"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" - "multicultural unity": Since the declaration of independence on 17th August 1949 this Sanskrit motto has adorned the coat of arms of the Indonesian republic.
The two million inhabitants of this island state belong to 300 ethnic groups with different cultures and customs, and hundreds of languages and dialects. The history of this country's civilisation goes back well over 1,000 years. Hindu kingdoms and Islamic influence have all left their mark, especially on the highly-populated islands of Java, Sumatra and Bali.

During Dutch rule Indonesia was one of the wealthiest colonies in the world, although the native population benefited little from this fact. The first president of independent Indonesia, Achmed Sukarno, was a pioneer of the movement for non-alignment. At the famous Bandung Conference in 1955 the "Third World" countries which had already gained independence, sought a political path between East and West.

General Suharto, who took over power in a military coup in 1965, leaned more strongly to the West. In the 70s and 80s, continuous economic development was achieved, an important source of which was Indonesia's rich natural resources.  Today Indonesia is one of the so-called fast-developing nations.
The Asian financial crisis struck Indonesia in 1997. After heavy social unrest President Suharto was forced to resign. Today the country is travelling on the arduous road to democracy. Economic recovery is hindered by the devastating forest fires, which raged in 1997 and 1998. They destroyed 750 000 hectares of forest and the haze, caused by heavy smoke, cast the entire region into darkness.