Beritasatu, Jakarta – Indonesia's poverty rate was down to 9.22 percent according to the latest survey in September 2019, the government announced on Wednesday. Surveys on poverty are conducted twice a year, in March and September.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) the poverty rate in September last year declined slightly by 0.44 percentage point from the same month a year earlier, and by 0.19 percentage point from March 2019.

"The number of people living under the poverty line was recorded at 24.79 million in September 2019, down by 360,000 people compared to March 2019 or by 880,000 people compared to September 2018," the agency said in a statement.

The government sets the poverty line at Rp 440,538 ($32.2) per capita per month based on living costs for basic foodstuffs at Rp 324,911 (73.75 percent) and Rp 115,627 for non-food needs.

Rural areas have more people living under the poverty line at 14.93 million compared to 9.86 million in urban areas.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/poverty-rate-lower-in-indonesia-report