The Number of Poor People Fell by 1.19 Million in September 2017 If Compared to March 2017

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that in September 2017, the number of poor people (those with expenditure per capita per month below the Poverty Line) in Indonesia reached 26.58 million people (10.12 percent), or decreased by 1.19 million people compared to that of March 2017, which was 27.77 million people (10.64 percent).

“Based on the area of ??residence, in the period of March 2017-September 2017, the number of poor people in urban areas fell by 401.28 thousand people, while in rural areas fell by 786.95 thousand people,” Head of BPS Suhariyanto told reporters at the BPS Head Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (2/1) afternoon.

The percentage of urban poverty, Suhariyanto went on to explain, fell from 7.72 percent to 7.26 percent. Meanwhile, in rural areas, the figure fell from 13.93 percent to 13.47 percent.

Based on the percentage, according to the Head of BPS, the largest poor population is on the Maluku and Papua Islands, at 21.23 percent. Meanwhile, the lowest percentage of poor people is on the Kalimantan Island, which amounted to 6.18 percent.

As for the number, Suhariyanto said that the majority of the poor are still in Java Island (13.94 million people), while the lowest number of poor people are on the Kalimantan Island (0.98 million people).

Key Factors

According to the Head of BPS Suhariyanto, several factors that affect the poverty rate during the period of March 2017-September 2017 include:

1. During the period of March 2017-September 2017, general inflation was relatively low at 1.45 percent.
2. The average nominal wage of farm laborers per day in September 2017 rose by 1.50 percent compared to March 2017 (from Rp49,473.00 to Rp50,213.00). Accordingly, the real wage of farm laborers per day in September 2017 rose by 1.05 percent compared to March 2017, from Rp37,318.00 to Rp37,711.00.
3. The nominal wage of construction workers per day in September 2017 rose by 0.78 percent compared to March 2017, from Rp83,724.00 to Rp84,378.00. However, real wages of construction workers per day in September 2017 decreased by 0.66 percent compared to March 2017, from Rp65,297.00 to Rp64,867.00.
4. In the period of March 2017-September 2017, the growth rate of some food commodity prices is quite restrained.
5. Based on the data of National Social-Economy Survey (Susenas) in September 2017, prosperous rice (rastra) has been received by the household. On average every month, during May-August 2017, the rastra has been distributed to about 30 percent of households. (BPS Public Relation/ES) (MUR/YM/Naster).