JAKARTA -- Indonesia's economy is suffering from "long COVID" in the form of a shrinking middle class, the national statistics agency has warned, as people struggle with widespread layoffs, rising interest rates and deindustrialization.
The proportion of middle class Indonesians dropped from 21.4% of the 267 million population in 2019 to 17.1% of the 289 million population in 2024, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), while the proportion of people classified as "aspiring middle class" rose slightly from 48.2% to 49.2%. Those regarded as vulnerable jumped from 20.6% to 24.2% over the same period. In absolute terms the middle class shrank by 9.5 million people.
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