Indonesia's Food Insecurity Rate Rises Due to Pandemic: Here's the Data

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that the national prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) in 2021 was 8.49%. This figure is up 0.15 percentage points compared to the previous year, which was 8.34%.

The PoU figure had actually shown improvement in 2018 and 2019, but increased again in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic.

The increase in food insecurity in 2021 also coincides with an increase in the poverty rate, which reached 9.71% in 2021.

According to BPS, the prevalence of undernourishment is a condition where a person regularly consumes an insufficient amount of food to provide the energy needed for a normal, active, and healthy life.

The higher the prevalence of undernourishment, the higher the percentage of the population consuming food that falls short of their energy needs.

This indicator can also reflect changes in food availability and household access to food.

(Read More: 12,193 Villages in Indonesia Have Malnourished Residents, Which Province Has the Most?)