Living In Indonesia Living in Indonesia Guides for foreign residents in Indonesia since 2007

Quick Facts

  • Government: A presidential republic. The president is both head of state and head of government, directly elected for a five-year term with a two-term limit.
  • Head of state: Prabowo Subianto is Indonesia's eighth president, inaugurated on 20 October 2024 with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Their term runs to 2029.
  • Capital: Jakarta remains the legal capital. A new capital, Nusantara (IKN), is under construction in East Kalimantan and is designated the political capital from 2028, but Jakarta keeps the role until a presidential decree formally transfers it.
  • Population: Around 285 million (2025 estimate), the world's fourth-largest, growing roughly 1 per cent a year. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any nation.
  • Provinces: 38, following the 2022 division of Papua into several new provinces.
  • Language: Bahasa Indonesia, a standardised form of Malay, is the sole official language, spoken alongside more than 700 regional languages.
  • Currency: The rupiah (Rp / IDR), trading near Rp 18,000 to the US dollar at the time of writing (mid-2026).
  • Elections: Held every five years and run by the General Elections Commission (KPU, established 1999). The last was on 14 February 2024, when Prabowo won outright with 58.59 per cent in a single round. The next general and presidential elections are due in 2029.
  • Voting: Ballots are marked by piercing them with a nail, a method called coblos; voters then dip a finger in indelible ink to prevent double voting.

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