Saturday, 10 July 2010

POVERTY: Indonesia, More than 31 million now live in poverty

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of Indonesians living in poverty dropped by 1.5 million during the year ended in March, partly because the stability of food prices.
As of March, around 31.02 million people were living below the poverty line or about 13.33 percent of the total population, a BPS report says.
These figures indicate a reduction of 1.5 million people from the 32.53 million (or 14.15 percent of the total population) living in poverty in March last year.
However, BPS chief Rusman Heriawan said this year’s figures
were less than the reduction witnessed in March last year (down 2.43 million).
“We have seen a reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line, but it wasn’t as big as we had hoped,” Rusman said at his office on Thursday.
He said the reduction was largely a result of improved stability in the market prices of basic foods.
“The bigger reduction in the number of people living in poverty last year was thanks to the direct-cash aid program provided by the government to the poor,” he said.

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