Indonesia’s current population is approximately 286.6 million as of November 16, 2025. 10
Based on the most recent official data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Home Affairs (2024), the population distribution by religion is as follows: 9
- Islam: 87.09% (approximately 249.6 million people)
- Christianity: 10.45% (approximately 29.9 million people), including Protestants at 7.38% (approximately 21.1 million) and Roman Catholics at 3.07% (approximately 8.8 million)
- Hinduism: 1.67% (approximately 4.8 million people)
- Buddhism: 0.71% (approximately 2.0 million people)
- Confucianism: 0.03% (approximately 86,000 people)
- Folk religions or other: 0.04% (approximately 115,000 people)
Rise of Islam :history
Islam has been present in Indonesia for over a millennium, making it the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation today, with approximately 87% of its population adhering to the faith. The history of its arrival and spread is complex and debated among historians, with evidence drawn from archaeological findings, chronicles, and oral traditions.
Early Arrival (7th–13th Centuries)
The earliest traces of Islam in Indonesia date back to as early as the 7th century, though more substantial evidence points to the 9th century. One theory suggests that Muslim traders from Arabia introduced Islam directly during this period, establishing small communities in coastal areas. 2 Other accounts propose that Islam arrived via Indian merchants, particularly from Gujarat or southern India, around the 13th century, bringing Sufi mystic traditions that blended with local animist, Hindu, and Buddhist beliefs. 1 9 These traders settled in key port cities along the Strait of Malacca and the northern coasts of Java and Sumatra, where Islam gradually took root through commerce, intermarriage, and peaceful conversion rather than conquest. 7 Archaeological evidence, such as Islamic gravestones in northern Sumatra from the late 13th century, supports this timeline. 0
Chinese Muslim explorers like Zheng He in the early 15th century may have further influenced the region, though their role is secondary to earlier trade networks. 5
Expansion and Islamization (13th–16th Centuries)
By the 13th century, Islam began to spread inland from trading hubs. The fall of the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit Empire in the late 15th century marked a turning point, as Islamic sultanates emerged. The Sultanate of Demak on Java, founded around 1475, became the first major Muslim kingdom and played a key role in converting local rulers and populations. 0 6 Sufi missionaries, known as the Wali Songo (Nine Saints), were instrumental in this process, adapting Islamic teachings to Javanese culture through art, literature, and mysticism, which made the religion more accessible and less rigid. 1 5
In Sumatra, the Sultanate of Aceh rose in the 16th century as a powerful Islamic center, fostering scholarship and trade with the Ottoman Empire. Similar conversions occurred in Sulawesi, the Moluccas (Spice Islands), and Borneo, often driven by political alliances and economic incentives. 2 8 By the 16th century, Islam had become dominant in many coastal regions, though inland areas retained syncretic practices blending Islam with pre-existing traditions.
Colonial Era (17th–20th Centuries)
European colonization, starting with the Portuguese in the 16th century and followed by Dutch rule from the 17th century onward, challenged but did not eradicate Islam. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) initially focused on trade but later imposed restrictions on Islamic practices to maintain control. 0 Despite this, Islamic revival movements emerged in the 19th century, influenced by global trends like the Wahhabi movement in Arabia. Organizations such as Muhammadiyah (founded 1912) and Nahdlatul Ulama (1926) promoted modernist and traditionalist Islam, respectively, and played roles in education, social reform, and resistance against colonialism. 4
Modern Period (20th Century–Present)
Islam was a unifying force in Indonesia’s independence struggle against Dutch and Japanese occupation, culminating in 1945. The nation’s founding Pancasila ideology includes belief in one God, accommodating Islam without making it the state religion. 0 Under Presidents Sukarno and Suharto (1945–1998), Islam was managed through state policies, sometimes suppressing political Islam to prevent extremism.
Post-1998 democratization saw a rise in Islamic political parties and cultural expressions, though Indonesia maintains a moderate, pluralistic form of Islam influenced by local customs (known as Islam Nusantara). 9 Challenges include occasional sectarian tensions and radical groups, but the faith remains integral to Indonesian identity, with vibrant traditions in education, arts, and governance. 6
Messages from Quran 