the Animal Crossing DLC – Happy Home Paradise again!
Before I present these facts I must share my excitement about Indonesia. I have been fascinated with this country since about a couple of years now. And I really want to someday move there to live out my life. Not specifically as retirement but just a place where I can call home. I want to be able to enjoy myself on the beaches in Jakarta and Bali. I want to be able to discover the already discovered Borobudur Temple and the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary just to be able to experience the world, it’s people and it’s different cultures. I want to see what is so different between all of us.
Well anyways, enough of me rambling. Please enjoy these facts below:
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world.
It is composed of approximately 17,500 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. This massive number of islands and atolls of the Indonesian archipelago stretch almost 5,000 km from west to east and more than 2,000 km from north to south. These Indonesian islands equate to roughly 2 million square kilometres! More on that below.
Indonesia’s population is over 264 million people!
Indonesia ranks fourth as the most densely populated nation in the world following sizeable countries such as China, USA and India. To give enough space to those 264 million people Indonesia needs to have enough land for people to live and it does so with 1.905 million kilometres squared! They rank as the 14th largest country by land area. Indonesia is the third biggest democracy in the world. And finally, it is the largest Muslim nation on the globe. In Indonesia, Islam is the religion most adhered to with approximately 87% of its population being Muslims.
Indonesia is home to the world’s largest flower.
The flower with the world’s largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. Writing this one gave me the shivers. And also, is it just me or does this flower remind you of pepperoni?
Indonesia is a biodiversity hotspot.
It is home to many exotic and quite often endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran orangutan. Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra but during the Pleistocene (often referred to as the Ice Age) they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. The Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered with just over 13,000 of them remaining. Awww, the baby just wants a kiss.
Indonesia is home to the world’s largest gold mine.
The Grasberg mine has one of the largest reserves of gold and copper in the world. It is located in Mimika Regency, Central Papua, Indonesia near Puncak Jaya.
There are over 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia.
Indonesia has around 130 active volcanoes that are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and it has suffered the highest numbers of eruptions resulting in fatalities, damage to arable land, debris flows, tsunamis, lava domes, and pyroclastic flows (a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing at great speed).
Well, there you have it folks. I hope this post was interesting enough to keep you glued to the screen and maybe helped you consider Indonesia as your next holiday destination. I know it is my next dream destination! And until next time, have a nice day!
Yours Truly
Salman
Life of Salman 