List of islands of Indonesia
The exact number of islands comprising Indonesia varies among definitions and sources. According to a geospatial survey conducted between 2007 and 2010 by Badan Koordinasi Survei dan Pemetaan Nasional (Bakorsurtanal), the National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping, Indonesia has 13,466 islands. However, according to earlier survey in 2002 by National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), the Indonesian archipelago has 18,307 islands, and according to the CIA "World Factbook", there are 17,508 islands. The discrepancy of the numbers of Indonesian islands was because that the earlier surveys include "tidal islands"; sandy cays and rocky reefs that appear during low tide and are submerged during high tide. According to estimates made by the government of Indonesia 8,844 islands have been named, with 922 of those permanently inhabited.The following islands are listed by province:
"199 islands"
Indonesia
Tectonically, Indonesia is highly unstable, making it a site of numerous volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. It lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Indo-Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate are pushed under the Eurasian plate where they melt at about deep. A string of volcanoes runs through Sumatra, Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and then to the Banda Islands of Maluku to northeastern Sulawesi. Of the 400 volcanoes, around 130 are active. Between 1972 and 1991, 29 volcanic eruptions were recorded, mostly on Java. While volcanic ash has resulted in fertile soils (a factor in historically sustaining high population densities of Java and Bali), it makes agricultural conditions unpredictable in some areas.