Akmalal Hamdhi, Jakarta – More than a third of Indonesia's 146.54 million workers are primary school graduates or below, new official data shows.

Indonesia had 146.54 million people in employment as of August 2025, according to data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on Wednesday. The number represents 67.16 percent of the country's 218.17 million working-age population.

Of the total employed, 50.92 million people, or 34.75 percent, graduated only from primary school or below, indicating the persistent education gap in the workforce.

"Low-educated workers still dominate the employed population in Indonesia compared with August last year," BPS Deputy for National Accounts and Statistical Analysis Moh. Edy Mahmud told reporters in Jakarta.

Even so, the share of workers with elementary-level education has declined from 35.80 percent in August 2024 and 35.89 percent in February 2025, suggesting gradual improvement.

Senior high school graduates accounted for 21.19 percent of the workforce (31.05 million people), followed by junior high school graduates at 17.11 percent (25.08 million) and vocational high school graduates at 13.89 percent (20.36 million).

University-level graduates – diploma IV, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels – reached 15.88 million people or 10.84 percent, while diploma I/II/III graduates totaled 3.25 million or 2.22 percent. The share of diploma-and-above workers has steadily risen over the past two years, from 12.76 percent in August 2023 to 13.06 percent in August 2025.

BPS also said informal jobs still make up the majority of Indonesia's employment base. Informal workers accounted for 57.80 percent of total employment, while 42.20 percent worked in the formal sector.

"The proportion of workers engaged in formal activities increased from 40.89 percent in August 2024, mainly supported by growth in the number of employees and wage workers," Edy said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/bps-onethird-of-indonesian-workers-finished-only-primary-schoo