Poverty and Inequality Analysis
Indonesia is facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty as the war in Ukraine fuels a global costof-living crisis. The Covid-19 virus continues to mutate, with new variants emerging at greater frequency and infect hundreds of thousands of people. By the time this report is written, experts warn Indonesia of the latest Covid-19 virus mutation, the XBB subvariant.
This publication is only available in Bahasa Indonesia.
When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took office in 2014, Indonesia was facing stagnating poverty and high inequality. To address these problems, he quickly introduced several initiatives, mainly in the form of social assistance programmes which gave the poor access to education and health services, as well as food and cash transfers, and grants for villages as mandated by the Village Law.
Since the launch of Indonesia's decentralization reforms in 2001, the country has achieved significant progress in improving the welfare of its citizens—as seen from increasing income per capita and decreasing poverty levels. However, vertical inequality has increased, raising concerns whether inequality between different parts of the country has also grown.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused changes in multiple aspects of life. As a response to these changes, the vulnerable communities have been forced to set out their coping strategies. Looking at their livelihoods, the vulnerable communities working in the nonagricultural sector have experienced an income decline during the pandemic.
