JAKARTA: The number of Indonesians living under the poverty line has hit a record low for the past two decades, the country’s statistics bureau said on Friday (Jul 25).
According to the Central Statistics Agency, there were roughly 23.85 million Indonesians living in poverty as of March this year – representing 8.47 per cent of the country’s total population of 280 million.
BPS categorises people living off IDR609,160 a month, about US$37, as poor.
“The poverty line figure for 2025 is the lowest for the past two decades,” the agency’s senior official, Ateng Hartono, told a press conference.
However, the agency noted the significant gap between big cities and rural areas, with villages still seeing a higher poverty rate.
Jakarta last week struck a trade deal with the United States that will see Indonesian goods hit with a 19 per cent tariff – lower than the threatened rate of 32 per cent.
According to Washington, nearly all US goods will be able to enter Indonesia tariff-free.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Economics Airlangga Hartarto said earlier this week that if Washington had insisted on the 32 per cent tariff, around one million Indonesians could lose their jobs and the poverty rate could increase.
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