Poverty Reduction Remains Below Target

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Poverty reduction is still below the government’s target. In the last two years, the number of people living in poverty was reduced only by an average of 500,000 persons a year. In fact, the number should have been reduced by at least 2 million people a year in order to meet the target of a 7 percent to 8 percent poverty rate by 2019.

According to a report of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the slowing pace of reduction has occurred since 2007.

The reduction of poverty from 2005 to 2010 reached an average of 816,000 people a year. In 2010 to 2015, poverty reduction effected about 486,000 people a year, or nearly half of the poverty reduction in the 2005 to 2010 period. The trend continued in 2016.