Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The number of people defined as poor fell by 2.21 million between March 2007 and March 2008, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

This is the second yearly decline in a row. There were 2.13 million fewer poor people in March 2007 compared with the year before.

At the release of its latest survey on Tuesday, the BPS attributed the drop to a fairly stable rice price and a decrease in unemployment between March 2007 and March 2008.

The BPS defines as poor those people who eat fewer than three meals a day or live on less than Rp 182,636 (US$19.73) a month.

The number of poor people fell from 37.17 million, or 15.42 percent of the population, in March 2007 to 34.96 million in March 2008, as inflation was relatively stable during the period, with a year-on-year inflation rate of 8.17 percent.

Another contributing factor, the BPS said, was the declining price of rice, which is "the most important commodity for Indonesians". The price fell from Rp 6,414 (69.55 US cents) per kilogram in March 2007 to Rp 6,221 in March 2008.

Other BPS data show unemployment also fell, from 10.55 million people in February 2007 to 9.43 million in February 2008.

The Rp 182,636 benchmark used by the BPS to define poverty is an increase from last year's benchmark of Rp 166,697.

The figure is far below the benchmarks used globally. Among the most common measures is that used by the World Bank, which defines people as poor if they are living on less than $2 a day, or $60 a month – more than triple the benchmark used by the BPS.

Using the measure set by the World Bank, which conducted its latest survey on the issue in 2006, one in every five Indonesians falls into this category.

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) claimed the difference was because the World Bank's definition was "too high" for Indonesian standards.

Bambang Widianto, Bappenas deputy chairman for development evaluation, said with Rp 182,636 per month, "people can consume 2,100 calories per day".

Bambang cited what he said is a widely recognized standard poverty measurement, which says a person has enough food to sustain their body if he or she consumes between 2,000 and 2,500 calories, obtained from three meals, per day.

Bappenas and the BPS use 14 criteria to define people living in urban areas as poor, taking into account consumption of 52 food products and access to 27 nonfood products. For those living in rural areas, there are 26 nonfood products.

The criteria used to define poverty include living in a house smaller than eight square meters and having no access to clean water.

The two agencies are planning to revise the 14 criteria through a national survey, to be conducted in September, after critics said the criteria were outdated.

Despite the drop in the number of poor people, the final figure falls short of the government's target.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he wanted Indonesia to reduce the number of poor people to 5.5 percent of the population by 2009, when he completes his current term.

May's fuel price increases are expected to slow down efforts to reduce poverty, because they are leading to higher prices for other commodities.

The fuel price rises are already taking their toll on inflation, with year-on-year inflation in June hitting 11.03 percent – a 21-month high.