Country profile · Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Indonesia has 285.7 million people, the world's fourth-largest population, spread across thousands of islands. It mined 66.7% of the world's nickel in 2025. President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces general, has governed since October 2024. China is its largest trading partner. It joins no military alliance, but it deepened defense ties with the United States and Australia in 2026.
Where Indonesia ranks
All rankings →Who runs Indonesia?
President Prabowo Subianto runs Indonesia. He took office in October 2024 after winning 58.59% of the vote. Prabowo was born in Jakarta in 1951. His father, the economist Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, joined a rebellion in 1958 and lived in exile until 1967, so Prabowo went to school in five countries and speaks French, German, English and Dutch. He commanded the Kopassus special forces from 1995 to 1998. The army discharged him in 1998 after an officers' council found him responsible for abducting pro-democracy activists; 13 of the 23 activists abducted in 1997 and 1998 are still missing. The US refused him a visa from 2000 to 2020. His cat Bobby Kertanegara, a former stray, has more than a million Instagram followers. His approval fell from 81.2% in November 2025 to 51.1% in July 2026 (SMRC).
- Gerindra 86
- Coalition partners (Golkar, NasDem, PKB, PKS, PAN, Demokrat) 384
- PDI-P, outside the government 110
Official portrait (2024): Ministry of State Secretariat, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Who are Indonesia's allies and rivals?
Indonesia has no treaty ally and joins no military pact. At his inauguration President Prabowo said, "a thousand friends are too few, one enemy is too many." It joined BRICS in January 2025. On April 13, 2026 the defense ministers announced a US-Indonesia defense partnership. That same day President Prabowo spent five hours with President Putin in Moscow. The visit led to a deal to buy up to 150 million barrels of Russian oil. China's nine-dash line overlaps Indonesia's sea zone north of the Natuna Islands. In October 2024 Bakamla, Indonesia's maritime security agency, said it drove a Chinese coast guard ship away from an oil survey there three times. Indonesia has no diplomatic relations with Israel. It pledged 8,000 troops for the Gaza stabilization force in February 2026 but postponed the deployment in March.
Allies and partners
AustraliaSecurity treaty signed February 2026
United StatesDefense partnership announced April 2026
JapanDefense cooperation arrangement, May 2026
France42 Rafale fighters ordered, six delivered
RussiaStrategic partner since 2025, oil deal 2026
VietnamComprehensive Strategic Partnership, March 2025
Tensions
ChinaNine-dash line overlaps Indonesia's Natuna zone
- Natuna Islands China's nine-dash line overlaps Indonesia's exclusive economic zone. Indonesia says it has no overlapping claims with China.
- Strait of Malacca Between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. More oil passes through it than through any other chokepoint.
- Morowali Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, 22 nickel smelters financed by China's Tsingshan and Chinese state banks.
- Nusantara New capital in Borneo. About 10,000 residents. State funding fell from Rp43.3 trillion in 2024 to Rp6.26 trillion in 2026.
- Indonesia
- Partner
- Tensions
Who does Indonesia trade with?
Indonesia exported $282.9 billion of goods in 2025 and imported $241.9 billion, a surplus of $41.1 billion. China took 23.8% of exports and supplied 36.2% of imports, far ahead of any other partner. The largest exports were mineral fuels ($45.1 billion, including $24.5 billion of coal), palm oil ($34.4 billion) and iron and steel ($28.0 billion, much of it from nickel). Indonesia sends raw materials to China and buys machinery and electronics from it. From May 2020 to April 2026 it ran a surplus every month. In May 2026 rising fuel imports caused its first deficit in six years. Since July 24, 2026 Indonesian goods have paid a 10% US tariff. A trade agreement with the European Union is due to be signed in October 2026.
Sells to
Share of Indonesia's exports
- China23.8%
- United States11.0%
India6.5%- Japan6.3%
Singapore4.9%
Buys from
Share of Indonesia's imports
- China36.2%
- Singapore7.9%
- Japan6.0%
- United States5.3%
Malaysia4.6%
Goods trade, 2025. Shares of Indonesia's exports and imports in its own report to UN Comtrade.
How strong is Indonesia's military?
SIPRI estimates Indonesia spent $15.0 billion on its military in 2025, 1.0% of GDP. The IISS counts 433,700 active troops, the 13th-largest force in the world. The 2026 defense budget is Rp337.4 trillion, about 36% more than in 2025. Indonesia buys from many countries. It ordered 42 Rafale fighters from France for $8.1 billion. Six have been delivered since January 2026. It signed for 48 Turkish KAAN fighters in June 2025 but none have arrived. It has discussed Chinese J-10 fighters but signed no contract. Two French-designed Scorpène submarines are being built in Surabaya, due in 2032 and 2033. A law passed on March 20, 2025 lets serving officers hold posts in 14 civilian institutions, up from 10. Six new regional army commands opened in August 2025, and five more are due on October 5, 2026.
Military spending in Southeast Asia and Australia, 2025
Full ranking →- Australia$35.3bn
- Singapore$17.4bn
- Indonesia$15.0bn
- Vietnam$10.5bn
Philippines$6.4bn
Thailand$6.0bn- Malaysia$4.9bn
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition
Why does Indonesia's nickel matter?
Indonesia mined 2.6 million of the world's 3.9 million tonnes of nickel in 2025. Nickel goes into stainless steel and many electric car batteries. Since January 2020 Indonesia has banned exports of raw nickel ore, to force companies to process it at home. Chinese companies built most of the new smelters, and in 2023 they controlled about 75% of Indonesia's nickel refining capacity. The government says processed nickel products earned $33.9 billion in exports in 2024. Before the ban, ore exports peaked at about $1.1 billion a year. A WTO panel ruled against the ban in 2022, but Indonesia's appeal has stalled. In 2026 the government cut the ore mining quota to about 260 million tonnes, from 379 million in 2025, to support prices. An explosion at a smelter in Morowali killed 21 workers in December 2023.
Share of world nickel mining, 2025
Full ranking →- Indonesia66.7%
- Philippines6.9%
- Russia5.1%
Canada3.6%- China3.1%
Brazil1.8%- Australia1.2%
- United States0.3%
US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026