National / Regional Profiles
Included Nations/Regions: Indonesia [x], The World [x]
Religion and State (RAS) Indexes1
Religion Indexes (Indonesia)
|
State Funding of Religion Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 6/253 |
Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 8/253 |
State Regulation of Majority or All Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 27/253 |
State Discrimination of Minority Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 16/253 |
Indonesia: Major World Religions (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2
The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Baha'is, Buddhists, Chinese folk-religionists, Jews, Sikhs.
Indonesia: Largest Religious Groups (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2
The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Atheists, doubly-affiliated, Mahayanists, Orthodox, Saktists, Shias, unaffiliated Christians, Vaishnavites.
Religious Adherents (World Religion Database 2020)2
| Religion | Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Baha'is | 0.01% | 0.11% |
| Buddhists | 0.80% | 6.83% |
| --Mahayanists | 0.80% | 4.89% |
| --Theravadins | --- | 1.72% |
| --Lamaists | --- | 0.23% |
| Chinese folk-religionists | 0.89% | 5.98% |
| Christians | 12.21% | 32.16% |
| --unaffiliated Christians | 0.15% | 1.46% |
| --Orthodox | 0.00% | 3.75% |
| --Catholics | 2.96% | 15.90% |
| --Protestants | 7.39% | 7.51% |
| --Independents | 2.33% | 5.00% |
| Daoists | --- | 0.11% |
| Confucianists | --- | 0.11% |
| Ethnic religionists | 2.32% | 3.65% |
| Hindus | 1.62% | 13.58% |
| --Vaishnavites | 0.01% | 5.15% |
| --Shaivites | 1.56% | 4.86% |
| --Saktists | 0.05% | 3.57% |
| Jains | --- | 0.08% |
| Jews | 0.00% | 0.19% |
| Muslims | 79.12% | 24.20% |
| --Sunnis | 79.10% | 21.56% |
| --Shias | 0.02% | 2.44% |
| --Islamic schismatics | --- | 0.21% |
| New religionists | 1.59% | 0.85% |
| Shintoists | --- | 0.04% |
| Sikhs | 0.00% | 0.34% |
| Spiritists | --- | 0.19% |
| Zoroastrians | --- | 0.00% |
| Non-Religious | 1.44% | 11.57% |
| --Agnostics | 1.33% | 9.65% |
| --Atheists | 0.11% | 1.92% |
Religious demographics (Indonesia)3
An archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the country has an area of approximately 700,000 square miles and a population of 245 million.
According to a 2000 census report, 88 percent of the population is Muslim, 6 percent Protestant, 3 percent Roman Catholic, 2 percent Hindu, and less than 1 percent Buddhist, traditional indigenous religions, other Christian groups, and Jewish. Some Christians, Hindus, and members of other minority religious groups argued that the census undercounted non-Muslims.
Most Muslims in the country are Sunni. The two largest Muslim social organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, claimed 40 million and 30 million Sunni followers, respectively. There are also an estimated 1 million to 3 million Shi'a.
Many smaller Muslim organizations exist, including approximately 400,000 persons who subscribe to the Ahmadiyya Qadiyani interpretation of Islam. A smaller group, known as Ahmadiyya Lahore, is also present. Other Islamic minorities include al-Qiyadah al-Islamiya, Darul Arqam, Jamaah Salamulla (Salamulla Congregation), and members of the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Institute.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 19 million Protestants (referred to locally as Christians) and 8 million Catholics live in the country. The province of East Nusa Tenggara has the highest proportion of Catholics at 55 percent. The province of Papua contains the highest proportion of Protestants at 58 percent. Other areas, such as the Maluku Islands and North Sulawesi, host sizable Christian communities.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 10 million Hindus live in the country. Hindus account for approximately 90 percent of the population in Bali. Hindu minorities (called "Keharingan") reside in Central and East Kalimantan, the city of Medan (North Sumatra), South and Central Sulawesi, and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara). Hindu groups such as Hare Krishna and followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba are also present, although in smaller numbers. Some indigenous religious groups, including the "Naurus" on Seram Island in Maluku Province, incorporate Hindu and animist beliefs into their practices. Many have also adopted some Protestant principles. The Tamil community in Medan represents another concentration of Hindus.
The country has a small Sikh population, estimated between 10,000 and 15,000. Sikhs reside primarily in Medan and Jakarta. Eight Sikh temples (gurdwaras) are located in North Sumatra, while Jakarta has two Sikh temples with active congregations.
Among Buddhists, approximately 60 percent follow the Mahayana school, Theravada followers account for 30 percent, and the remaining 10 percent belong to the Tantrayana, Tridharma, Kasogatan, Nichiren, or Maitreya schools. According to the Young Generation of Indonesian Buddhists, most believers live in Java, Bali, Lampung, West Kalimantan, and the Riau islands. Ethnic Chinese make up an estimated 60 percent of Buddhists.
The number of Confucians remains unknown because at the time of the 2000 national census, respondents were not allowed to identify themselves as such. The Supreme Council for Confucian Religion in Indonesia (MATAKIN) estimated that ethnic Chinese made up 95 percent of Confucians with the balance mostly indigenous Javanese. Many Confucians also practiced Buddhism and Christianity.
An estimated 20 million persons in Java, Kalimantan, Papua, and elsewhere practice animism and other types of traditional belief systems termed "Aliran Kepercayaan." Some animists combine their beliefs with one of the government-recognized religions.
There are very small Jewish communities in Jakarta and Surabaya. The Baha'i community reported thousands of members, but no reliable figures were available. Falun Dafa, which considers itself a spiritual organization rather than a religion, claims between 2,000 and 3,000 followers, nearly half of whom live in Yogyakarta, Bali, and
Summary Information |
Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | -- |
| Total Population4 | 254,888,400 | 7,335,774,068 |
| Area in square miles | 735,358 | 196,939,900 |
| Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 | 69.0 | 71.9 |
| Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 | 11,220.0 | 16,101.0 |
| Description of Polity Score6 | (strongly democratic) | -- |
| Judicial Independence Composite Score, as average of scores for higher and lower courts7 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Official Religion(s)8 | Islam | -- |
Indonesia - Google Map
Religion and the State
Religion and State Collection (2014) |
Indonesia [x] |
|---|---|
| Is proselytizing Legal?1 | Yes |
| Is religious registration someties denied?1 | There is no registration requirement |
| What are the consequences of registration?1 | Groups need not register but registration is allowed or encouraged. This encouragement may include benefits given only to registered religions. |
| Official Support: The formal relationship between religion and state.1 | Multi-Tiered Preferences 1 |
| The extent to which religious education is mandatory in public schools.1 | Mandatory for all; the course must be in religion. |
| The extent to which funding is exclusive to one or a few religions.1 | Government funding of religion goes primarily to one religion but at least some other religions receive some funds. |
| The extent to which there are religious requirements and oaths for holding office.1 | Some or all officials must take an oath of office which includes mention of God or religion in general. |
Constitutional Features [ View Excerpts]
Features of Constitution |
Indonesia [x] |
|---|---|
| Is there a constitution?9 | Yes |
| Does the constitution state an official religion?10 | unclear [ Article 29(1) ] |
| Does the constitution provide for freedom of religion?10 | yes [ Articles 28E(1-2), 28I(1), 29(2) ] |
| Does the constitution protect religious equality/non-discrimination?10 | no |
Constitution |
Indonesia [x] |
|---|---|
| Constitution Year10 | 1945 |
| Last Amended10 | 2002 |
| Source10 | Constitute Project |
| Translation10 | Source is an English translation, edited by ARDA staff. |
| Current as of10 | November 9, 2018 |
Public Opinion (Indonesia)(Calculated by the ARDA from the World Values Survey)11 |
2001 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|
| Religious Affiliation/Identification | ||
| Percent belonging to a religious denomination. | 100 | --- |
| Percent identifying as a religious person. | 84.5 | 84.6 |
| Religious Behaviors | ||
| Percent attending religious services at least once a month. | 75.5 | 74.1 |
| Percent praying to God more than once per week. | --- | 95.1 |
| Percent that meditate or pray. | --- | 38.1 |
| Religious Beliefs | ||
| Percent believing in God. | 99.9 | --- |
| Percent believing in heaven. | 99.9 | --- |
| Percent believing in hell. | 99.9 | --- |
| Percent believing in life after death. | 99.5 | --- |
| Percent believing that there are clear guidelines on good and evil. | 88.7 | 88.2 |
| Percent believing that politicians who do not believe in God are unfit for public office. | 86.7 | 77.7 |
| Percent believing that religious leaders should not influence people's vote. | --- | 82.8 |
| Percent believing that things would be better if there are more people with strong religious beliefs. | --- | 90.6 |
| Percent that think that religious faith is an important quality in children | --- | 50.1 |
| Percent that agree: We depend too much on science and not enough on faith | 84.4 | 90.6 |
| Percent believing church gives answers to people's spiritual needs. | --- | 60 |
| Percent that do not trust people of other religions | 77.7 | 64.8 |
| Percent believing church gives answers on family life problems. | 79.6 | 78.9 |
| Percent believing churches give answers to moral problems. | --- | 57.4 |
| Percent that often think about meaning and purpose of life | 64.4 | 75.1 |
| Percent believing churches give answers to social problems. | 5.1 | 56.9 |
| Percent believing that religious leaders should influence the government. | 99.1 | --- |
| Religious Experiences | ||
| Percent finding comfort and strength from religion. | 99.6 | --- |
| Attitudes | ||
| Percent considering religion important. | 99.9 | 98.8 |
| Percent considering that God is not at all important in their life. | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Percent confident in religious organizations. | 96.8 | 94.4 |
| Politics | ||
| Percent thinking that churches have an influence on national politics. | 97.6 | --- |
| Percent agreeing that the government protects personal freedom. | 88.7 | --- |
| Percent agreeing that the government protects religious freedom. | 49.8 | --- |
Socio-Economic Measures
Education |
Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Literacy Rate, in percentage of adult population13 | 95.4 | 86.2 |
| Net Primary School Enrollment Rate, in percentage of population of official school age5 | 89.7 | 89.6 |
| Net Secondary School Enrollment Rate, in percentage of population of official school age5 | 75.5 | 65.1 |
Economic Measures |
Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Domestic Product, in billions of current U.S. Dollars5 | 932.3 | 75,845.1 |
| Imports, in million current-year U.S. dollars14 | 159,339.7 | 20,150,355.0 |
| Exports, in million current-year U.S. dollars14 | 167,812.1 | 20,790,015.7 |
| Economic Freedom Index, scaled from 0 min to 100 max15 | 61.9 | 62.9 |
| Human Development Index16 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 2013 Gender Inequality Index (GII)17 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 | 11,220.0 | 16,101.0 |
Military Measures |
Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Index of National Capability, in fraction of 118 | 0.0144468 | 0.005162584 |
| 2012 Military expenditure (% of GDP)5 | 0.9 | -- |
Demographic and Health Measures |
Indonesia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|
| Total Population4 | 254,888,400 | 7,335,774,068 |
| Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 | 69.0 | 71.9 |
| 2012 Net Migration Rate (migrants per 1,000 population)5 | -700.0 | -- |
| Urban Percentage of Total Population14 | 54.5 | 54.3 |
| Urban Population Growth, by percentage14 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
| Fertility Rate, in total births per woman14 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Infant Mortality Rate, in deaths per 1000 live births14 | 22.2 | 30.5 |
| HIV Prevalence, in percentage of population ages 15-49 with HIV14 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
Other Measures on Religion, State, and Society
Constitution Clauses Related to Religion
Constitution Excerpts (clauses that reference religion) (Indonesia)10
Preamble
...
By the grace of God Almighty ...
... a sovereign state based on a belief in the One and Only God ...
Article 9.
(1) Prior to taking office, the President and Vice President shall swear an oath in accordance with their respective religions or shall make a solemn promise. ...
(2) In the event that the MPR or DPR is unable to convene a sitting, the President and Vice-President shall swear an oath in accordance with their respective religions or shall make a solemn promise ...
Article 22D.
...
(2) The DPD [Council of Representatives of the Regions {Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD}] ... shall provide consideration to the DPR [People’s Representative Council {Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR}] ... on Bills related to ... religion.
(3) The DPD may oversee the ... implementation of the State ... religion ...
Article 24.
...
(2) The judicial power shall be implemented by a Supreme Court and judicial bodies underneath it in the form of ... religious affairs courts ... [among others]
...
Article 28E.
(1) Every person shall be free to choose and to practice the religion of his/her choice ...
(2) Every person shall have the right to the freedom to believe his/her faith (kepercayaan) ...
...
Article 28I.
(1) The ... freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of religion ... are all human rights that cannot be limited under any circumstances.
...
Article 28J.
...
(2) In exercising his/her rights and freedoms, every person shall have the duty to accept the restrictions established by law for the sole purposes of guaranteeing the recognition and respect of the rights and freedoms of others and of satisfying just demands base upon considerations of morality, religious values, security and public order in a democratic society.
Article 29.
(1) The State shall be based upon the belief in the One and Only God.
(2) The State guarantees all persons the freedom of worship, each according to his/her own religion or belief.
Article 31.
...
(3) The government shall manage and organise one system of national education, which shall increase the level of spiritual belief, devoutness and moral character in the context of developing the life of the nation and shall be regulated by law.
...
(5) The government shall advance science and technology with the highest respect for religious values and national unity for the advancement of civilisation and prosperity of humankind.
Variable Details
Sources
1 The Religion and State (RAS) Project is a university-based project located at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel and is directed by Jonathan Fox. Round 3 of the RAS includes all countries with populations of 250,000 or more as well as a sampling of smaller states and offers annual measures from 1990 to 2014. The methods used for conducting the RAS3 collection and the complete codebook can be reviewed online. Or, the codebook and data file can be downloaded free of charge here. For details on how the RAS indexes reported on the ARDA’s National Profiles were coded, constructed, and placed into categories, click here.2 Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim, eds. World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022).
3 The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. These State Department reports are open source.
4 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Demographics reports the estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. The RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. It estimates populations and percentages of adherents of 100 religious denominations including second level subdivision within Christianity and Islam. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database.
5 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.
6 The Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) is engaged in innovative research on the problem of political violence within the structural context of the dynamic global system. The Center supports scientific research and quantitative analysis in many issue areas related to the fundamental problems of violence in both human relations and societal-systemic development processes. The Center continually monitors political behavior in each of the world's major states and reports on emerging issues and persisting conditions related to the problems of political violence and "state failure." A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission. *Note: Polity Scores range from -10 to 10 and include the following categories: -10 to -9: strongly autocratic, -8 to -7 autocratic, -6 to -4 weakly autocratic, -3 to +3 anocratic, +4 to +6 weakly democratic, +7 to +8 democratic, +9 to +10 strongly democratic.
7 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a new approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. V-Dem provides a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between seven high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, majoritarian, and consensual, and collects data to measure these principles. A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission.
8 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Government Religious Preference (GRP) measures government-level favoritism toward, and disfavor against, 30 religious denominations. A series of ordered categorical variables index the state's institutional favoritism in 28 different ways. The variables are combined to form five composite indices for five broad components of state-religion: official status, religious education, financial support, regulatory burdens, and freedom of practice. The five components' composites in turn are further combined into a single composite score, the GRP score. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson, the principal investigator of the World Christian Database, the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database, and co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia series.
9 Data under the "Features of Constitution" heading are drawn from coding of the U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Reports conducted by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the International Religious Freedom reports. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
10 Text from country constitutions was copied from primary documents obtained online using a variety of sources, including the Constitute Project, World Constitutions Illustrated, and government sources. When the text was in a language other than English, it was translated to English by ARDA staff or with web-based translation utilities such as Google Translate. Emphases were added to the text by ARDA staff to differentiate religious content from non-religious content. Text is current to the date listed in the "Current as of" field shown above. Please contact us at
11 The World Values Survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change. It is conducted by a network of social scientists at leading universities around the world. Interviews have been carried out with nationally representative samples of the publics of more than 80 societies. A total of four waves have been carried out since 1981. The ARDA has averaged the weighted responses across the waves for each country surveyed. The average responses for all countries have been placed in a single file and can be previewed and downloaded here. See the World Values Survey website for further information and to download the original survey data: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.
12 Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that offers measures of the extent to which governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, belief and respect for the rights of minorities and women are guaranteed. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
13 The CIA's World Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the now defunct National Intelligence Survey (NIS) studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The year 2010 marks the 67th year of the World Factbook and its predecessor programs. The maps and flags are also from the World Factbook, which is an open source.
14 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.
15 The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom is a systematic, empirical measurement of economic freedom in countries throughout the world. A set of objective economic criteria are used to study and grade various countries for the annual publication of the Index of Economic Freedom. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
16 The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
17 The 2013 Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. It varies between zero (when women and men fare equally) and one (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other in all dimensions). The health dimension is measured by two indicators: maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate. The empowerment dimension is also measured by two indicators: the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and by secondary and higher education attainment levels. The labor dimension is measured by women’s participation in the work force. Source: The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
18 Military data is drawn from the National Material Capabilities (v4.0) dataset, which is a component of and hosted by the Correlates of War Project. The Correlates of War Project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Correlates of War data may be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.
19 The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom reports. The 2003, 2005, and 2008 reports were coded by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The GRI, GFI and SRI values reported on the National Profiles are averages from the 2003, 2005, and 2008 International Religious Freedom reports, while the Religious Persecution measure is an average from the 2005 and 2008 reports. All other measures derived from the International Religious Freedom reports were coded from the reports 2008. A data file with all of the 2008 coding, as well as data files with other cross national collections are available for preview and download from the data archive on this site. Used with permission.
20 The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011. It is designed for use by scholars and students who seek to test theories about the causes and consequences of human rights violations, as well as policy makers and analysts who seek to estimate the human rights effects of a wide variety of institutional changes and public policies including democratization, economic aid, military aid, structural adjustment, and humanitarian intervention. The full CIRI Human Rights Dataset can be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.
