Indonesia seems to have almost as many cultures and landscapes as it has islands (more than 18,000 at last count). There's ultra-beauteous Bali, of course, but all its islands have their own allure, from Komodo and its dragons to the bustling cultures, green majesties, and intriguing cities and villages of Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and 17,994 or so more.

• TOTAL AREA: 1,919,440 sq km

• LAND AREA: 1,826,440 sq km

• WATER AREA: 93,000 sq km

• POPULATION: 245,452,739

• RELIGIONS: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1%

• LANGUAGES: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Republic

• CAPITAL CITY: Jakarta

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Indonesian rupiah (IDR)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +7 (), GMT/UTC +8 (), GMT/UTC +9 ()