"The poverty ratio (in March 2018) was the lowest compared with the ratios in the earlier periods," BPS head Suhariyanto told reporters here on Monday.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said the number of people living below the poverty line dropped to 25.95 million or 9.82 percent of the population in March 2018 from 27.77 million or 10.64 percent of the population a year earlier.

"The poverty ratio (in March 2018) was the lowest compared with the ratios in the earlier periods," BPS head Suhariyanto told reporters here on Monday.

Suhariyanto said the number of people categorized as poor in March 2018 dropped 1.82 million from a year earlier.

The number of poor people in urban areas in March 2018 totaled 10.14 million or 7.02 percent and in rural area 15.81 million or 13.2 percent. In Marc 2017, the number of poor people in urban areas totaled 10.67 million or 7.72 percent and in urban areas totaled 17.1 million or 13.93 percent.

Suhariyanto said the types of food commodities having big effect on poverty in urban and rural areas are rice, cigarettes, eggs, instant noodle and refined sugar, and non food commodities include houses, gasoline, electricity education, and toiletry .

BPS also recorded Maluku and Papua have the highest poverty ratio of 21.20 percent, followed by Bali and Nusa Tenggara 14.02 percent.

The lowest poverty line was in Kalimantan at 6.09 percent.

In absolute number was Java reaching 13.34 million followed by Sumatra 5.9 million , Sulawesi 2 million.

The lowest number was in Kalimantan totaling 982,300 people.

A decline was recorded by five provinces in the poverty ratio including Central Java down 0.91 percent, South Sulawesi down 0.43 percent, West Java down 0.38 percent , Banten 0.36 percent and Southeast Sulawesi down 0.35 percent.

Increase was recorded by five provinces in poverty ratio including Jambi up 0.03 percent, Aceh 0.05 percent, West Sulawesi 0.07 percent , the Riau Islands 0.08 percent and Lampung 0.10 percent.
(T.SYS/A/H-ASG/C/F001) 16-07-2018 18:06:12

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Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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