Data Check: Prabowo Says Indonesia's Debt Ratio is Among the Lowest in the World, Is it True?

Presidential candidate number two, Prabowo Subianto, stated that Indonesia's debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is among the lowest in the world.

He made this statement during the third Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debate 2024, themed Defense, Security, International Relations, and Geopolitics, held at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, on Sunday (7/1/2024).

"Indonesia's foreign debt, as a ratio compared to GDP, is one of the lowest in the world. So, (our debt ratio) is around 40%, while many countries are far above us," said Prabowo.

This statement aligns with International Monetary Fund (IMF) data projecting Indonesia's government debt ratio in 2023 to be only 39% of total GDP, the third lowest in the G20 group of nations.

Below Indonesia are Saudi Arabia and Russia, with debt-to-GDP ratios of 24.1% and 21.2% respectively.

Meanwhile, 11 G20 members have debt ratios above 77%, exceeding the World Bank's risk threshold.

These countries are Japan, Italy, the United States, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, the European Union, China, and India, with details as shown in the graph.