Is Poverty in West Java Really Decreasing?

During the distribution of Indonesia Pintar Cards and the Family Hope Program by President Joko Widodo in Banjar City (January 16th), the Governor of West Java, Ahmad Heryawan, claimed that the poverty rate in the region he leads has decreased. He even stated that the number of people living below the poverty line has decreased the most during his tenure.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik), the number of poor people in West Java in September 2017 decreased by 394,000 to 3.77 million compared to March 2017. This number of poor people is the lowest since 2007, and the decrease is also the largest in the last six years for the same period (March-September).

Similarly, the percentage of poor people in West Java living below the poverty line in September 2017 decreased by 88 basis points to 7.83% from 8.71%. The poverty rate in this province, whose capital city is Bandung, is the lowest in the last decade.