Jakarta – Indonesia's population reached 282.48 million in the first half of this year, an increase of 1.75 million from 280.73 million in the second half of 2023, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Teguh Setyabudi, director general of population and civil registration at the ministry, reported on Wednesday that the population is evenly divided by gender, with the number of males recorded at 142.57 million (50.47 percent).
He then highlighted the uneven distribution of the population, which is still concentrated on the island of Java.
"It's fascinating that 55.93 percent of the population lives in Java. That's why the largest economic activity is on the island," he said.
West Java boasts the largest population with 50.49 million residents, while South Papua has the smallest population of 545,861.
At the city and district level, Bogor in West Java is the most populous with 5.66 million inhabitants, and Supiori in Papua the least populous with 27,159 residents.
Islam is the predominant religion in Indonesia, with 87.08 percent of the population adhering to the religion, followed by Christianity (7.40 percent), Catholicism (3.07 percent), Hinduism (1.68 percent), Buddhism (0.71 percent), and Confucianism (0.03 percent).
Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/321567/indonesias-population-at-28248-million-in-h