10 years of President Joko Widodo: stable economic growth and reduced poverty

INDOZONE.ID – The era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will end in about two weeks. In less than a month, Indonesia will experience a new era under the leadership of Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who was elected president and vice president in the 2024 presidential election.

During his 10 years as head of the country, Jokowi led Indonesia through economic ups and downs amid global economic storms, from the Covid-19 pandemic to geopolitical conflicts, which led to various countries to adopt strict fiscal policies.

However, in an uncertain economic context, Indonesia managed to draw a positive result. Even when the pandemic storm hit, Indonesia managed to recover quickly. This not only has a macro impact, but is also felt at the micro level. Moreover, whether we admit it or not, the economic growth that the Jokowi-era government managed to maintain created equality, so that more people could benefit from this positive achievement.

Not only domestically, this positive achievement is also recognized globally, with Indonesia becoming an upper-middle class country and among the 20 countries with the largest economies in the world. As Jokowi's leadership period approaches and he enters the new Prabowo-Gibran government, Indozone here presents a record of Indonesian economic growth over the past 10 years.

Surviving amid global uncertainty

One of the consistent achievements of President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) administration has been maintaining Indonesia's economic growth at around 5 percent. This is the result of various stable and sustainable economic policies implemented by the government, even though it faces quite significant global challenges. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's economic growth in 2015, which was Jokowi's first year in office, was recorded at 4.8 percent. This figure saw a slight slowdown compared to the growth of 2014 which was at the level of 5.02%, a natural transition due to the various economic policy changes at the start of the new government.

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Although at the beginning of his term there was a slight decline, Indonesia's economic growth returned to stable growth in the following years. In 2016, the Indonesian economy grew by 5.03%, reflecting the government's success in stabilizing the economy in the face of global challenges, such as the economic slowdown in several major countries and fluctuations in international commodity prices. raw materials. This increase continued in the following years, with growth reaching 5.07% in 2017, then increasing to 5.17% in 2018. This achievement shows that Indonesia is capable of maintaining good growth momentum, even though the global situation is not completely stable. In 2019, growth remained positive at 5.02%, which is in line with the government's goal of keeping the growth rate above 5%.

As Jokowi's second period of leadership dawns, Indonesia faces greater challenges with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The impact of this pandemic is far-reaching, hitting not only Indonesia but also the whole world. Like many other countries, Indonesia's economy has been hit hard by strict social restrictions, a decline in economic activity and disruption of global supply chains. As a result, Indonesia's economic growth declined sharply to a contraction of minus 2.07% in 2020. This is the first time in decades that Indonesia has experienced negative growth, and this situation reflects the inevitability of the global economic crisis. The tourism industry, manufacturing industry, trade and services have experienced a sharp decline, while the purchasing power of the population has declined significantly.

However, Jokowi's government quickly responded to the situation by adopting a series of economic policies designed to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The government is implementing various economic recovery programs, including social assistance, subsidies and the national economic recovery program (PEN) which aims to maintain the purchasing power of the population, support the business community and strengthen the health sector. Through expansionary fiscal policy and monetary stimulus from Bank Indonesia, the government was able to stabilize the economy and maintain market liquidity.

The government's efforts to overcome the crisis have produced significant results. In 2021, the Indonesian economy will rebound with positive growth of 3.7%. Although it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, this recovery reflects the effectiveness of the policies implemented, as well as the resilience of the Indonesian economy in the face of the crisis. Sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and trade are starting to recover, while foreign investment is slowly returning. The mass vaccination program launched by the government is also an important factor in economic recovery, as it reopens business activities and normalizes economic activities.

As we enter 2022, Indonesia's economy will continue to improve and achieve growth of 5.05% again. This figure reflects the return of the Indonesian economy to a stable growth trajectory, with improvements in various key sectors such as trade, processing and services. This economic recovery was also driven by rising global commodity prices, which had a positive impact on Indonesian exports, particularly in the energy and mining sectors.

This economic stability will continue in 2023, where Indonesia recorded an economic growth of 5.05%. Until the second quarter of 2024, growth will remain around 5%, which demonstrates the government's success in maintaining the momentum of economic growth, even if the global situation is still characterized by uncertainty. With global economic growth estimated at just 3% over the same period, Indonesia's success is very significant and shows that this country is capable of surviving and even developing despite strong external pressures.

The government's success in maintaining economic stability cannot be separated from the various structural reforms implemented, including improving the investment climate, massive infrastructure development and increasing connectivity between regions. The government also continues to work to encourage economic digitalization and the development of technology industries which are expected to increase Indonesia's competitiveness on the global stage. Apart from this, the deregulation and bureaucratic simplification measures implemented in the Omnibus Law also help strengthen the business sector and encourage the entry of foreign investments.