Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Recent heated debates about misleading poverty statistics may finally be settled, with the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reporting that the country's poor population increased to 39.05 million as of March.
The announcement counters the government's profession to have successfully reduced the country's poverty rate, including in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state-of-the-nation address on Aug. 16.
BPS chief Rusman Heriawan said Friday the poor population – equivalent to earning less than US$17 a month – increased by 3.95 million people to 39.05 million – or 17.75 percent – of the 222 million population as of March. It was up from 35.1 million (15.97 percent) of the 220 million population in February last year.
The number of rural poor increased by 2.06 million people during the 13-month period, which included last year's months of March and October when the government hiked fuel prices, while urban poor rose 1.89 million. "By percentage, the poor are still mostly found in villages, at 63.41 percent, with the rest being in the cities," Rusman told a media briefing.
Other poverty data revealed 30.29 percent of those categorized in the "near poor" people, 11.82 percent of "almost not poor" people and 2.29 percent of "not poor" people in February 2005, had by March plunged into destitution. Only 6.45 percent of poor people emerged better off to the not poor category over the same period.
The latest poverty figures were derived from the BPS' routine survey of households, combining an annual survey sampling 265,000 households throughout the country, a survey held once every three years on the consumption, education and health expenses trend of 68,000 households and another annual but more detailed consumption survey of 10,000 households.
Households are classified as "poor", "near poor", "almost not poor", and "not poor" according to an expenditure-based "basic poverty line" deduced from the surveys. The "poverty line" was set at Rp 152,847 (US$16.8) per capita per month for March's data, and Rp 129,108 for February 2005.
The BPS acknowledged that the rise in the poor population was due to last year's fuel price hike, as well as the recent rise in the prices of staple foods, particularly rice.
This verifies estimates from analysts and economists that the fuel price hike policy – which had pushed up inflation and interest rates, weakened the public's purchasing power, and slowed economic growth – must have increased as well the country's number of poor.
The government has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent the adverse social and economic impacts, and even suffered a new barrage of criticism when Yudhoyono claimed a reduction of the poor and jobless. Critics called the data outdated, but the government argued it was using the most recent figures released by the BPS. Rusman said Friday's latest poverty figures had been derived accountably and from the same survey methods since 1998.
The government may still claim success from its "direct cash subsidy" program, which it carried out to reduce the impact the fuel price hike, and will continue as a "conditional" one related to education and health services. "Without the (direct cash subsidy) scheme, the number of poor would have been 50.8 million people," Rusman said.