The Indonesia poverty figures 2025 headline today underscores two vastly different statistics. The World Bank’s Macro Poverty Outlook (April 2025) estimates that in 2024 over 60.3% of Indonesia’s population—about 171.8 million people—lived below an international poverty line, derived using PPP standards. In contrast, Indonesia poverty figures 2025 from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show a national poverty rate of 8.57% by September 2024—equivalent to 24.06 million people.
While at first glance these figures appear contradictory, both are valid within their own methodological frameworks.
Why BPS and World Bank Figures Diverge
The discrepancy in Indonesia poverty figures 2025 stems from differing poverty line standards.
- BPS uses the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) approach, calculating poverty based on minimum household expenditures required to meet Indonesian food (2100 kcal/day) and non-food needs like housing, education, and transport—tailored for local conditions and collected via Susenas surveys.
- The World Bank uses global thresholds—most notably US$6.85 PPP/day for upper-middle income countries—yielding a much higher poverty rate not intended for domestic policy but for international comparison.
Latest Poverty Trends: BPS’s Perspective
According to Indonesia poverty figures 2025 from BPS:
- Poverty rate dropped to 8.57% in September 2024, the lowest since BPS began reporting in 1960.
- The number of poor decreased by 1.16 million people, from 25.22 million in March 2024 to 24.06 million in September 2024.
- Rural poverty remains higher (11.34%) than urban (6.66%).
World Bank Projections: Broader Poverty Benchmarking
The World Bank’s poverty estimates also forecast a gradual decline:
- From 60.3% in 2024 to 58.7% in 2025, then to 57.2% in 2026, and 55.5% in 2027.
- An updated calculation using a higher threshold of US$8.30 PPP/day could increase the estimate to 68.3% or around 190 million people.
Interpreting the Figures: What Both Tell Us
The divergence in Indonesia poverty figures 2025 reflects differences in definitions and purposes:
- BPS data is policy‑oriented, grounded in actual living costs and intended for national targeting.
- World Bank data serves global benchmarking, using global poverty thresholds less sensitive to local price levels.
To interpret both coherently:
- National poverty rate (8.57%) indicates programme progress and structural improvement.
- Global poverty estimate (60.3%+) suggests that many Indonesians face vulnerabilities in a global context—especially when compared internationally.
What’s at Stake for Policy and Society
Understanding the Indonesia poverty figures 2025 gap matters for several reasons:
- It shapes domestic policy targeting, where BPS figures guide social assistance and poverty reduction interventions.
- It also frames international development comparisons, where global measures reveal scale and potential under‑recognition of hardship.
- This dual perspective reminds policymakers: reducing relative poverty in national terms does not necessarily mean eliminating broader forms of deprivation aligned with global standards.
Conclusion: Two Figures, One Story
While Indonesia poverty figures 2025 from the World Bank (60.3%) and BPS (8.57%) may appear inconsistent, both are meaningful. BPS reports Indonesia’s lowest-ever domestic poverty rate, reflecting local spending patterns and progress on policy goals. Meanwhile, the World Bank’s figure highlights that using international standards paints a much broader picture of deprivation—helpful for global comparison though not directly tied to domestic policy.
