In 1984 C.E., nearly nine in ten Indonesians lived in extreme poverty, on less than $3 a day. By 2025 C.E., the share had fallen below 4%, Our World in Data reported on Oct. 13, using World Bank figures. That is about 10 million people today, down from roughly 140 million.
At a glance
- Global line: The share of Indonesians living on less than $3 a day fell from 86% to about 3.7%, on the World Bank’s international line.
- National poverty: Indonesia’s statistics agency put the national rate at 8.07% in March 2026 C.E., or 22.93 million people.
- Higher lines: On the World Bank’s $8.30 line for upper-middle-income countries, 64.1% of Indonesians are still below it.
How Indonesia cut extreme poverty
The World Bank’s international line for extreme poverty is $3 a day. In 1984 C.E., 86% of Indonesians lived below it. By 2025 C.E., the share was about 3.7%, according to the Our World in Data analysis.
The analysts, Hannah Ritchie and Pablo Arriagada, noted that China cut extreme poverty faster. China went from over 90% in the early 1980s to nearly zero in the early 2020s. They described Indonesia’s progress as not far behind.
Indonesia’s statistics agency, BPS, uses a higher national line of 669,235 rupiah per person each month. On that measure, the poverty rate was 8.07% in March 2026 C.E., BPS reported. That is 0.92 million fewer people than a year earlier.
What the different poverty lines show
The numbers change with the line. About 15.5% of Indonesians are below the World Bank’s $4.20 line, and 64.1% are below its $8.30 line, according to a joint statement from BPS and the World Bank.
The statement said the gap mostly reflects a higher bar, not falling living standards. The World Bank raised its benchmark from $4.20 to $8.30 in 2023 C.E., when Indonesia became an upper-middle-income country.
BPS says its national line is the better guide to Indonesia’s own progress. Both measures use the same survey data, and neither is more correct, the statement said.
What drove the decline
The Our World in Data analysis does not explain the cause. A 2020 C.E. report by the World Bank and Indonesian officials points to sustained growth and job creation outside agriculture. Those jobs raised productivity and wages.
Cash transfers also grew for the poorest households. Social assistance rose from 4.5% to 11.4% of their income between 2012 C.E. and 2017 C.E., the 2020 C.E. report found. The national poverty rate fell from 19.1% in 2000 C.E. to 9.2% in 2019 C.E., another World Bank report found.
What remains unresolved
Progress has slowed. The 2020 C.E. World Bank analysis found that poverty reduction after 2010 C.E. ran at about half its earlier pace.
Many households sit just above the line. The same World Bank report estimated that about 64 million Indonesians lived less than 50% above the national poverty line. About three-quarters of workers had informal jobs in 2018 C.E.
A measure that goes beyond income gives a similar picture. The 2026 C.E. Global Multidimensional Poverty Index counts 3.6% of Indonesians as poor on health, education and living standards, and 4.7% as vulnerable. Like any index, it covers a fixed set of indicators, so it cannot capture every way a household can be secure or at risk.
These are older figures, so the current picture may differ. The $3 line is also very low, which is why the higher-line numbers matter.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Our World in Data and BPS-Statistics Indonesia
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Paraguay’s poverty rate falls from nearly 50% to 17.6% in two decades
- Mexico’s middle class now outnumbers people living in poverty
- The Good News for Humankind archive on poverty alleviation
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