Today, Indonésie is the fourth most populous country in the world after China, India, and the United States. It has a population of 261,115,456 inhabitants with an annual demographic growth rate of 1.35%. The first census of the Indonésien population took place in 1811. At that time, the country had only 12 million inhabitants. Over the years, however, the population has continued to grow, reaching 237 million in 2010 and just over 261 million today.

In Indonésie, life expectancy is 70 years for men and 75 for women, giving an average of 72 years for the total population. In this country, the mortality rate is relatively low. Nevertheless, the Indonésien population remains young with a median age of 27 years.

The Different Ethnicities in Indonésie

In Indonésie, an ethnic group is called suku bangsa or more simply suku. Since 2000, the Republic of Indonésie has officially recorded ethnic groups to determine the approximate percentage of ethnicities and their distribution.

The ethnic composition of the Indonésien population is highly diverse. Indeed, there are currently over 300 ethnicities. However, more than half of this population is dominated by the Javanese (41% of the total population) and the Sundanese (representing 15% of the total population).

There are also other ethnicities with smaller percentages:

• Batak: 4%,
• Madurese: 3%
• Betawi: 3%
• Minangkabau: 2.73%
• Bugis: 2.69%
• Malay: 2.27%
• Banten: 1.97%
• Banjarese: 1.74%
• Acehnese: 1.73%
• Balinese: 1.67%
• Sasak: 1.34%
• Dayak: 1.27%
• Chinese: 1.2%
• Makassarese: 1.13%

Regarding religions, the majority of the population is Muslim (87%). Other religious groups are also present: Protestants (6%), Catholics (3%), Hindus (2%), notably in Bali, and others (2%).