Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape

This is the first book that presents an analysis of basic information contained in the 31 volumes of the official Indonesian census conducted in the year 2000. It focuses on Indonesian ethnicity and religion and their relevance to the study of politics. The 2000 population census is the first comprehensive census since the colonial period in 1930, to include ethnic data. After Indonesia’s independence in 1945, the Indonesian Government conducted four population censuses but these had never included any information on ethnicity. This book provides a general analysis of the 2000 census, followed by discussions on 11 major indigenous ethnic groups, the ethnic Chinese, six major religions, and 11 selected provinces of ethnic and political significance. This is an indispensable book for scholars and practitioners who are interested in Indonesia, in particular the relevance of ethnicity and religion to political behaviour during elections.