Indonesia records 920,000 fewer people in poverty

Indonesia’s population living in poverty shrank by 920,000 between March 2025 and March 2026, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) figures cited by the Government Communications Agency (Bakom). The latest count was 22.93 million, representing a poverty rate of 8.07 per cent.

The government highlighted the decline ahead of October 20, 2026, which marks two years in office for Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Bakom’s deputy for partnerships and media relations, Kurnia Ramadhana, said the administration was combining assistance for basic needs with social protection and measures to strengthen community economies. He said data-based programmes were designed to direct assistance more accurately and support families in leaving poverty.

Among those measures, the 2025 Wage Subsidy Assistance (BSU) programme targeted about 17 million eligible workers. Support of Rp300,000 per month for two months was combined into one payment of Rp600,000, aimed at sustaining purchasing power.

A national programme providing internships to university graduates offered 100,000 places in 2025, rising to 150,000 in 2026. An evaluation found that host companies offered jobs to about 30 per cent of the 2025 participants. The programme seeks to develop skills and broaden access to stable employment.

Ramadhana also pointed to changes between 2021 and 2025: poverty declined from 10.14 per cent to 8.47 per cent, and extreme poverty dropped from 2.14 per cent to 0.85 per cent. The Gini ratio, used to measure income inequality, decreased from 0.384 to 0.375 during that period.