Indonesia's Literacy Culture Value Increased in 2022: The Trend of the Last Four Years

Based on a report from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), Indonesia's literacy index score was 57.4 points in 2022. This represents a 5.7% increase compared to the previous year's score of 54.29 points.

Head of the Language Agency at Kemendikbudristek, Aminudin Aziz, explained that the literacy index is one of the domains used to build the cultural development index.

He stated that although the national literacy index increased in 2022, the figure is still insufficient to create a high-quality workforce.

"For a country that needs to be driven to compete and possess superior competence and high quality, this literacy index is actually not adequate enough to build a superior human resource," said Aminudin in a discussion with Commission X of the DPR RI on Saturday (30/9/2023).

Kemendikbudristek compiled this score based on several indicators, including the population that reads, both print and electronic media; the population that accesses the internet; the population that visits libraries; and the utilization of community reading gardens.

Looking at the trend over the past four years, the score has been fluctuating, ranging from 50 to over 60 points. The highest national literacy index score was recorded in 2021, with a score of 61.63 points.

Meanwhile, a member of Commission X of the DPR RI, Muhamad Nur Purnamasidi, believes that inter-ministerial/institutional (K/L) coordination is needed to routinely plan the budget for national literacy development.

"When we succeed in literacy, infrastructure costs will automatically decrease, and we can allocate those funds to human resource development," said Nur on the same occasion.

(See also: Yogyakarta Still Highest, These are the Regions Most Avidly Reading in 2022)