Bali is an island and a province of Indonesia, the nation's smallest province. The province covers a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, as well as the island of Bali itself. It is located at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. One of the country's 34 provinces, Bali has its capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.
With a population recorded as 3,890,757 in the 2010 census, and currently 4.22 million, the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. According to the 2010 Census, 84.5% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder followed Islam. Bali is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music.
A tourist haven for decades, the province has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years. Bali was inhabited by around 2000 BC by Austronesian people who migrated originally from Southeast Asia and Oceania through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the people of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Oceania.
The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. Bali and Java are separated by the Bali Strait. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; administratively it covers 5,780 km2, or 5,577 km2 without Nusa Penida District, its population density is roughly 750 people/km2.
Some of the worst erosion has occurred in Lebih Beach, where up to 7 meters of land is lost every year. Decades ago, this beach was used for holy pilgrimages with more than 10,000 people, but they have now moved to Masceti Beach. From ranked third in previous review, in 2010 Bali got score 99.65 of Indonesia's environmental quality index and the highest of all the 33 provinces.
Article Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali
