Badung, Bali (ANTARA) - The period from 2023 to 2036 will mark the peak of demographic changes, which could help Indonesia advance to a developed country status, former President Megawati Soekarnoputri has said.

"Our demography can help elevate us from being a developing country to a developed country. Our demographic condition in 2023 until the next 13 years is the peak before gradually declining," Soekarnoputri underlined at a seminar on Bali's future development here on Friday.

At the seminar on the “Direction of Future Bali Development, 100 Years of Bali in the New Era,” she said that the projection is based on discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and economists.

After the peak period ends, Indonesia will potentially face an inverted pyramid phase, when the elderly population will outnumber the productive-age population, as currently seen in East Asian countries, Soekarnoputri explained.

Demographic changes are occurring in the entire world, including in Indonesia, she noted.

The former president then urged the authorities to use the momentum optimally to create a productive population that can contribute to national development.

"We need to accelerate (our efforts) and ensure they will remain productive," she stressed.

Soekarnoputri disclosed that the demographic shift and its potential was one of the topics discussed by political party leaders during their gathering with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) several days ago.

She also alluded to the mass media speculating about the political parties' potential moves at the gathering.

"Yesterday, during the gathering of political party leaders, most media were in commotion: what will be their next political move? (Actually), it is nothing. We only gather and eat together and nothing else. We also discussed (demographic changes)," she said.

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Translator: Putu Indah S, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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