Indonesia was ruled by many different countries and forms of government. The first to settle in Indonesia were the Dutch. The Dutch settled in the early 17th century. This is the cause of one of the main languages being Dutch. After many years with Dutch rule, the Japanese ceased the islands. The Japanese occupied Indonesia from 1942 to 1945. But during their short period of rule, they left Buddhism as well as some Hinduism on the Islands of Indonesia. Now there are temples for the Buddhist and Hindu gods. After the periods of rule from Dutch an Japanese, Indonesia was influenced by many outside and internal ethnic groups.
Now, Indonesia is composed of many diverse ethnic groups, and all with different beliefs and customs. There are over 250 different languages found in Indonesia. The main languages are Bahasa Indonesia, which is a modified form of Malay, English and Dutch (due to their rule in earlier history); and many of the local languages spoken are actually Javanese. Many groups actually speak the main language, Bahasa Indonesia, as a second language. Indonesia is actually 86.1% Muslim. Other main groups are also Javanese (40.6%) and Sundanese (15%). But the country also has influenced culture from the west (Dutch) such as: Protestant and Roman Catholic. The Portuguese also influenced the island of East Timor and the surrounding islands with Roman Catholic.
Indonesia also has many different forms of art and food. From art sculptures to dance forms to music, each is affected by their ethnic group.
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| Muslim population of Indonesia |
Citations: CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html; Textbook page 710 and 711; http://yopyrinaldi.blogspot.com/2012/01/culture-of-indonesia-fusion-of-customs.html; http://home.swipnet.se/zabonk/indons/instant/religion.htm.