Jakarta, 8 October 2021 — Indonesia had made progress in eradicating multiple dimensions of poverty before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The poverty index goes beyond income to include access to safe water, education, electricity, food and six other indicators.

Approximately 3.6 percent of Indonesia’s total population (9.5 million people) is multidimensionally poor, while an additional 4.7 percent of the total population (12.8 million) is vulnerable to multidimensional poverty according to 2017 data. In 2012, approximately 6.9 percent of Indonesia’s total population (17 million) was multidimensionally poor.

MPI measures 10 indicators in equally weighted dimensions – health, education and standard of living, helping identify who is poor and how they are poor. The health and education dimensions are derived from two indicators while the standard of living is based on six. In Indonesia’s case, the MPI employs nine out of the 10 indicators, omitting information on nutrition due to lack of available data.

The MPI value, which is the share of the population that is multidimensionally poor adjusted by the intensity of the deprivations, is 0.014, an improvement from the latest available data in 2012 at 0.028.

While the latest MPI presents encouraging findings, studies conducted by UNDP Indonesia in 2020 – at the height of the pandemic – paints a more cautious picture. The Households Survey, undertaken by UNDP in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Economic Development (Prospera), and the SMERU Research institute noted that that the impact of COVID-19 had led to a significant setback in Indonesia’s work towards poverty. According to the study, a decline in income and a rise in expenditure have left surveyed households, which were already in the bottom 40 percent of society, poorer and even more vulnerable.

Furthermore, indicators from Indonesia’s Statistics Agency, BPS, note that the pandemic has undone many of the country’s poverty-eradication achievements. The overall poverty rate reached a double-digit figure of 10.19 percent as of August 2020 from 9.22 percent in September 2019. In March 2021, the poverty rate stood at 10.14 percent.

These findings are further confirmed in the 2020 Voluntary National Review published by the Ministry of National Development Planning which states that the pandemic caused a worsening inequality. Indonesia’s Gini Ratio fell from 0.402 in 2015 to 0.380 in 2019, but the figure went up in 2020 to 0.385. As of March 2021, it stands at 0.384.

“The Multidimensional Poverty Index provides a perspective on poverty that goes beyond income. While the Report paints some progress among Indonesia’s most vulnerable groups before the pandemic, we know from our own studies that Indonesia has recently experienced a challenging period with over one million people potentially plunging into poverty. Therefore, we must ramp up efforts to mobilize more resources in empowering vulnerable communities that have slipped into poverty,” said Norimasa Shimomura, UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative.

The latest MPI report also explores how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected three key development indicators – social protection, livelihood and ability to attend school – in association with multidimensional poverty.

While complete data on the pandemic’s effect on MPI is not yet available, it has exposed shortcomings in social protection systems, education and workers’ vulnerability around the world. The report indicates that these shortcomings are particularly deep in countries with higher levels of MPI.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index is produced by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. The latest report covers 109 developing countries. Using UNDP’s classification for developing regions, the MPI covers a total of 80 middle income countries, including 13 out of 26 countries in East Asia and the Pacific.

To access the full report, visit: hdr.undp.org/en/2021-mpi

-

MEDIA CONTACTS

UNDP Indonesia Communication Specialist, Tomi Soetjipto suryo.tomi@undp.org

UNDP Indonesia Communication and Advocacy Specialist, Ranjit Jose, ranjit.jose@undp.org

UNDP Indonesia Country Economist, Rima Prama Artha, rima.artha@undp.org