Siwa Lima (Ambonese) ("Belongs together") | |||||||
| Anthem | "Kidung Maluku" | ||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Masohi | ||||||
| Other cities | Ambon, Tual, Dobo | ||||||
| Language official |
Malukuese | ||||||
| others | Indonesian, Ambonese | ||||||
| Religion main |
Islam | ||||||
| others | Protestantism | ||||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
Ambonese | ||||||
| others | Buton, Melanesian | ||||||
| Demonym | Malukuese | ||||||
| Government | Parliamentary Republic | ||||||
| President | Gema Hidayat | ||||||
| Prime Minister | Abdul Wulandari | ||||||
| Area | 46,914.03 km² | ||||||
| Population | 1,201,009 | ||||||
| Currency | Malukuese Rupiah | ||||||
| Time Zone | UTC+9 | ||||||
| Calling Code | +696 | ||||||
| Internet TLD | .ku | ||||||
Maluku (Malukuese: Malúke; Indonesian: Maluku), officially the Republic of Maluku (Malukuese: Républik Malúke Selaďan; Indonesian: Republik Maluku Selatan) is a republic consisting of the islands of Seram, Ambon, Buru and many others in the Maluccas Archipelago. It shares borders with Indonesia, West Papua and East Timor. Its capital and is Masohi while the largest city is Ambon . The country is divided into 10 counties and the cities of Masohi, Ambon and Tual. The country's population is 1.2 million, most of whom are Ambonese or Buton, with the most common religious denomination being Islam.
The Moluccas Archipelago consists of over 15,000 islands. Frisian conquest exerted colonial control across the archipelago in the 19th century establishing a unitary administration. The borders of present day Indonesia were formed through colonial expansion finalised in the 20th century. After the occupation by the Japanese Empire during WWII ended in 1945, nationalist leaders unilaterally declared Indonesian independence. Not all regions and peoples of present day Indonesia immediately subscribed to the proclaimed Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Early organised indigenous resistance to the newly declared Indonesian Republic came from Maluku with support and aid from the Frisian Government and Military. The Maluku contra-revolutionaries initially clung on to an early post-colonial treaty prescribing a federal form of statehood. When that treaty, agreed between the Frisian government and the Indonesian government, was broken they in turn unilaterally declared a fully independent Republic of Maluku.