Government Debt Increased by 33% During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Based on data from Bank Indonesia (BI), government debt has increased by more than 33% during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Government debt reached Rp 6,419.51 trillion in May 2021, an increase of Rp 1,601.95 trillion or 33.25% compared to January 2020, which stood at Rp 4,817.54 trillion.

The increase in government debt was to cover the widening budget deficit during the corona pandemic. According to data from the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), the budget deficit reached Rp 283.2 trillion until the first half of 2021. This is equivalent to 1.72% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The deficit occurred because the financing needs for development and handling the corona pandemic continued to increase. Meanwhile, tax revenue was hampered by economic activity that was still disrupted during the pandemic.

As a result, the government's debt-to-GDP ratio reached 43% in March 2021. This is an increase of 12.81% compared to December 2019, which was 30.19%.

Meanwhile, the ratio of government debt to foreign exchange reserves was 148.45% in March 2021. This actually decreased by 6.27% compared to the end of 2019, which reached 154.72%.