The Indonesian Minister of Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, recently revealed that the country's economy is on a positive trajectory. This is reflected in consistent growth rates of over 5%, which have been sustained for the past six quarters. In fact, this growth rate is higher than both the projections made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the actual growth rates of many other countries.
At the Festival Ekonomi Keuangan Digital Indonesia, held at the Jakarta Convention Center on May 8th, 2023, Hartarto reported that Indonesia's economy grew by 5.03% in the first quarter of that year. He expressed gratitude that Indonesia has been able to achieve such impressive growth rates despite the global economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, Indonesia's growth rate is higher than that of many other countries, including China (4.1%), the United States (1.8%), the European Union (1.3%), South Korea (0.8%), and Germany (0.2%).
Hartarto attributes Indonesia's success to the government's structural policy reforms, which have encouraged household consumption and investment. He expressed hope that the country's economy will continue to recover, but acknowledged that there are still some sectors that need to be revitalized. While the overall growth rate is positive, Hartarto emphasized that the pandemic has created challenges for many sectors, and recovery efforts are ongoing.
