"It (the poverty rate) mostly fell, but it remains a big homework in the eastern part of Indonesia, because the percentage of its poor people is far higher than that of the western part," BPS Chief Suhariyanto said in a press conference here on Monday.
By percentage, poor people make up 21.20 percent of the population of Maluku and Papua provinces compared to 14.02 percent in Bali and Nusa Tenggara provinces and 10.64 percent in Sulawesi provinces.
However, by number, most of the poor people live in Java, reaching 13.34 million, compared to 5.97 million living in Sumatra and 2.06 million in Sulawesi.
Suhariyanto expressed hope that a number of infrastructure projects carried out in the eastern port of Indonesia will help reduce the number of people living in poverty there.
"Therefore, the development activities in the eastern part of Indonesia will hopefully have a positive impact on the reduction of poverty rate there," he asserted.
Nearly 25.95 million, or 9.82 percent, of the Indonesian population lived in poverty as of March 2018 compared to 27.77 million or 10.64 percent a year earlier.
The 9.82 percent decline in poverty rate is the first single-digit poverty rate that the country has achieved since 1999.
Meanwhile, the poverty rate averaged 10 to 13 percent from March 2010 to September 2017.
Overall, Indonesia`s poverty rate has declined since 2012, except in March 2016, September 2013, and March 2015, due to an increase in the prices of basic necessities as a result of the government`s policy to raise fuel prices.
Reported by Satyagraha
EDITED BY INE
(T.S012/A/KR-BSR/F001)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
