Informational only, not legal advice. Verify with official sources before relying on this.

Know Abroad

IndonesiaIndonesia

Health & Medical Emergencies

Last verified August 15, 2026

Written for U.S. passport holders

Emergency Numbers

  • Dial 112, the general emergency number, from any phone (including satellite and mobile) for police, medical, or fire assistance; coverage and response can vary across the archipelago. 118 and 119 are also used specifically for ambulance dispatch.
  • Police-specific is 110, fire-specific is 113. Given the overlap, 112 is the simplest default to remember if you're unsure which number applies.
  • For U.S. consular emergency assistance (a detained or hospitalized American, coordinating care, notifying family), call the State Department's Overseas Citizens Services from anywhere in the world: +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. or Canada) or +1-202-501-4444 (from overseas). This is separate from the local emergency number and won't dispatch an ambulance itself, but it's the number that gets the U.S. government involved.

Getting Treated as a Foreigner

  • Emergency response quality and speed vary significantly between major cities/tourist hubs (Bali, Jakarta) and more remote areas; response times and available equipment shouldn't be assumed to match what you'd expect at home.
  • Private hospitals in tourist areas generally expect payment upfront or insurance verification, and given the response-time variability, many tourists in remote areas rely on private medical evacuation/assistance services rather than waiting on the public system.

The Gotcha

Indonesia's emergency numbers are genuinely less standardized in practice than most countries on this site, 112 is the nominal general number, but implementation and response quality vary a lot by region, and dedicated ambulance lines (118/119) exist alongside it. If you're heading somewhere remote (a smaller island, rural Bali), it's worth researching the nearest private clinic or medevac provider in advance rather than assuming a quick 112 call solves everything the way it might in a dense European city.

Sources

This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.