It is an appropriate description of the archipelago as there are estimated to be a total of 17,508 islands, of which only about 6,000 are inhabited, stretching for 5,150 km between the Australian and Asian continental mainlands and dividing the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator.
The islands and people of Indonesia constitute the fourth most populated nation in the world. As a democratic republic, Indonesia is divided into 32 provinces, special territories and classified geographically into four groups.
Indonesia is rich in art and culture which are intertwined with religion and age-old traditions from the time of early migrants with Western thoughts brought by Portuguese traders and Dutch colonists.
The basic principles which guide life include the concepts of mutual assistance or "gotong royong" and consultations or "musyawarah" to arrive at a consensus or "mufakat" Derived from rural life, this system is still very much in use in community life throughout the country.
As one of the true nations with unexplored areas of land and unexplained plants and lifes forms, it is unbelievable to think that there are species indigenous to Indonesia, like the "orang utan" apes of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the giant "komodo" lizards which are the only ones of their kind in the world today roaming free on the island of Komodo; the one homed rhinoceros of Java, the wild "banteng" oxen, tigers and many other species which are now protected in wildlife reserves.