90+ Indonesia Trivia Questions and Answers

About 270 million people live in Indonesia. This makes it the fourth most populous country in the world after China, India, and the USA. The population of youths is higher with at least 165 million people under the age of 30 compared to 8% of the Indonesian population who are above 60 years.

Over 100 endangered animal species reside here. You can get a glimpse of the Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Rhinoceros, the Komodo Dragon, Orang-utans, the anoa (the smallest buffalo in the world), and the beautiful Merak or Peafowl, sea turtles, and the Tarsius Tarsier.

Indonesia Facts Trivia Questions and Answers

Indonesia exports the world’s most expensive coffee: Kopi Luwak. One weird fact about Indonesia is that Kopi Luwak coffee is made from coffee beans eaten and defecated by an Indonesian cat-like animal called the palm civet.

If you enjoy browsing the internet and of course scrolling through the gram, this one is for you. In 2017, Instagram revealed, that Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta is the number one city in Asia, often geotagged in its Stories format.

Explore these Indonesia trivia questions with answers!

1. What is the approximate number of islands that comprise Indonesia?

17,500

 

2. The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 caused the following year to be “A Year Without Summer”. Where is Mount Tambora located?

Sumbawa

 

3. Which is the most populous island of Indonesia?

Sumbawa

 

4. Ms Globe announces to her class that their destination is the island of Java and asks Plodd if she knows of which country Java belongs. Which answer will show that Plodd hasn’t been daydreaming during class?

Indonesia

 

5. Which island of Indonesia has a predominantly Hindu population?

Bali

 

6. How many major rivers flow through Jakarta?

13

 

7. Who was the President of Indonesia from 1968 to 1998?

Suharto

 

8. There are many islands in Indonesia. Approximately how many are there?

17,000

 

9. Flying in to Bali, you land at Ngurah Rai International Airport. Your luggage bears labels with the letters DPS which are based on the alternative name for the airport. Indicating the name of the capital city of Bali, what do the IATA letters DPS represent?

Denpasar

 

10. Which country was under Indonesian occupation?

East Timor

 

11. What is the national motto of Indonesia?

Unity in diversity

 

12. The world’s largest lake on an island is in Indonesia, but what is its name?

Lake Toba

 

13. When is the Independence Day of Indonesia?

17 August

 

14. Which one is an Indonesian airline?

Garuda

 

15. How was Indonesia known before independence?

Dutch East Indies

 

16. Which is the largest city located in Sumatra?

Medan

 

17. Indonesia won two medals at the 2012 Olympics. In which event?

Weightlifting

 

18. This large island is shared with two other countries, making it the only island in the world shared by three completely independent nations.

Borneo

 

19. Islam is the most practiced religion in Indonesia. But which is the second?

Christianity

 

20. Ms Globe and her class have arrived and are standing on the southern coast of Java looking at an ocean. Ms Globe calls on Jennings to identify this ocean. Jennings knows how to impress the teacher by giving which answer?

Indian

 

21. During the 2012 US presidential election campaign, some commentators noted that Barack Obama was displaying physical signs of the cultural customs he’d picked up when he lived in Indonesia as a child. What was the sign?

That he pointed at Mitt Romney with his thumb during a presidential debate

 

22. How many time zones does Indonesia recognize?

3

 

23. How many female presidents has Indonesia had?

One

 

24. Around a ten-minute taxi ride from the airport (depending on the traffic) is Bali’s most popular tourist area. With a name that sounds like a scooter, what is this main tourist destination called?

Kuta

 

25. Which banknote carries a picture of the first Indonesian president, Sukarno?

100,000 rupiah

 

26. One of the biggest volcanic eruptions in recent times was that of Krakatoa (Krakatau in Indonesian) in 1883. Where was Krakatoa?

West of Java

 

27. Gado-gado is?

An Indonesian dish of vegetables and peanut sauce

 

28. Indonesia has thirty-three provinces and four provinces have special status. Special status means more privileges and more independence from the government. The four special provinces are Aceh, Yogyakarta, Jakarta and _______.

Papua

 

29. What form of government does Indonesia have?

Democracy

 

30. According to the Indonesian government, approximately how many orangutans are left in the country?

61000

 

31. Finally, we’re here, but you could have told me how HOT this place is. We need to find somewhere to stay. I’m thinking a few days of R & R in the mountains. Where would you recommend it?

Ubud

 

32. Which state has never colonized or occupied Indonesia?

France

 

33. Indonesia was formerly known as what?

Dutch East Indies

 

34. How many countries have a bigger population than Indonesia?

Three

 

35. One Indonesian island was the source of some interest in 2003, when an extinct kind of 3-foot-tall hominids, which the popular press referred to as “hobbits”, were discovered. What was this island?

Flores

 

36. Only one of these places sends more tourists to Indonesia than Australia. Which is it?

Singapore

 

37. Indonesia is a world leader in the production of what common spice?

Nutmeg

 

38. What’s the name of orange colored Indian three-wheeler car, which is a very noisy car and only seen in Jakarta?

Bajaj

 

39. Of Indonesia’s approximately 400 volcanoes, about how many remain active?

101 – 150

 

40. What’s going on here? The concierge guy was called Wayan. Another chap called Wayan checked me in, and then ANOTHER Wayan, this time a girl, saw me to my room. Pinch me please. Why are so many Balinese called Wayan?

Wayan is a Balinese birth-order name given to first born children on Bali

 

41. True or False: Indonesian is one of three Asian languages taught in Australia as part of their Languages Other Than English program.

True

 

42. In the period 1942-1945, the country was occupied by what other country?

Japan

 

43. True or False: Similar to English, Bahasa Indonesia also uses a 26 letter alphabet with no accent marks.

True

 

44. Indonesia shares the second largest island in the world with another country. This island is home to over 1000 languages. What is it?

New Guinea

 

45. True or False: More than 50 countries study Bahasa Indonesia as part of the BIPA program (Indonesian for Foreign Speakers).

False

 

46. True or False: 60% of the people in Indonesia speak the Indonesian language.

False

 

47. Ms Globe wants to see if her students have been paying attention and asks rbearusa to choose the answer that would best describe Java’s climate. Which answer will move rbearusa to the head of the class?

A wet and a dry season

 

48. True or False: Indonesian is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.

True

 

49. Prior to the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II, Bali was a colony of a European country. Under colonial rule, Indonesia (including Bali) was known as the ‘___________’ East Indies. Which major sea-faring and trading nation colonized Bali?

Dutch

50. True or False: Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malay are two completely different languages.

False

 

51. In terms of land area, Indonesia is the world’s sixteenth-largest country. Out of these four countries, which country has the amount of land area most similar to Indonesia?

Mexico

 

52. What is the time difference between GMT and Denpasar, Bali?

8 hours

 

53. In what year did Indonesia celebrate 60 years of independence?

2005

 

54. What second largest city located in Java used to be an important trading center in the 18th and 19th century?

Surabaya

 

55. Next Ms Globe picks Creedy to identify the agricultural crop grown on Java that is often referred to as “Java.” Which answer will enable Creedy to make the grade?

Coffee

 

56. Which statement is true about Indonesia’s land area?

Its area is almost 2 million km2.

 

57. Active volcano Mt Agung is locally called Gunung Agung. It is Bali’s highest mountain at 3142 metres (10308 feet) and one of over 150 volcanoes in Indonesia. The Indonesian archipelago is considered part of a series of volcanically active regions known by what name?

Pacific Ring of Fire

 

58. What is the Wallace line?

The boundary between the range of Asian species and the range of Australian species

 

59. Which island district in Indonesia does not have a land border with another country?

Sulawesi

 

60. Which countries have an official land boundary with Indonesia?

Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste

 

61. In which region in Java is Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, located?

Central Java

 

62. The GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or Free Aceh Movement) was a group that wanted to separate Aceh from Indonesia. An interesting fact is that there is also an Indonesian island named Gam. Where is it?

West Papua

 

63. Grown in beautiful terraced fields that follow the contours of the mountain sides and which can be seen almost everywhere on the island, what is Bali’s most widely grown agricultural crop?

Rice

 

64. Komodo Island is famous for an animal named after which mythological creature?

Dragon

 

65. Indonesia has many natural resources. Out of these four, which natural resource is not one of Indonesia’s major ones?

Diamonds

 

66. Now about language. How do you say “Be Careful” in Bahasa?

hati hati

 

67. The European age of exploration was inspired by a search for the fabled spice islands of the East Indies (now part of Indonesia). Columbus set out to find a route to the spice islands and accidentally discovered America, which is why he called the people Indians and the islands he found the “Indies”. Traders have visited the actual spice islands for thousands of years. What are these islands?

Ternate, Tidore and Banda

 

68. If you want to die by being drowned in the longest river in Indonesia, where should you sink yourself?

Kapuas River

 

69. Which Indian island lies to the north of Sumatra?

Great Nicobar

 

70. What religion is observed by over 92% of the population of Bali?

Hinduism

 

71. “Siapa itu?” means :

Who is that?

 

72. I’m all bartered out and you’re sick of lugging around your ‘I’ve Been To Bali Too’ t-shirts, fake Rolexes, and that life size wooden giraffe. We’re in Jalan Raya, so let’s grab a Bemo and go for a cruise. You look at me oddly. “What the.. is a Bemo?”

Mini Bus

 

73. The Indonesian flag is similar to the flag of what other country?

Monaco

 

74. What least polluted city was given a regional award in 2017 for the cleanest air among all the major cities in South East Asia?

Bandung

 

75. In 1975, Indonesia invaded a Portuguese colony, which it occupied for 26 years, until the former colony gained independence in 2001. What is the name of this young nation, which shares an island with Indonesia?

East Timor

 

76. Ms Globe asks George48 to tell the class what is responsible for the richness of Java’s soils. Which answer will earn George48 an A for the day?

Volcanic ash

 

77. Which island to the east of Bali is separated from Bali by a strait of the same name?

Lombok

 

78. The nutmeg tree is native to which group of small islands in Indonesia?

Banda Islands

 

79. Forms of dance in Indonesia are very popular. Out of these four choices, which dance is a sacred ritualised dance of Java connected with the palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta?

Bedhaya

 

80. What is the name of Solo (Surakarta) Airport?

Adi Soemarmo

 

81. Balikpapan and Bontang are two important cities for oil and gas industries located in which region in Indonesia?

East Kalimantan

 

82. How long is the famous Suramadu Bridge?

5438m

 

83. What is the highest mountain in Indonesia?

Puncak Jaya

 

84. What is the name of the city, nicknamed “Equatorial City (Kota Kathulistiwa)”

Pontianak

 

85. For the final question, Ms. Globe asks scorpion1960 to identify what kind of disaster occurred in July of 2006 killing over 650 people on Java. To academically excel, scorpion1960 should choose which answer?

earthquake/tsunami

 

86. How many provinces are in Sulawesi Island?

6

 

87. What are two famous religious complexes in Indonesia?

Prambanan and Borobudur

 

88. About thirty minutes taxi ride from Bali’s airport (depending on the traffic), on the east side of its southern peninsula, is one of the island’s earliest tourist areas. Water sports and kite flying are popular recreations. Which of the following resort areas is the only one on the eastern coast?

Sanur

 

89. The island of Sumatra is dominated by a mountain range called “Bukit Barisan”. What does “Bukit Barisan” mean?

A row of hills

 

90. What is the name of the Indonesian Railroad Service?

PERUMKA

 

91. We’ve been tanned, massaged, manicured, pedicured and plaited. We’ve shopped, bopped, dropped and hopped all around this lush, spiritual little island. Time to catch the Wallaby home and get some real rest. “__________ Airport please driver.”

Ngurah Rai

 

92. Who was the first president of Indonesia?

Soekarno

 

93. What is Yogyakarta’s most popular food?

Gudeg

 

94. People originally from North Celebes are called?

Minahasa

 

95. How do you say ‘goodbye’ in Bahasa?

Selamat Tinggal

 

 

 

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