Bali has once again claimed the title of the province with the lowest poverty rate in Indonesia. The Bali Provincial Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that as of March 2024, the poverty rate in Bali was recorded at a mere 4 percent.
As highlighted by Detik, the Head of BPS Bali, Endang Retno Sri Subiyandani, noted that this percentage marks a decline of 0.25 percent from March 2023, when the rate was 4.25 percent. In absolute terms, the number of people living in poverty in Bali in March 2024 stood at 184,430, down by 9,350 from the 193,780 recorded in the previous year. This rate is significantly lower than the national average of 9.03 percent.
“This positions Bali as the province with the lowest poverty rate in the country,” Endang stated during a press briefing at the BPS Bali office on Monday, July 1, 2024.
Several factors contributed to this low poverty rate. For instance, Bali’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2024, although slightly slower than in the first quarter of 2023 (5.98 percent compared to 6.04 percent year-on-year), still played a role in reducing poverty. Additionally, household consumption expenditure (PK-RT) grew by 4.33 percent during the first quarter of 2024, reflecting an increase in household spending.
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The February 2024 Sakernas survey revealed that the accommodation and food and beverage sectors saw the highest employment growth compared to other sectors, a result of the recovery in tourism, a key driver of Bali’s economy.
“The realization of social assistance distribution through the Family Hope Program (PKH) in January-March 2024 reached 28,096 beneficiary families, or 89.62 percent of the target, distributed via PT Pos. Social assistance distributed through Himbara in January and February 2024 reached 73,698 beneficiary families, or 99.83 percent of the target,” Endang explained.
She further noted that urban poverty rates are generally lower than rural rates. In March 2024, urban poverty was 3.55 percent, compared to 5.2 percent in rural areas.
Moreover, the poverty line in Bali for March 2024 was set at IDR 568,510 per capita per month. Food contributed 68.88 percent to this poverty line, while non-food items accounted for 31.12 percent.
“Rice remains the largest contributor to the poverty line for both urban and rural areas, accounting for 24.56 percent in urban areas and 27.43 percent in rural areas,” Endang elaborated.
As of March 2024, the average poor household in Bali consisted of 4.68 members, resulting in a household poverty line of IDR 2,660,627 per month.
“On a national level, with an average of 4.78 members per poor household, the national poverty line stands at IDR 2,786,415 per month, which is higher than Bali’s figure,” she added.
Endang emphasized that the government has made extensive efforts at all levels, from village to provincial, to ensure Bali remains the region with the lowest poverty rate in Indonesia.
“According to the World Bank, poverty is considered at the bottom 10 percent. We are already at 4 percent, well below this threshold. While we aim for zero poverty, the government is focused on eradicating extreme poverty. Methodologically, we are already at zero because we are within the bottom 10 percent, and we are at 4 percent,” Endang concluded.
