Across its many islands, Indonesia ...

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest—and the politically dominant—ethnic group. Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism including rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty remains widespread in contemporary Indonesia.

Indonesian provinces and their capitals – listed by region

Sumatra

• Aceh^† – Banda Aceh
• North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) – Medan
• West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) – Padang
• Riau – Pekanbaru
• Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) – Tanjung Pinang
• Jambi – Jambi (city)
• South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) – Palembang
• Bangka-Belitung (Kepulauan Bangka-Belitung) – Pangkal Pinang
• Bengkulu – Bengkulu (city)
• Lampung – Bandar Lampung

Java

• Jakarta^† – Jakarta
• Banten – Serang
• West Java (Jawa Barat) – Bandung
• Central Java (Jawa Tengah) – Semarang
• Yogyakarta Special Region^† (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) – Yogyakarta (city)
• East Java (Jawa Timur) – Surabaya

Lesser Sunda Islands

• Bali – Denpasar
• West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) – Mataram
• East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) – Kupang

Kalimantan

• West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) – Pontianak
• Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) – Palangkaraya
• South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) – Banjarmasin
• East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) – Samarinda

Sulawesi

• North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) – Manado
• Gorontalo – Gorontalo (city)
• Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) – Palu
• West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) – Mamuju
• South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) – Makassar
• South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) – Kendari

Maluku Islands

• Maluku – Ambon
• North Maluku (Maluku Utara) – Ternate

Western New Guinea

• West Papua^† (Papua Barat) – Manokwari
• Papua^† – Jayapura