List of islands of Indonesia
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian archipelago and formerly known as the Indian archipelago, may refer either to the islands comprising the nation-state of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands. According to the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, of 17,508 officially listed islands within the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, 16,056 island names have been verified by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) as of July 2017.
Johan Teterisa
The Moluccas, which were once known as the Spice Islands, are now commonly known by their Indonesian name, Maluku. The islands are located approximately east of the national capital of Jakarta. The Moluccas, who are populated by roughly even numbers of Christians and Muslims, were plagued by inter-religious violence between the two groups from 1999 to 2002. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, though Christians form the a majority of the population in some eastern areas of the country, such as Maluku, West Papua, Flores and parts of Sulawesi.