Indonesia is an archipelago. It has up to 17.000 islands. Some of them are big islands, and the rests are small islands. The big islands in Indonesia even become the big islands in the world. While some of the small islands are occupied, some others are not occupied, and the rests are even not named yet. Islands in Indonesia either the big islands or the small ones are rich of natural wealth such as mining goods, natural resources, flora and fauna.
Besides the natural wealth, the natural beauty of Indonesia islands are also no doubt. Because of the value of the islands, Indonesia is frequently involved in the struggle with the other countries to claim the islands ownership. Bali, the most beautiful island in the world, even belongs to Indonesia. However, we are not going to talk about Bali and the other beautiful islands in Indonesia. We are going to discuss the biggest islands of Indonesia.
Among the biggest islands in the world, at least 2 of them belong to Indonesia, those are Papua and Kalimantan, the first and the second biggest Indonesian islands. Besides the 2 biggest islands, there are still some islands categorized as big islands in Indonesia. We will discuss the top 5 biggest islands in Indonesia.
1. Papua Island
The first big island of Indonesia is Papua. If we see this whole island, we will find hat this island is very large. However, this island belongs to 2 countries, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The one that belongs to Indonesia is the east end of Indonesia. This island is very exotic because there are so many traditions that still exist and untouched by modernization. Some information regarding this island are:
- Width of the island: 785.753 m² (including Papua New Guinea)
- Population: 14 people per km²
Papua island is a very valuable island. Why? Beside the cultural richness, this island is a gold mine. It is even the biggest in the world. This island contribute to the progress of Indonesian economy through Freeport Indonesia company.
2. Kalimantan Island/Borneo
Next, the second biggest island of Indonesia is Kalimantan island or Borneo. This island does not belong to 1 country only, but it belongs to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam as well. This island is the biggest one in the world. Some information regarding Kalimantan island are:
- Width of the island: 743.330 meter² (including the part of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam)
- Population: 28,59 people per km²
Kalimantan is a very rich island because it has tropical forest as well as many kinds of mining. Diamond is one of the mining in Kalimantan.
3. Sumatera Island
The third biggest island in Indonesia is Sumatera island. If Papua is in the east end of Indonesia, Sumatera is in the west end of Indonesia. This island lies from the north to the south. Sumatera is one of the biggest island in the world. It has a lot of natural wealth either flora, fauna, or mining goods. Here is the statistic of Sumatera island:
- Width of the island: 473.481 m²
- Population: 105 people per km²
Most of the people in Sumatera work as farmer to do farming. The products of Sumatera farming that become export commodities are coffee, palm oil, and many more. This island is divided into some provinces, those are: Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, Lampug, and Bengkulu.
4. Sulawesi Island
The next island is Sulawesi. This island is located in the east side of Indonesia. It has a unique shape which is like the letter K or R. Sulawesi is rich of spice and herbs as well as Maluku province. Here is the information about Sulawesi:
- Width of the island: 180.680,7 km²
- Population: 105,7 people per km²
Sulawesi has a very important role for the trading in Indonesia beside the variety of flora and fauna. This island is divided into 5 provinces: Mid Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and West Sulawesi. Sulawesi is also an island with a lot of mining wealth.
5. Java Island
One of the biggest islands in Indonesia is Java. Among the 5 biggest islands, Java is the smallest one. However, this island is the most populated island in Indonesia. The population is 60% of the total Indonesian population. Here is the information:
- Width of the island: 138.793,6 km²
- Population: 1.317 people per km²
Java is a remarkable island. It is the government center and most of important people are from Java. Even though Java is populous, but it still has forest as the natural counterbalance. This island is divided into 6 provinces: Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Mid Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta.
That’s all some information about the biggest islands of Indonesia. Those islands are the part of Big Sunda islands cluster. I hope this information will be useful for us.