The Islands of Indonesia Quiz for Experts | Asia

Answer: Java

The estimated population of Java in 2012 (World Bank estimate) was 146.9 million. To give this some perspective, the land area of Java is comparable to the state of North Carolina (pop. 9.22 million), the South Island of New Zealand (pop. 1.04 million), or the nation of Greece (pop. 11.28 million).

There are many memorable tourist destinations in Java. In addition to the religious buildings mentioned in the question, there are beautiful beaches at Carita, Pelabuhan Ratu and Prambanan, dramatic mountains and volcanoes, and the historic cities of Yogyakarta and Solo.

Answer: Borneo

Indonesia shares Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei. Borneo is the third largest island in the world. The Indonesian part of the island is known as Kalimantan, and is divided between four Indonesian provinces.

Another island which could be considered to have three countries is Britain, although England, Wales and Scotland, while maintaining identity as separate countries, are politically united.

Answer: Flores

These hobbits of Flores have been given the name "Homo floriensis" and apparently disappeared about 12,000 years ago (probably due to a volcanic eruption). They most likely shared the island with modern humans, whose descendants tell legends today of the "little people", who they call "ebu gogo".

Answer: New Guinea

The island of New Guinea is covered with swamps, thick rainforest and tall mountains, and the interior wasn't explored until the 20th century. Some societies with Stone Age technology are still being discovered, and parts of the island still remain to be explored.

This hasn't prevented massive exploitation of natural resources in much of the island. Near Timika, a large mountain with huge stores of copper has been razed to the ground over the past forty years. Large gold deposits are also being exploited.

Answer: Bali

Bali, a small island just east of Java, is a popular tourist destination and is regarded as an island paradise. It features beautiful beaches with good surfing, mountains (and an active volcano) and friendly people with a unique Hindu culture. Sometimes people in other parts of the world do not realize that Bali is a part of Indonesia.

The Indonesian Director General of Tourism once told me that he hosted a gathering of international travel agents in Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) and they thanked him for meeting them in the "capital of Bali"!

Answer: Sumatra

Sumatra is the second most populous island in Indonesia, with 50 million people in 2012 (World Bank estimate). Sumatran coffee is popular throughout the world, and can be found at Starbucks. There are fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers and Sumatran rhinoceroses left, while elephants and orangutans number 2000-3000.

Answer: Ternate, Tidore and Banda

The first Europeans to visit arrived in 1512 when Magellan's crew visited Tidore and Ternate (minus Magellan himself, who had been killed in the Philippines). Tidore and Ternate were the only islands in the world which had cloves at that time, and were home to a rich sultanate.

The Banda islands were the only place where nutmeg grew, and were also an important trade center. These spices had been known in the Middle East (and later Europe) from Biblical times.

Answer: East Timor

East Timor (Timor L'este) occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor (as well as the exclave of Oecussi found on the western half of the island). East Timor's struggle for independence was an important news story in the 1990s, and was settled by an internationally-recognized plebiscite in 1999, in which the people voted overwhelmingly for independence.

The national languages of East Timor are Portuguese and Tetun, while Indonesian is still used as a lingua franca.

Answer: West of Java

Despite the title of a terrible 1969 film, Krakatau is located west of Java, in between Java and Sumatra. Krakatau (sometimes erroneously called 'Krakatoa') had a massive eruption in August, 1883, reportedly creating the loudest sound in human history, and causing a tsunami which killed 36,000 people, mostly on the west coast of Java.

The eruption entirely destroyed the island which sank beneath the sea. Ominously, in recent years the island has reappeared, growing constantly, estimated at 5 inches per week, preparing for another eruption.

Answer: Sumbawa

The 1815 eruption of Tambora had a force estimated to be four times the 1883 Krakatau eruption, and killed an estimated 77,000 people, including entire ethnic groups on Sumbawa, making it the deadliest volcanic eruption in history.