Throughout
Indonesian history, various ethnic groups of foreign origin spread throughout Indonesia in several migration waves, and usually established themselves in urban centres, seldom settling rural parts of the country. •
Africans: Afro-Indonesians are Indonesians who have full or half
sub-Saharan African ancestry. The history of their arrival varies, from the Dutch colonial era they were known as
Black Dutch mercenaries from the
Gold Coast. Some of these African Mercenaries opted to settle in the colony instead of returning, creating a unique population of Indonesians of African descent, the town of
Purworejo, was once a home to a large population of its descendants. Most of their remaining descendants who opted to become Indonesian citizens instead currently can be found in Java, but are no longer visible, and have been largely assimilated. Modern African descendants in the country includes mostly descendants of expatriates from various African countries who had either married local Indonesians or had obtained Indonesian citizenship, they can be found in major cities across Indonesia. •
Arabs: The Arabs have settled and lived in Indonesia for a long time and have played a major role on the spread of
Islam in Indonesia, The Arabs have also contributed to founding several major Sultanates in the region; a large number of them however, have fully assimilated within the greater Indonesian society. With one source estimating anywhere between 4 and 5 million of ethnic Arabs and those who are of mixed Arab ethnicity living in the country; They are mostly concentrated around
Pasar Kliwon in
Surakarta, also at
Jakarta,
Ampel in
Surabaya,
Malang,
Tegal,
Probolinggo,
Pekalongan, and various other coastal cities and towns in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan. •
Chinese: The most significant ethnic minority of foreign origin in Indonesia, officially amounting to around 2.8 million. German industry has been present in Indonesia since the 19th century. After 1945, German entrepreneurs, German experts in development cooperation as well as in education and research, and intensive academic exchanges continued the good relations between Germany and Indonesia. •
Indians: Indians (mostly
Tamils and to a lesser extent,
Sindhis and
Punjabis) have also settled the Indonesian archipelago for a long time, they played a huge role on the spread of
Hinduism and
Buddhism within the region, and has been a major influence on the Indonesian culture as a whole, just like the Arabs however, a significant portion of the community have fully assimilated within the greater Indonesian society; They are mostly concentrated in urban centres, with significant numbers around
Pasar Baru in Jakarta, and the most well known at
Kampung Madras in Medan. Almost 95% of all Indian Indonesians are living within the province of North Sumatra. •
Indos: Indos or Eurasians are people of mixed native Indonesian and Dutch/European ancestry. They emerged in the
Dutch East Indies colonial era. Today, less than one million Indonesians with varying degrees of mixed ancestry can trace their ancestors to Europeans (mostly Dutch and Portuguese). Nowadays, Indos are mostly found within the
Greater Jakarta metropolitan area, particularly within the
Puncak area, and other urban centers of the country such as
Bandung,
Medan,
Surabaya and
Semarang. Many of them also held dual citizenship. As of 2011, an estimated 124,000 Indos live outside the Netherlands (including Indonesia). •
Japanese: Japanese migration to Indonesia has been recorded since the colonial days of the country, the first Japanese who arrived in the country were largely Japanese Eurasian children who were banished to the colony following the enactment of the
Sakoku edict. Their numbers would steadily grew in the following centuries. Other Japanese ethnic groups, such as the
Okinawans would also migrate and settle in parts of the
North Sulawesi province, beginning in the late 1920s. However, in the years following the end of
World War II, the percentage of Japanese people had decreased as they had migrated back to Japan, with only a small numbers of Japanese (mostly ex-soldiers) opting to remain in Indonesia and becoming Indonesian citizens. The recent increase of Japanese residents in Indonesia has been driven by the increase of Japanese business and investment in the country since the 1990s, with majority of those residents being expatriates who retain their Japanese citizenship. They live mostly in Jakarta and
Bali. •
Mardijkers: Their name means "freeman" and derives from the Dutch pronunciation of the Malay word "merdeka", which means "free". The ancestors of the Mardijkers were captured as slaves from Portuguese controlled territories in India, Malacca, and Africa by the
Dutch East India Company with varying ethnic origins, Including Europeans and various Portuguese speaking Natives, and were freed right after being settled here. Over long periods of time, they have gradually returned to their respective home countries. However, significant populace still exist in the capital region as of this day and retains its own distinct culture characteristic of the Mardijker people, which is heavily influenced by Portuguese culture. •
Peranakans: The Peranakans are a people of mixed native-Indonesian and Chinese ancestry. Particularly, descendants of the first wave of Southern Chinese settlers who had arrived in the Indonesian Archipelago during the 14th-17th century. A lot of these Chinese settlers were single men who intermarried with the local population, creating an ethnic group who are now known as Peranakans, nowadays the Peranakans can be found across the Indonesian archipelago, particularly in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan. ==Migrants==