Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has struggled to overcome the Asian financial crisis, and still grapples with high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia became a net oil importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration investment. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel placed increasing strain on the budget in 2005, and combined with indecisive monetary policy, contributed to a run on the currency in August, prompting the government to enact a 126% average fuel price hike in October. The resulting inflation and interest rate hikes will dampen growth prospects in 2006. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth. In late December 2004, the Indian

Ocean tsunami took 131,000 lives with another 37,000 missing, left some 570,000 displaced persons, and caused an estimated $4.5 billion in damages and losses. Terrorist incidents in 2005 have slowed tourist arrivals. Indonesia experienced several human cases of avian influenza in late 2005, sparking concerns of a pandemic.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$865.6 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita:
$3,600 (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$270 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 14.7%
industry: 30.6%
services: 4.6% (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 46.5%
industry: 11.8%
services: 41.7% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
94.2 million (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10.9% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
16.7% (2004)