INDONESIA

(IDR) Currency News >>

CURRENCY:

Rupiah - IDR, Symbol Rp

DENOMINATIONS:

NOTE: Rp100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000 and 500.

COIN: Rp1,000, 500, 100, 50 and 25.

US DOLLAR ACCEPTED:

Yes, widely.

CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS AND ATMS:

You will not encounter problems with most major credit cards in Jakarta and other major tourist areas, but in more rural areas, it is advised to use cash (in small denominations). There are ATM machines in towns.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE:

Easiest in Jakarta and major tourist areas.

TRAVELLER'S CHEQUES:

Best in US dollars or Sterling. You will find it easier to exchange these at banks and some hotels than using them to make purchases - they have limited acceptance in Indonesia. Best brand to use is American Express.

BANKING HOURS:

Mon-Fri 0830-1530 OR 1730 Saturday mornings.

CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS:

N/A

COUNTRY OVERVIEW:

Indonesia is officially called the Republic of Indonesia and is found in Southeast Asia. It is in fact a 'transcontinental' country because it is also in Oceania. Also, it is the world's largest archipelago nation - it is made up of 17,508 islands! The population is one of the largest in the world. Interestingly, despite having a majority of Muslims, there is no mention of Islam made in the constitution of Indonesia. The capital is Jakarta and the official language is Indonesian.

POPULATION:

Around 240 million.

ECONOMY:

Indonesia has a large services sector, as well as industry and agriculture. The majority of the population works in agriculture. Rice, tea, coffee, palm oil, spices are all part of the agriculture. Industry includes natural gas and petroleum, textiles and mining. The East Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 hit Indonesia the hardest - the economy shrunk by over 13%. Since then, the currency has stabilized, albeit slowly.