Indonesia's 201 million people make it the world's fourth-most populous nation. The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 107 million people living in an area the size of New York State. Indonesia includes numerous related but distinct cultural and linguistic groups, many of which are ethnically Malay.
Many local languages are still important in many areas, however.
English is the most widely spoken foreign language. Education is free and compulsory for children between ages 6 and 12. In some remote areas, animism is still practiced.