General Economic Outline of Indonesia
Indonesia, currently the 18th-largest economy in the world, is experiencing remarkable economic growth. After the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s halted a booming economy fostered by the Suharto government, Indonesian macroeconomic indicators started to come back on track in the mid 2000s. Although the Asian Financial Crisis had disastrous consequences (especially on the poorer urban segments of society), important lessons have been learned too. The financial system for example, which to a large extent lacked supervision and transparency, was replaced by a system entailing more prudent fiscal policies in line with international economic standards, thus fostering integration with global markets. Moreover, the Asian Financial Crisis has been the catalyst for a process of political democratization and liberalization that continues up to the present.
Prudent financial macroeconomic policy is one reason why Indonesia was resilient to the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Both public and private debt have fallen sharply (as a percentage of GDP), international reserves have grown fast and inflation has been under control. In combination with relative political stability and certain favorable demographic trends it provides opportunities for strong economic performance over the medium term. Regarding the longer term, the Indonesian government aims to be in the top six of largest global economies by the year 2030.
Another key element that accounts for Indonesia's recent economic growth is domestic consumption. In line with rising per capita GDP and low borrowing costs, Indonesia's private consumption is robust. It accounted for 56 percent of the country's economic activity in 2011 and future projections indicate that it is to grow further.
Despite such positive conditions Indonesia remains a complex country from a business, social and political perspective. We advise those that intend to invest in Indonesia to read our Risks of Investing in Indonesia page as one should be aware of matters that can negatively influence Indonesia's investment climate.
The table below shows recent results and future forecasts of important macroeconomic indicators. For a more detailed account on these indicators please visit the Macroeconomic Indicators page or click on the links in the table.
Last Update: 11 January 2016
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| • Gross Domestic Product (annual percent change) |
4.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.7¹ |
| • Consumer Price Index (annual percent change) |
4.8 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 3.4 |
| • Public Debt (percent of GDP) |
28.6 | 27.4 | 26.6 | 27.3 | 28.7 | 24.7 | 27.0 |
| • Exchange Rate (IDR/USD) |
10,389 | 9,074 | 8,773 | 9,419 | 11,563 | 11,800 | 13,400¹ |
| • Current Account Balance (percent of GDP) |
0.7 | 0.2 | -2.8 | -3.3 | -2.9 | -2.5¹ | |
| • Export Goods and Services (annual percent change) |
14.9 | 13.6 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 1.0 | -0.7¹ | |
| • Import Goods and Services (annual percent change) |
17.3 | 13.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.2 | -5.7¹ | |
| • Population (in millions) |
241 | 244 | 247 | 250 | 253 | 255¹ | |
| • Poverty (percent of population) |
14.2 | 13.3 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 11.1 |
| • Unemployment (percent of work force) |
7.9 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.9 | |
| • Foreign Exchange Reserves (in billion USD) |
66.1 | 96.2 | 110.1 | 112.8 | 99.4 | 111.9 | 105.9 |
¹ indicates a forecast
Sources: World Bank, Statistics Indonesia, Bank Indonesia and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Composition of Indonesia's Economy: the three main sectors
The table below indicates a remarkable development during the last five decades in the percentage shares of the three main economic sectors (to wit agriculture, industry and services) with regard to Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Indonesia changed from being an economy that was highly dependent on agriculture into a more balanced economy in which the percentage share of manufacturing in the country's GDP quickly exceeded that of the agriculture sector. This also indicates that Indonesia lessened its traditional dependency on primary exports, although it still remains relatively high today. It should also be underlined that all of these sectors underwent rapid expansion, despite the fact that its contribution to Indonesia's GDP fell (agriculture) or remained at a similar level throughout the indicated period (the services sector). For a more detailed account please click on one of the sectors in the table below.
| 1965 | 1980 | 1996 | 2010 | |
| Agriculture (percent of GDP) |
51 | 24 | 16 | 15 |
| Industry (percent of GDP) |
13 | 42 | 43 | 47 |
| Services (percent of GDP) |
36 | 34 | 41 | 37 |
Source: World Bank