24 Million Indonesians Were Poor in September 2024, with the Highest Number on Java Island

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that in September 2024, there were 24.06 million poor people in Indonesia, equivalent to 8.57% of the total population.

The highest number of poor people resided on Java Island, totaling 12.62 million or 52% of the national total.

Acting Head of BPS, Amalia A. Widyasanti, stated that the concentration of poor people on Java Island is expected, given its largest population.

However, the poverty rate on Java Island is relatively lower than other regions.

"The poverty rate (on Java Island) is around 8%, below the national average of 8.57%. This means that if the poverty rate in Java is 8.05%, only 8 out of every 100 people on Java Island are poor," said Amalia in a press conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The following is a list of the number of poor people in Indonesia by island/region in September 2024:

1. Java: 12.62 million people
2. Sumatra: 5.25 million people
3. Bali and Nusa Tenggara: 1.94 million people
4. Sulawesi: 1.88 million people
5. Maluku and Papua: 1.46 million people
6. Kalimantan: 0.91 million people

BPS defines poor people as those with average expenditure below the Poverty Line.

The Poverty Line is a benchmark for food and non-food expenditure that must be met to avoid being categorized as poor.

The national Poverty Line in September 2024 was Rp595,242 per capita per month. People with monthly expenditures below this standard are classified as poor.