The Poverty Depth Index fell to 1.67 in September 2021.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a decrease in the poverty depth index to 1.67 in September 2021, down from 1.71 in March 2021. This indicates that the average expenditure of the poor is increasingly approaching the poverty line, and inequality among the poor is also narrowing.

The poverty depth index in urban areas decreased to 1.23 in September 2021 from 1.29 in March 2021. Similarly, the poverty depth index in rural areas decreased to 2.25 in September 2021 from 2.27 in March 2021.

The decrease in the poverty depth index shows that the government's economic recovery efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic have been on track, successfully reducing the gap between the poor and the poverty line (PL).

This condition aligns with Indonesia's economic growth in Q3 2021, which reached 3.51% (year-on-year/yoy). Household consumption expenditure in Q3 of last year also grew by 1.03% (yoy). Furthermore, the open unemployment rate (OUR) decreased by 0.48 percentage points to 6.49% in August 2021 compared to August 2020.

The poverty depth index is a measure of the average gap in expenditure between each poor individual and the poverty line. A higher index value indicates that the average expenditure of the population is further from the poverty line. Conversely, a lower index value indicates that it is closer to the poverty line.