What is the Poverty Line for Indonesian Residents?

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the Poverty Line (PL) for the Indonesian population in March 2018 was Rp 401,220 per capita per month. This figure represents the minimum income required to achieve a basic standard of living, covering both food and non-food needs in a given region. Individuals earning below this amount are categorized as poor. This poverty line comprises a food component of Rp 294,806 per capita per month and a non-food component of Rp 106,414 per capita per month. The poverty line released by BPS increases every semester; between March 2015 and March 2018, it saw an average increase of 3.27% per semester.

If the national poverty line is Rp 401,220 per capita per month and the average poor household has 4.59 members, then household expenditure to meet the basic standard of living reaches Rp 1.84 million per poor household per month. Households spending less than this amount are categorized as poor.

For comparison, the poverty line in Jakarta (DKI Jakarta) reached Rp 593,108 per capita per month, meaning that the expenditure of a poor family in the capital city reaches Rp 3.08 million per month. Meanwhile, the poverty line in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) was Rp 354,898 per capita per month, resulting in a poverty line of Rp 2.12 million per poor household in that region.