) .
Sex ratio: .
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female .
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female .
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female .
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female .
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.) .
Infant mortality rate: 42.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) .
Life expectancy at birth: .
total population: 67.96 years .
male: 65.61 years .
female: 70.42 years (2000 est.) .
Total fertility rate: 2.61 children born/woman (2000 est.) .
Nationality: .
noun: Indonesian(s) .
adjective: Indonesian .
Ethnic groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% .
Religions: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998) .
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese .
Literacy: .
definition: age 15 and over can read and write .
total population: 83.8% .
male: 89.6% .
female: 78% (1995 est.) .
The Indonesian culture has a great variety due to the fact that Indonesia is a very vast country. By this I mean that because Indonesia is made up of islands and archipelagos, some regions have been affected more than others by western society from their original lifestyle. It can be said, therefore that some may have totally different cultures while some others have a slight differentiation, been still untouched by civilization. This is why we will talk about only one of the many cultures in Indonesia: the one of the Mentawais.
Just 60 sea miles of the western coast of Sumatra there are a group of islands called Mentwai. The largest one is called Pulau Siberut. Looking south there is Pulau Sipora, Pulau Pagai Utara and Pulau Pagai Selatan. The villages are usually built along river banks and consist of one or more "uma" which is a communal house, this is surrounded by single story family houses also called "lalep", more than one family can live in the same building apart for bachelors and widows who have their own accommodation which is also known as "rusuk".
