Indonesia: Introduction

Indonesia is a country located in Southeastern Asia between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It has a strategic location astride major sea lanes and is an archipelago of 17,508 islands, some of which border Timor-Leste, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. The government system is a republic; the chief of state and the head of government is the president. Indonesia has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Indonesia is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).