10 Interesting Facts About Indonesia, Unique facts that Indonesia can flaunt to the rest of the world. This Facts About Indonesia That Indonesians Can Be Proud Of.
Stop bragging about other countries and pay more attention to our own beloved country. Despite having many issues and lagging behind advanced countries such as the US or UK, Indonesia is still considered one of the most important regions in the world. Here is the evidence of cool things Indonesians can be proud of:
- Largest Archipelago and its Islands, Indonesia is the largest Archipelago in the world. There are 17,000 islands, out of which 6000 are inhabited by people. New Guinea, Borneo (also known as Kalimantan), and Sumatra island are on the list of the top ten largest Islands in the world. With a population of almost 250 million, Java is the most populous Island in the world.
- The oldest hominid in the world, Pithecanthropus Erectus, is found in Indonesia. Its origin is dated way back from 1.8 million years ago. There are some interesting facts about Indonesia related to the history of Indonesia: The capital, Jakarta was formerly known as Batavia when Dutch had colonized the country. Life has been around for about two million years ago here. This is from the evidence of fossils found in Surakarta and Sangiran of the Java Man, �Homo Erectus�.
- The Borobudur temple is located in Indonesia. It is the world�s largest Buddhist temple and was earlier one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
- Invansion, Marco Polo was the first European to reach Indonesia. He had travelled in search of spices which were valuable commodities in his country. The Dutch kept Indonesia colonized for almost 350 years, owing to the fact that many old Indonesians speak Dutch fluently. Many Indonesian words have been derived from Dutch.
- 20% of liquid natural gas in the world is produced in Indonesia and [Indonesia] is the largest supplier worldwide. Indonesia is a major producer of cloves and nutmeg and ranked first in the world in terms of production. Indonesia is the largest exporter of plywood, which makes up 80% of the supply to the world.
- Indonesia is the world�s richest in term of most extensive coral reefs. It has about 18% of the total coral reefs around the world. Indonesia has the largest number of shark species, which is approximately 150 species.
- Indonesia has the world�s largest amount of orchid biodiversity. There are about six thousand species of orchids, ranging from the largest (Tiger Orchid or Grammatophyllum Speciosum) to the smallest (Taeniophyllum, which has no leaves). The collection also includes the Black Orchid, which is extremely rare and can only be found in Papua.
- Indonesia is very rich in natural resources � its oil reserves alone make it the only South East Asian member of Nato and it is the world�s largest producer of palm oil. But despite being one of the G20 group of leading economies, roughly half of Indonesia�s population lives on less than $2 USD a day.
- Rich Bio-diversity: Indonesia boasts of having the second highest level of Biodiversity. Indonesia has the largest mangrove forest in the world. The main benefit of mangroves is to prevent erosion by sea water. Indonesia has the world�s largest flower called the Rafflesia Arnoldi, which has a diameter of up to 1 meter during the blossom phase. Indonesia has the only living ancient dragon, Komodo, which can be located in NTT. Indonesia has the smallest fish in the world named the Paedocypris progenetica, with a length of 7.9 mm and found in a Sumatra muddy swamp. Indonesia has the world�s longest snake called the Python Reticulates, which is 10 meters long and can be found on Sulawesi island. Indonesia has the world�s smallest primate named the Tarsier Pygmy (Tarsius pumilus), also known as the Mountain Tarsier, whose length is only 10 cm. This animal looks like a monkey and lives on trees found in Sulawesi.
- The Ring of Fire: There are some interesting facts about Indonesia related to the ring of fire, here they are:
- Indonesia is a part of �The Ring of Fire�, the volcano group.
- About 75% of the volcanoes of the Ring of Fire are in Indonesia.
- The Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, which is the world�s most powerful volcanic eruption. It affected the global climate to such an extent that it was called �year without summer�.