Click to see a larger map

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago. Its 18,108 islands stretch 5000 km (3100 miles) from the Indian Ocean to New Guinea. Java, Kalimantan, Papua, Sulawesi, and Sumatra are mountainous, volcanic, and densely forested. Politics after independence was dominated by the military for over three decades, until the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, when a partial "civilianization" began. In outlying regions, the forcibly suppressed demands for greater autonomy have flared up, bringing renewed violence. East Timor, which Indonesia invaded in 1975 and then annexed, voted for independence in 1999 and became a fully sovereign state in 2002.