"We should be grateful that we have now entered the upper-middle-income category, and we should work to maintain it," said Monoarfa, who also serves as the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).
He reminded that Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) is currently at around US$4,580 per capita, which means it remains sensitive or risky, as the GDP of upper-middle-income countries ranges between US$4,446 and US$13,845 per capita.
He noted that there is a risk that Indonesia will fall back into the category of low-middle-income countries, with a GDP below US$4,446 per capita.
"If we decline again, we will re-enter the low-middle-income category. Therefore, we need to work to maintain this position, so that we can stay well above the lower limit. To achieve this, we need more growth," he explained.
Monoarfa observed that currently, economic growth mostly originates from the consumption sectors, indicating their recovery.
However, he emphasized that economic growth should also stem more from the productive sectors, which need to be relied upon.
He stated that Indonesia's economic growth in the second quarter of 2023, recorded at 5.17 percent, has shown a positive trend.
"With this trend, we should be able to sustain that pace and move towards our potential growth," he remarked.
Monoarfa commented that the potential economic growth could reach up to 7 percent.
"If we can achieve this, we can achieve the vision of a Golden Indonesia by 2045," he said.
The World Bank issues a classification that groups countries into four categories based on their GDP per capita, which is updated every July according to the latest US dollar exchange rate.
Based on the income from July 2023 to June 2024, countries are classified into low income (US$1,135), lower-middle income (US$1,136-US$4,465), upper-middle income (US$4,446-US$13,845), and high income (above US$13,845).
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Translator: M Alatas, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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