Indonesia's Debt Increased by Rp 1,000 Trillion During Jokowi's Three Years in Office

Government debt has increased by more than one quadrillion Rupiah during the three years of President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) administration. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that the government's debt position in May 2017 reached Rp 3,672.33 trillion, a Rp 1,063.6 trillion or 40.77 percent increase from the end of 2014, which stood at Rp 2,608.78 trillion. This increase in government debt should be used to fund productive sectors to stimulate economic growth.

Throughout 2015, government debt increased by Rp 556.35 trillion, or 21.3 percent from the previous year. Then in 2016, it increased again by Rp 350 trillion, or 11.1 percent, reaching Rp 3,515.45 trillion. Furthermore, from January to May 2017, the national debt increased again by Rp 156.87 trillion, or 4.46 percent.

Similarly, the ratio of government debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in May 2017 also increased by 3.4 percentage points to 28.1 percent from 24.7 percent at the end of 2014. However, Indonesia's debt ratio remains lower than several Asian countries such as Japan (250 percent), Singapore (112 percent), Vietnam (62 percent), Malaysia (53 percent), and Thailand (41 percent). The ratio of government debt to GDP reached its highest level in 2000 at 89 percent, a consequence of the 1998 Asian financial crisis.