Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's seventeenth largest economy by nominal GDP.

Having a GDP size of nearly US$ 707 billion in 2010, Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. Much less affected by the global financial crisis than its neighboring countries, Indonesia’s economy grew by 4.5% in 2009, 6.1% in 2010 and is expected to reach 6.4% this year, providing a case for Indonesia’s inclusion in the so-called BRIC economies. Future economic expansion is expected to include more inclusive growth as nominal per-capita GDP is expected to quadruple by 2020, according to a Standard Chartered report. A large part of Indonesia's economic success is a result of prudent fiscal stewardship that focused on reducing the debt burden. Indonesia’s debt to GDP ratio has steadily declined from 83% in 2001 to 26% by the end of 2010; the lowest among ASEAN countries, aside from Singapore which has no government debt. As a result, in April 2011, Standard & Poor’s had improved Indonesia’s credit rating to BB+, the last of the three major credit rating agencies to upgrade sovereign debt to one notch below investment grade. The rating reflected Indonesia’s resilience to the global financial crisis, improving government and external credit-metrics, and an ability to manage domestic political challenges to the reform agenda. These achievements have increased the frequency with which Indonesia is being compared to middle-income developing nations like Brazil, India and Mexico. Economically strong, politically stable, reform minded, Indonesia is an emerging global powerhouse in Asia.

Underlying Indonesia’s vibrant economy is political stability. A decade ago, many analysts envisaged that certain break-away provinces would bring about Indonesia’s “balkanization”. In 2001, Indonesia embarked on an ambitious and challenging decentralization effort. While it has been challenging journey, today Indonesia is one of the most decentralized countries in the world with substantial funds and authorities devolved to the regions. Significantly, Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that has bucked the trend of a democracy in trouble. Democracy is blossoming in a country that was once ruled with an iron hand for 30 years. Indonesia has gracefully transformed from an authoritarian state to a regional role model. Recently, and for a third time in a row, Indonesia completed another round of peaceful and successful legislative and presidential elections. The election confirmed the people’s confidence in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s leadership, who won more than 60% votes from 176 million registered voters. President Yudhoyono’s party, Partai Demokrat, controls over 25% of plenary votes, providing him with a stronger mandate to lead Indonesia in the next five years.

Source: Wikipedia, Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board.