The Indonesian language has officially made history on the global stage. Through Resolution 42 C/28, adopted at the 42nd General Conference of UNESCO in Paris on November 20, 2023, Bahasa Indonesia was designated as the 10th official language of the UNESCO General Conference.
With this decision, beginning in 2025, Indonesians will be able to access all UNESCO documents and policies in their national language, a monumental achievement in the nation’s cultural diplomacy.
This designation places Bahasa Indonesia alongside nine other major world languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. As an official language, Bahasa Indonesia will be used in the translation of key documents such as constitutional amendments, resolutions, and conference reports.
International Recognition and Its Significance
This milestone is more than symbolic, it represents international recognition of Indonesia’s cultural strength and identity. According to Tri Wahyono, M.Pd., a lecturer and Indonesian language expert from Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, the designation marks a significant step in Bahasa Indonesia’s journey toward becoming a global language.
“This is not the final stage, but an important milestone toward broader recognition, including by the United Nations. This moment proves that Bahasa Indonesia carries cultural and identity power acknowledged by the world,” he explained on umy.ac.id.
UNESCO recognizes two categories of languages used in its sessions: official languages and working languages. Working languages are used for oral communication during debates and the drafting of daily documents, while official languages are used for translating formal documents.
Thus, although there are now ten official languages, UNESCO continues to maintain six working languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
A Long Road to Recognition
Before the designation, the Indonesian government submitted a formal proposal in March 2023. The proposal was later approved by consensus from all UNESCO member states eight months afterward.
This decision is a tangible outcome of Indonesia’s long-standing efforts in language and cultural diplomacy.
According to Tri, the internationalization of Bahasa Indonesia began long before this recognition. One of the key initiatives has been the Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) program, which has seen growing interest around the world. As of 2025, there are an estimated 300 million speakers of Bahasa Indonesia globally, including those learning it as a foreign language.
Currently, 57 countries teach or use Bahasa Indonesia, and 54 foreign universities have established it as a study program or popular course. Vietnam officially recognized Bahasa Indonesia as a second foreign language in 2007, while in Australia, it has been taught from the primary school level for decades.
