Indonesia's Poverty Rate Projected Above 10pct Due to COVID-19
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8 May 2020 18:21 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Social Minister Juliari Batubara said the national poverty rate would certainly rise in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. He mentioned that based on several surveys the figure would stand in a double-digit or over 10 percent.
“A pollster even reveals a more extreme result at 12 percent. We cannot provide an exact figure because this [pandemic] is still ongoing. But we continuously anticipate this so it (the rate) will not increase any further,” said Juliari in an online press conference at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Friday, May 8.
Before the pandemic, Indonesia maintained a single-digit poverty rate at 9.4 percent.
“During this COVID-19 condition, the rate will jump. From March to May, the rate already rose, a reverse of that of 2011,” said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani in a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday.
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