Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber,
bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 62%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 45,970 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes
Environment—current issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertication, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography—note: archipelago of 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
People
Population: 216,108,345 (July 1999 est.)