Twenty Years After the Reform, Indonesia's Economy Grew by Approximately 5%

Indonesia's economy in the 20 years following the reforms recorded an average growth of around 5%. The lowest economic growth was 0.79% in 1999, and the highest was 6.22% in 2010. Up to the first quarter of 2018, Indonesia's economy grew by 5.06%, compared to the target of 5.4% for the year.

The end of the New Order era, marked by student demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Soeharto, followed by riots throughout Indonesia, caused the Indonesian economy to contract. In 1998, the Indonesian economy experienced negative growth of 13.13%. The weakening of the rupiah exchange rate to over Rp 16,000 per US dollar, and inflation exceeding 70%, paralyzed the domestic economy, resulting in many domestic companies and banks going bankrupt.

On May 21, 1998, or exactly 20 years ago, Soeharto resigned from his position as President of the Republic of Indonesia. He was then succeeded by President B.J. Habibie until October 1999. Soeharto was the longest-serving President of the Republic of Indonesia, holding office for more than six terms, or approximately 32 years since March 1967.