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Indonesia

Republic of Indonesia

Mixed civil, customary and Islamic lawPresidential republicReviewed· 2026-08-03
Capital
Jakarta
Population
281,600,000
Languages
Indonesian
Currency
IDR

Indonesia · Constitution

Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945

The 1945 Constitution, restored in 1959 and then transformed by four amendments between 1999 and 2002 that ended the New Order structure. The amendments introduced direct presidential elections with a two-term limit, created the Constitutional Court and the Regional Representative Council, added a detailed human rights chapter, and abolished the military's reserved parliamentary seats. Pancasila, the five state principles, remains the philosophical basis.

The constitutional text

The 1945 Constitution, restored in 1959 and then transformed by four amendments between 1999 and 2002 that ended the New Order structure. The amendments introduced direct presidential elections with a two-term limit, created the Constitutional Court and the Regional Representative Council, added a detailed human rights chapter, and abolished the military's reserved parliamentary seats. Pancasila, the five state principles, remains the philosophical basis.

Separation of powers

Unitary but heavily decentralised since the 1999 regional autonomy laws, which devolved most service delivery to some 500 regencies and cities rather than to the 38 provinces. Aceh, Papua and its successor provinces, Yogyakarta and Jakarta hold special autonomy statuses with distinct arrangements — Aceh includes Sharia jurisdiction and its own political parties; Yogyakarta's governor is hereditary.

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