Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: East Timor question with Portugal

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Natural resources: crude oil, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use: 8% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes 3% irrigated

Environment: archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited); occasional floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis; deforestation

Note: straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean