Charting Their Own Course: How Indonesians See the World

With Indonesia seeking to play a larger role on the global stage, and many outside powers hoping to woo Southeast Asia’s largest country, there is a pressing need to better understand how its people see the world and themselves in a changing international environment. 

The Indonesia Poll 2021 — Charting their own course, conducted a decade after the Lowy Institute’s last poll in the country, is based on fieldwork carried out in December 2021. The survey consists of a nationally representative sample of some 3000 Indonesians aged 17 to 65 across 33 provinces of Indonesia.

The polling results reveal that the citizens of the world’s third most populous democracy are optimistic about the future but wary of the great powers that are seeking to court them. They are increasingly skeptical about China, and particularly of Chinese investment, but neither are they overly enthusiastic about the United States. Trust in near neighbors — Malaysia and Singapore — remains high but has declined for Australia.

Explore the survey here.