Despite a nominal increase, government debt is only 30% of GDP.

The 2018 interim realization of government debt reached Rp 4,418.3 trillion, a 10.59% increase from the previous year. Similarly, the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices grew by 9.19% to Rp 14,837.36 trillion from the previous year.

This means that although government debt increased nominally, the ratio to GDP remained at 30%, as shown in the graph below. This ratio is one indicator that the government still has the capacity to repay its debts from the size of the national economy.

This government debt-to-GDP ratio is lower than that of other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia (51%), the Philippines (41.9%), and Thailand (41.8%). Indonesia's debt is also lower than that of other developing countries such as India (69.6%) and China (46.6%), as well as developed countries such as Japan (253%), of GDP.