Indonesian Economy Sinks to A Record Low of Minus 2.07%

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that Indonesia's economic growth in 2020 contracted by minus 2.07 percent, following three consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

“Indonesia's economic growth in the fourth quarter for qtq [quarter-to-quarter] contracted 0.42 percent and yoy [year-on-year] minus 2.19 percent. Cumulatively [in 2020] it contracted 2.07 percent,” BPS head Suhariyanto said in a virtual press conference on Friday, February 5.

"The Indonesian economy's average gross domestic product in the fourth quarter is Rp. 3.902 trillion [$277,946,093.40]. However, the contraction caused this number to fall to Rp. 2.709 trillion [$207,124,040,70]."

He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic caused Indonesia to slide into a lingering recession, namely by hitting economic supply and demand.

Also read: Opinion: Indonesia's Unorthodox Vaccination Strategy Puts the Economy First

"Indonesia is still experiencing a recession after the economy contracted over the past two months, namely by 5.32 percent and 3.49 percent," he added.

"This is in line with the government's projection, which estimates economic growth throughout 2020 to range from 1.7 percent to 2.2 percent."

Although Suhariyanto noted that the country's economic performance picked up compared to the third quarter of 2020, economic progress is still weak.

He also said that many countries in the world are experiencing the same trend, except for China, which has seen its economy grown by 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Also read: Indonesia Economy to Contract 1.5 Percent Next Year Due to Covid-19