"There has been a significant improvement in the baseline of IDM," Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar noted in a statement here on Friday.
Iskandar remarked that the number of developed villages also rose to 23,035 in 2023 as compared to the previous year's figure of 20,249.
Meanwhile, the number of developing villages in 2023 declined to 28,766, from earlier 33,902 in 2022. Likewise, the number of underdeveloped villages and very underdeveloped villages declined to 7,154 and 4,850 respectively.
According to the minister, IDM is used by the government to make interventions in the process of village development. This effort is made by involving the community in accordance with the characteristics of villages, namely the social capital, economic capital, and environmental capital.
The 2023 IDM also showed that several provinces recorded an increase in the number of independent villages and no longer have underdeveloped and very underdeveloped villages.
"For example, in Bali Province, the (number of) independent villages in 2023 rose to 502, from previously 386 villages in 2022," he remarked.
Apart from Bali, provinces that do not have any underdeveloped villages and very underdeveloped villages are East Java, with 2,800 independent villages; West Java, 1,828 independent villages; and Yogyakarta, with 256 independent villages.
Furthermore, Riau, Riau Islands, and Bangka Belitung Islands are also provinces that no longer have any underdeveloped villages and very underdeveloped villages based on the identification and verification conducted during the 2023 IDM data collection process.
"This achievement will motivate other regions to continue to boost village development in their regions, so that there is a significant decline in the (number of villages with) underdeveloped village and very underdeveloped villages status and to have independent villages," the minister remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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