Population of Indonesia 2012
It may surprise some people to learn that Indonesia is in fact the fourth largest country on earth. For from being small, Indonesia is in fact a vast archipelago that comprises over 17,000 Islands, which go to form a land mass equating to 1,919,440 square kilometres (735,355 square miles). This means that Indonesia is the 19th largest country in terms of land mass and it has a high population density too.
Confirmed Figures
The last official census recording the population of Indonesia took place in 2010 and it showed that there were 237,424,363 people living on its 17,508 Islands. This equated to a population density of 123.76 people per square kilometre (323.05 per square mile). Around 58% of Indonesia’s population live on the Island of Java and the statistics involved here make it the most populous island in the whole world.
In recent years, the country has embarked on a programme of family planning awareness but that has done little to slow down a considerable population growth which is expected to reach around 254 million by 2020 and a staggering 288 million by 2050. The population of Indonesia in 2012 is already estimated to be capable of reaching 248,216,193 by July 2012 and that represents a significant rise from the Official 2010 figures.
Demographics
Within Indonesia, the final figure of 237,424,623 citizens in 2010 comprised of a diverse range of ethnic groups. On the census itself, the breakdown was shown as follows:
- Javanese 40.6 per cent
- Sundanese 15.0 per cent
- Madurese 3.3 per cent
- Minangkabau 2.7 per cent
- Betawi 2.4 per cent
- Bugis 2.4 per cent
- Banten 2.0 per cent
- Banjar 1.7 per cent
- Other or unspecified 29.9 per cent
Natural Growth
Another interesting statistic involves the ages of the Indonesian population and although these figures date from the previous national census of 2000, they still tell and interesting story.
Of the total 2000 population, 27.3 per cent were aged between 0 and 14 years, 66.5 per cent between 15 and 64, while just 6.1% of the population of Indonesia were aged over 65.
Birth rate was healthy compared to the death rate too and based on a 2012 estimate, it’s believed that there are 17.76 births per 1,000 people compared to just 6.28 deaths. Add in a loss of 1.08 people to net migration and you have a total annual growth rate of 1.04%.
That final figure of 1.04% may not seem like a lot but on a population of nearly 240 million, it leads to some significant increases. Time will tell if predictions come true but if the country continues to grow by these levels, claims of 288 million citizens by 2050 might just be accurate.
