Indonesia million by 2050. Around 8 million Indonesians live overseas, with most of them settled in Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, United States, and Australia. Indonesia is a very ethnically diverse country, with around 300 distinct native ethnic groups. Most Indonesians descend from Austronesian-speaking peoples whose languages can be traced to Proto-Austronesian, which possibly originated in what is now Taiwan. Another major grouping are the Melanesians, who inhabit eastern Indonesia (Maluku Islands and Western New Guinea). The Javanese are the largest ethnic group, comprising 40.2% of the population. They are predominantly located in the central to
Ethnic group Ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity, is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities such as common ancestry, language, history, society, culture or nation. Ethnicity is usually an inherited status based on the society in which one lives. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art or physical appearance. Ethnic groups, derived from the same historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages and share a