Indonesia is the Southeast Asian country that ranks fourth worldwide by population on Wikipedia’s population list.
India, China and the United States appear ahead of Indonesia in the standard ranking, making Indonesia the world’s fourth-most populous country. Indonesia’s population is roughly 280–290 million, depending on the reference year and whether the figure is a census, official estimate or projection.
The country is an archipelago of thousands of islands stretching between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Most Indonesians live on Java, one of the world’s most densely populated islands, while major population centers also include Sumatra, Sulawesi and Bali. Jakarta has long been the dominant urban center, although Indonesia is developing Nusantara as its new capital.
A common mistake is to select the Philippines or Vietnam because both are populous Southeast Asian nations. They are substantial countries, but their populations are well below Indonesia’s. Thailand is also an important regional population center, yet it ranks lower on the worldwide list.