The number of economically weak individuals who have completed high school continues to increase until 2021.

Over the past six years, there has been a growing number of individuals from low-income backgrounds successfully completing their education up to the Senior High School (SMA) level or equivalent.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reports that the completion rate of SMA/equivalent education in the lowest expenditure group reached 48.43% in 2021, a significant increase compared to 2015, as shown in the graph.

BPS calculates this indicator to monitor the number of children and adolescents who complete their education without obstacles or prolonged delays.

"If the education completion rate is low, this can indicate high dropout rates, grade repetition, low participation rates, or a combination thereof," BPS explains.

The completion rate of SMA/equivalent education in the lowest expenditure group in 2021 increased by 7.17% compared to the previous year. This increase was the highest compared to other groups.

In the last 6 years, the completion rate of SMA/equivalent education in the lowest expenditure group even increased by 69.12%, the largest increase compared to other groups.

Despite the increase, the completion rate in this group is still lower than that of the more economically affluent population, as shown in the graph.

Here is a breakdown of the SMA/equivalent education completion rate by expenditure group in 2021:

* Highest expenditure: 81.81%
* Upper-middle expenditure: 70.78%
* Middle expenditure: 64.70%
* Lower-middle expenditure: 58.24%
* Lowest expenditure: 48.43%

Based on the figures above, the highest expenditure group has the best education completion rate, while the lowest expenditure group has the worst, with a percentage of less than 50%.

This means that the majority of students from low-income backgrounds still face many obstacles in completing their education up to the SMA/equivalent level.