24,000 Foreign Workers in Indonesia Are from China

The number of foreign workers (TKA) in Indonesia has increased year on year, in line with the growth of foreign investment in the country. For context, Indonesia's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2017 grew by 8.5% to Rp 430.5 trillion from Rp 396.6 trillion the previous year. This increase in foreign investment has been accompanied by a rise in the compensation of foreign workers from foreign investors.

The number of foreign workers in Indonesia last year increased by 32.08%. According to the Ministry of Manpower's Foreign Worker Employment Permit (IMTA), the number of foreign workers in 2017 reached 85,974. Of this number, 24,804 workers, or more than a quarter, came from China. The number of Chinese workers grew by 27.3% year-on-year. As is known, FDI from China to Indonesia last year reached US$3.36 billion across 1,977 projects. This represents a 26.1% increase from US$2.67 billion across 1,137 projects the previous year.

Meanwhile, the second largest group of foreign workers in 2017 came from Japan, with 13,540 workers, a 1.1% increase year-on-year. The third largest group came from South Korea, with 9,521 workers, a 1.28% increase year-on-year. The number of foreign workers from the United States reached 2,526, a 1.3% increase year-on-year.