Spread across a chain of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. languages. The people range from rural hunter-gatherers to a modern
urban elite.
Indonesia has seen great turmoil in recent years, having
faced the Asian financial crisis, the fall of President Suharto after 32
years in office, the first free elections since the 1960s, the loss of
East Timor, independence demands from restive provinces, bloody ethnic
and religious conflict and a devastating tsunami.
Sophisticated kingdoms existed before the arrival of the
Dutch, who consolidated their hold over two centuries, eventually
uniting the archipelago in around 1900.
After Japan's wartime occupation ended, independence was
proclaimed in 1945 by Sukarno, the independence movement's leader. The
Dutch transferred sovereignty in 1949 after an armed struggle.
There is great ethnic diversity across Indonesia's many islands
Long-term leader General Suharto came to power in the wake of an abortive coup in 1965. He imposed authoritarian rule while allowing technocrats to run the economy with considerable success.
But his policy of allowing army involvement in all levels of government, down to village level, fostered corruption. His "transmigration" programmes - which moved large numbers of landless farmers from Java to other parts of the country - fanned ethnic conflict.
Suharto fell from power after riots in 1998 and escaped efforts to bring him to justice for decades of dictatorship.
Post-Suharto Indonesia has made the transition to democracy. Power has been devolved away from the central government and the first direct presidential elections were held in 2004.
But the country faces demands for independence in several provinces, where secessionists have been encouraged by East Timor's 1999 success in breaking away after a traumatic 25 years of occupation.
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population
Militant Islamic groups have flexed their muscles over the past few years. Some have been accused of having links with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation, including the group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
Lying near the intersection of shifting tectonic plates, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A powerful undersea quake in late 2004 sent massive waves crashing into coastal areas of Sumatra, and into coastal communities across south and east Asia. The disaster left more than 220,000 Indonesians dead or missing.