REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Central Statistical Agency (BPS) presented the latest data on the number of middle classes in Indonesia. Acting Head of BPS Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said the number of Indonesia's middle class population in 2024 was 47.85 million people or 17.13 percent.

Based on the data of the last five years, the number of middle classes has continued to decline since 2019 by 57.33 million people or 21.45 percent, 2021 by 53.83 million people or 19.82 percent, 2022 by 49.51 million people or 18.06 percent, 2023 by 48.27 million people or about 17.44 percent.

“This middle class is important, because it has a very critical and crucial role as a support for the economy of a country,” Amalia said during a press conference entitled “Maintaining the Purchasing Power of the Middle Class as the Foundation of the Indonesian Economy” at the BPS office, Jakarta, Friday (30/8/2024).

Amalia considers that the thicker the middle class level will have a positive impact on a country's economy. Amalia said the high level of the middle class will be able to dampen economic turmoil from both external and domestic.

“But when the proportion of the middle class is relatively thin, then an economy is less resilient to benefits. So this means that the role of the middle class not only in Indonesia, but in different worlds is important to strengthen the resilience of an economy to various benefits,” Amalia said.

Amalia said the middle class is one of the main contributors to Indonesia's economy. Amalia called the middle class a mainstay of Indonesia's economy, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“If we look at its contribution to GDP, the middle class and aspiring middle class or towards the middle class contributed 81.49 percent to household consumption,” Amalia said.

Amalia delivered the determination of the World Bank's middle-class leaning population with spending levels 3.5 times to 17 times above the poverty line. Amalia said the middle class standard in 2019 is a resident with a spending rate of Rp 1,488 million up to Rp 7,229 million per capita per month.

“In 2024, those who fall into the middle class category are people whose spending is between Rp 2 million per capita per month to Rp 9.9 million per capita per month,” Amalia said.

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