Home
Indonesia
PLAN MY VISIT
Indonesia Destinations HotelsThings to do Transport Maps Vacations Team
  • Top Destinations
PLAN MY VISIT →
  1. Home
  2. Indonesia
  3. Travel Guides

Society and Development in Indonesia

The world’s third-most populous democracy is still experiencing some growing pains. Following the authoritarian New Order era, Indonesians are navigating how best to address the needs of a diverse population, most of whom live in poverty. Besides unemployment, some of the main challenges facing Indonesians are inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among its regions.

Flag of Indonesia

Team Anywhere Indonesia designs awesomepersonalized vacations  using local knowledge and decades of experience.

Poverty

Conditions vary greatly from island to island and poverty isn’t always evident to travelers. Islands like Bali and Lombok — with economies that rely heavily on tourism — face similar challenges as the rest of the country, but these struggles aren’t always evident in top visitor destinations. The worst-off villages are typically a few hours’ drive away from resorts and beachfront hotels — Bali’s poverty is primarily in the western, less-developed side of the island.

The numbers released by the government show a 50 percent reduction in poverty since 1999, which would mean that only 11 percent of the population lives in poverty, which doesn’t match the reality of life in Indonesia. There is a huge population of people who are “near poor” that might not survive an economic downturn or natural disaster. The government reports a low unemployment rate, but workers who do as little one hour of paid work per week count toward the percentage of employed citizens.

Population Distribution

Indonesia has a population of approximately 261 million people. It’s a young country, with 41 percent of the population age 24 or younger, and 42 percent between ages 25 to 54. The population is split fairly evenly, with only 3 million more males than females.

Of the total population, 55 percent live in urban areas and 45 percent live in rural environments. The western islands are home to 80 percent of the population; the most populous are Java, Sumatra, Suawesi, and Kalimantan. Java and Sumatra are the main economic hubs for Indonesia, and there’s a significant gap in health, wealth, and employment between these heavily populated islands and rural areas like Papua or Maluka. This ongoing economic inequality affects the economy and social structures of the country.

Gender Equality

A 2016 Human Development Index report released by the United Nations Development Program shows that Indonesia is still struggling to close its gender equality gap. The inequality was linked to social and cultural factors, differences in education levels, lack of access to general services, and to financial services. Indonesian society is largely male-dominated, often due to religious teachings or traditions in both Islam and Hinduism. The report also showed a wide gap in gross national income per capita between the sexes, with men earning almost twice as much as women.

Only 51 percent of women compete in the labor force, compared to 81 percent of men. The country’s recent push toward female empowerment has led to better credit access for women. It will take time and continued action in order to break Indonesian women free of religious, familial, and cultural obligations that prevent them from being an equal participant in the country’s economic engine.

Access to Education

Indonesia has the world’s fourth-largest education system, with 55 million students and more than 236,000 schools in 500 districts. Unfortunately, the quality of the schools is low. For every 100 students, only 25 come out meeting minimum international standards in literacy and numeracy. The education system has also been racked by teacher shortages and repeated cheating scandals. All of these shortcomings matter in terms of stunted lives and the future of the economy. Education in Indonesia is compulsory for twelve years, and parents can choose between state-run public schools supervised by Ministry of Education and Culture, or private religious (usually Islamic) schools supervised and financed by the Department of Religious Affairs.

By 2014, there were 118 state universities and 1,890 private higher educational institutions in Indonesia. Entry to state universities depends on the nationwide entrance examination scores. The constitution dictates that 20 percent of the national budget is dedicated to education. Alternative schools like Bali’s Green School or Lombok’s Learning Village are setting trends for educational systems and student success, but sadly are far beyond the average Indonesian’s budget and are almost exclusively used by expats.

In 2014, President Joko Widodo launched an Indonesia Smart Card program that provides for students’ educational needs and guarantees 12 years of free education. The cards also guarantees free higher education for poor students who pass the university entrance exams. It remains to be seen how much of an improvement this effort will have on Indonesia’s educational system.

Setbacks and Natural Disasters

On several occasions during the past 20 years, Indonesia has made global headlines due to devastating natural disasters resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of human and animal lives and the destruction of important infrastructure. The weak state of infrastructure and property combined with high population density means that natural disasters in Indonesia cause more casualties than they should.

Volcanoes

Indonesia is home to the most active volcanoes in the world. There is at least one significant volcano eruption in Indonesia every year. Most of the active volcanoes are located in isolated regions, and thus do not cause great damage to the environment or casualties. Volcano eruptions take less toll in human lives today than in the past, due to better volcano warning techniques and better-organized emergency evacuations.

Earthquakes

It’s important to note that because of Indonesia’s location on top of several tectonic plates, earthquakes are quite common. There are regular seismic events, but only a few damage property and take lives. Given Indonesia’s location, earthquakes are an expected phenomenon, but unfortunately the warning systems in place have proved unreliable.

Recent earthquakes have dominated headlines about Indonesia. On August 5th, 2018, an earthquake hit Lombok that destroyed cell phone towers, which took away the warning system that could alert locals to the impending tsunami. September 28, 2018 saw a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Sulawesi, followed by a tsunami that devastated the island’s northern shore.

One of the most noteworthy earthquakes that hit Indonesia in recent history was the 9.2-magnitude earthquake in December 2004. That quake caused a devastating tsunami, killing over 167,000 people in Indonesia alone which resulted in the displacement of more than half a million of people as thousands of homes were wiped away.

Floods and Man-Made Disasters

Indonesia's rainy season, in combination with deforestation or waterways clogged with debris, can cause rivers to overflow and result in floods. Floods and landslides occur in most parts of Indonesia and can cause hundreds of casualties, destroy houses and other infrastructure, and ruin local businesses. Extreme wet or dry seasons can, on bad years, ruin food crop harvests and trigger inflation.

Man-made natural disasters such as forest fires caused by the traditional slash-and-burn culture on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan have far-reaching environmental consequences. Farmers’ and companies’ use of slash-and-burn practices to clear land for palm oil plantations causes many hazards. According to a World Bank report released in December 2015, some 100,000 man-made forest fires destroyed about 2.6 million hectares of land on Kalimantan and Sumatra between June and October 2015. It also caused a toxic haze to spread to other parts of Southeast Asia. This disaster is estimated to have cost Indonesia USD $16 billion and released 11.3 million tons of carbon each day — a figure that exceeds the 8.9 million tons of daily carbon emissions in the European Union — becoming one of the worst natural disasters in human history.

What You Can Expect

Natural disasters are a part of life in Indonesia — that won’t change anytime soon. The country needs to build a better evacuation system on a limited budget. Bali and Lombok are relying on tourism to break the cycle of poverty. Luckily, the islands’ natural beauty is enough to still attract plenty of adventurous travelers. Visitors are part of an essential economic engine that will allow Indonesia to provide its citizens with better access to healthcare and education.

Art and Literature in IndonesiaCrime and Safety in Indonesia History of Indonesia Indonesia Entry Requirements Indonesia Food and DrinkIndonesia Weather Travel Guide Is Bali Safe?Religion in IndonesiaSociety and Development in IndonesiaStaying Healthy in IndonesiaWhen to Visit Indonesia
Excellent!
Trustpilot Rating
Based on 705 reviews
Trustpilot
Will use them again!
Communicative, helpful and honest. They stuck to my budget and accommodated my changes. My kids and I had such a good ti...
Dec 01, 2022
– Kayla C.
Trustpilot Rating
100 Stars!!
If I could give 100 stars, I would wholeheartedly. All the booked activities were excellent and pricing was unbeatable. ...
Nov 30, 2022
– Ravi D.
Trustpilot Rating
One of the best I have ever used
Having traveled a lot, I have used many travel companies. The responsiveness and efforts to meet our needs were unmatche...
Dec 08, 2022
– A. Hershe.
Trustpilot Rating
Above & Beyond in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, & Laos
Thank you to the entire team that made this trip so memorable for us. We appreciate your warmth and going above and beyo...
Jun 20, 2022
– Sapna
Trustpilot Rating
Best way to travel!
I trusted Harold from Anywhere.com to plan my family's vacation. Harold went above and beyond in making sure that our tr...
Oct 04, 2021
– Shivani P.
Trustpilot Rating
Profesionalism at its Best
My experience with Anywhere.com in Costa Rica was perfection. All of the drivers were punctual and pleasant; and all of ...
Aug 02, 2021
– Natasha I.
Trustpilot Rating
Anywhere is OUTSTANDING!
My family & I have used Anywhere to organize 3 vacations- Costa Rica, Peru, & now Ecuador. I would not hesitate to use t...
Jul 29, 2021
– Kara V.
Trustpilot Rating
Awesome vacation, everything went smoothly
Our agent (Erick) planned a great trip for our family of 5. All the tours were excellent, all the transport and lodging ...
Mar 17, 2020
– David
Trustpilot Rating
Everything Anywhere said they would do…
Everything Anywhere said they would do they did. Very professional and friendly staff.
Mar 16, 2020
– Darrell
Trustpilot Rating
We were very reassured in constructing…
We were very reassured in constructing our trip using Anywhere.com as the team responded promptly to our questions in a ...
Mar 16, 2020
– Michael
Trustpilot Rating
Great service!
Great service!
Mar 15, 2020
– Kyle K
Trustpilot Rating
If I could give 100+stars, I would.
If I could give 100+stars, I would.
Mar 15, 2020
– Jerry Pos.
Trustpilot Rating
I gave Anywhere a 48hr turnaround time…
I gave Anywhere a 48hr turnaround time before our departure to provide an itineary based on what we already researched a...
Mar 14, 2020
– Thomas hi.
Trustpilot Rating
Anywhere.com was so easy to work with
Anywhere.com was so easy to work with. They made booking my transfers a pleasant experience. And I even had some last ...
Mar 14, 2020
– Ashley Ba.
Trustpilot Rating
Perfectly planned
Perfectly planned. The trip went off with all (5) transfers on time and all our accommodations meeting or exceeding our...
Mar 14, 2020
– John C.
Trustpilot Rating

Let's Dream Together

Share your bucketlist to get inspiration and local connections.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.

Indonesia Vacations
  • Bali
  • Lombok
  • Ubud
  • Canggu
  • Seminyak
  • Nusa Dua
  • Benoa
  • Tanjung
  • Uluwata Temple
  • Batur Volcano
Indonesia Travel
  • Places to go
  • Things to do
  • Hotels
  • Maps
  • Getting around
  • Safety
ANYWHERE'S TOP SPOTS
  • Costa Rica
  • Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
  • Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica
  • Costa Rica Beaches
  • Machu Picchu, Peru
  • Cusco, Peru
  • Galapgos, Ecuador
  • Quito, Ecuador
  • Antigua, Guatemala
  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Gladden Spit and Silk Caye, Belize
GET INSPIRED!
  • Our Safest Pick!
  • Family Vacations Made Easy
  • Best Tropical Beaches
  • Best Islands
  • Best Hot Springs
  • Cloudforests & Rainforests
  • Get into Nature
  • Mystical Destinations
  • Best Swimming Holes
  • Best Ruins
Trustpilot 5 of 5 rated service
Trustpilot "Excellent"
Plan My Visit→+1 (888) 456-3212
MessengerContact AnywhereWhatsapp ContactCall USA: +1-888-456-3212

© 2023 Anywhere Inc. All rights reserved.Privacy Policy