Ethnicities

The Javanese, who live mainly in central and eastern Java, are the largest ethnic group, constituting 45 percent of Indonesia’s population. On the western end of Java are the Sundanese, who make up 14 percent of the population and are the second largest group. Other significant ethnic groups include the Madurese, who hail from Madura, off the northeast coast of Java, and make up 8 percent of the population; and the ethnic Malay, who are dispersed throughout several areas, and make up 7 percent of the population. Among the ethnic groups on Sumatra are the Bataks, who cluster around Lake Toba; the Minangkabau, from the western highlands; the Acehnese, from the far north; and the Lampungese, who live in the south. On Sulawesi, the Minahasans live in the north, the Bugis and Makassarese cluster around the coasts in the south, and the Toraja inhabit much of the interior. Kalimantan is populated by more than 200 groups; most of these are tribes of the Dayak ethnic group in the interior or are ethnic Malay living on the coast. The people of Papua are of Melanesian descent, as are some residents from smaller eastern islands. Several million Indonesians of Chinese descent are concentrated in urban areas. Smaller numbers of Indians, Arabs, and Europeans are scattered around the archipelago.

List of Indonesian Ethnic Groups