Language and Religion

Bahasa Indonesia is the official language. However, English is spoken widely among educated Indonesians and businessmen in the larger cities. Although Indonesia is not an Islamic state, it is the largest Muslim population of any country in the world.

Value System and Relationships

Indonesia is a multiethnic society. Indonesia scores high on the power distance index while scoring very low on the individualist index. Thus, it is a typical collectivist culture. Society is class conscious and good social standing is very important.

Tips When Doing Business

Indonesian executives tend to be more accessible than in other Southeast Asian countries. Ethnic Malays and Chinese have very different work culture. Establishing a personal relationship, which takes time, is vital when doing business. The pace of business negotiations is much slower than in the west. Thus, patience is important. Indonesians don’t say “no” and sudden laughter or smiles may hide embarrassment. Businesspeople are well groomed but often conduct business in more relaxed dress (traditional open shirt).

The Pew Global Attitudes Project is an interactive database that allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes towards the U.S. to peoples assessments of their own lives to views about globalization, democratization and extremism and other important issues.

Indonesia ranks as no. 126 (of 180 countries) on Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.