India vs Indonesia
India
Indonesia
| Metric | India | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | New Delhi | Jakarta |
| Population | 1,463,865,525 | 285,721,236 |
| Area (km²) | 3,287,263 | 1,904,569 |
| Population density (/km²) | 445 | 150 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | $2,700 | $5,100 |
| Region | Southern Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
| Currency | INR | IDR |
| Languages | Hindi, English | Indonesian |
| Main religions | Hinduism, Islam, Christianity | Islam, Christianity |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 | UTC+7 to UTC+9 |
Green highlights the higher value (or higher GDP per capita). Figures are approximate.
At a glance
India and Indonesia are both located in Asia (Southern Asia and South-Eastern Asia respectively). India has the larger population — about 5.1× the population of Indonesia, while India covers more land area.
For full geographic detail, see the India map and the Indonesia map.
Maritime neighbours
India and Indonesia have no land border, but they are closer than most people realise. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands stretch south toward Sumatra, and the southern tip of Great Nicobar lies only a short sea crossing from Indonesia's Aceh province. The two countries signed a maritime boundary agreement in the 1970s, and their navies patrol the Andaman Sea approaches to the Strait of Malacca.
Ramayana in Java
From the early centuries CE, traders and priests carried Indian religions, scripts and epics across the Bay of Bengal. Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms such as Srivijaya and Majapahit ruled much of the archipelago, and they left monuments like Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and the Hindu temples of Prambanan in Central Java. The Ramayana and Mahabharata still shape Javanese wayang puppet theatre, Garuda is Indonesia's national emblem, and Bali remains predominantly Hindu. Many Indonesian words come from Sanskrit.
Islam later spread through the archipelago, partly via traders from Gujarat and South India. Indonesia now has the largest Muslim population of any country, while India is majority Hindu with one of the world's largest Muslim minorities.
Shapes and sizes
India's population is about five times Indonesia's, and its land area is a bit under double. Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country, with more than 17,000 islands spread over three time zones; India is a continental country with a single time zone. Indonesia's GDP per capita is higher than India's, while India's total economy is larger. Both are members of the G20.
Non-aligned partners
The two were leading voices of newly independent Asia: Indonesia's first president was chief guest at India's first Republic Day in 1950, and both took part in the 1955 Bandung Conference and founded the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. Today India is a major buyer of Indonesian coal and palm oil. Many itineraries between the two capitals connect via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur; see Jakarta to Delhi for the distance.
Frequently asked questions
- Do India and Indonesia share a border?
- Not on land. They are maritime neighbours: India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie close to Sumatra, and the two countries have agreed their sea boundary.
- Why are there Hindu temples in Indonesia?
- Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms ruled much of Indonesia for over a thousand years before Islam became dominant, leaving temples such as Prambanan and Borobudur. Bali is still mainly Hindu today.