The figure accounted for 10.58 percent of the province's total population
Semarang, C Java (ANTARA) - More than 3.68 million people in Central Java Province still live in poverty as of September 2019, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in Central Java said. The figure accounted for 10.58 percent of the province's total population, Chief of the BPS Office in Central Java Sentot Bangun Widoyono said Wednesday.

Compared to March 2019, the figure fell to 63 thousand, he added.

The decline in the number of poor people was recorded both in rural and urban areas, he said.

The number of poor in urban areas dropped to 1.63 million from 1.69 million, while in the rural areas the number declined to 2.08 million from 2.11 million, he said.

The number of poor in Indonesia in September 2019 had totaled 24.79 million, dropping 0.44 percent as compared to 25.67 million people during the corresponding period in 2018, the BPS Head Office in Jakarta announced earlier.

"In comparison with March 2019, the population of the poor fell by 358.9 thousand, and as compared to September 2019, it decreased by 888.7 thousand," BPS Head Suhariyanto noted in Jakarta Wednesday.

On account of that reduction, the percentage of poor people in September 2019 had reached 9.22 percent, as compared to 9.66 percent in September 2018.

Meanwhile, the percentage of poor is still the highest in Maluku and Papua, namely at 20.39 percent, or reaching 1.5 million people. It is followed by Bali and Nusa Tenggara at 13.36 percent, or 1.99 million people, and Sulawesi, at 10.07 percent, reaching 1.98 million.

However, the number of poor in Java reached 12.5 million people, or 8.29 percent.

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Translator: Immanuel Citra Senjaya/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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