Of the 39 regencies/cities in East Java province, 17 have poverty rates above the provincial average. Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the percentage of poor people in East Java in March 2017 was 11.77%. This means that 11.77% of East Java's population still lives below the poverty line.
Two regencies on Madura Island, Sampang and Bangkalan, lead the regency-level governments in East Java with the highest poverty percentages, at 23.56% and 21.32% respectively. Probolinggo is in third place with a poverty rate of 20.52%.
The gubernatorial candidate pair Khofifah Indar Parawansa-Emil Elestianto, supported by the Golkar, Democrat, PPP, PAN, Nasdem, and Hanura parties, will compete against Saifullah Yusuf-Puti Guntur Soekarno, supported by the PDI-P, PKB, PKS, and Gerindra parties. The winning candidate pair for the 2019-2023 period must have a program to reduce poverty in East Java, which currently remains above the national average of 10.64%.