ASEAN: young Indonesians are the most pessimistic about the political and economic situation

“Concerns about weakening democracy and the emergence of political dynasties could explain why young Indonesians are disillusioned with the political elite, particularly former President Joko Widodo,” the report wrote.

As many as 33.1% of young Indonesians also feel very pessimistic about the government's vision for economic development. This dissatisfaction rate is also the highest compared to other countries, even if six out of ten young Indonesians still admit to being quite optimistic in this regard.

Be the first to receive news, investigations and in-depth coverage from BBC News Indonesia, straight to your WhatsApp.

Economic and political observers say the survey results are not surprising and correspond to the situation facing young Indonesians today: it is difficult to find work, they are vulnerable to dismissal and they have to survive despite economic pressure. .

As many as 97 percent of young Indonesians surveyed admitted they were worried about unemployment and economic recession.

Apart from this, they are also very concerned about the worsening economic inequality and income disparity.

CORE Indonesia economist Hendri Saparini said the concerns were reasonable and understandable.

“This perception comes from the fact that what they are facing is the same. If you look at the data, the layoffs last year were massive and many young people struggled to find work,” Hendri said .

In 2024, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed that nearly 10 million Indonesian Generation Z aged 15 to 24 were unemployed or out of work.

A total of 369,500 people aged 15 to 29 are also desperately looking for work (without hope of work).

There were also massive layoffs (PHK). Last year, the Ministry of Manpower recorded that 80,000 people were laid off.

Hendri said premature deindustrialization was one of the causes.

“If we look at economic activity in the regions, it is increasingly concentrated. There is economic growth, but far from them [anak muda] and not all young Indonesians are highly educated,” Hendri said.

The economic pressure can also be seen from other data which shows a decline in the number of middle classes in Indonesia, from 57.33 million people in 2019 to 47.85 million people in 2024.

On the other hand, the vulnerable middle class or potential middle class increased from 128.85 million people in 2019 to 137.5 million in 2024. A total of 25.22 million Indonesians are also still living in poverty.

Besides unemployment and economic problems, the survey also shows that more than 90 percent of young Indonesians are concerned about corruption and law enforcement issues.

National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) policy observer Aisah Putri Budiarti said the government should not ignore the pessimism emerging from young people.

“Even though from a methodological point of view the numbers are very low and cannot truly reflect the population, it can at least be an illustration that concerns about the political and economic situation are growing,” Aisah said .

According to him, this indicates that the government must pay more attention to the interests of young people.

“Young people are generally full of optimism because they have just entered the productive age. This is of course a warning, if the government's dream is to have a golden Indonesia, this is holding them back. When they are pessimistic, it carries dangerous risks,” says Aïssa.

On the other hand, Aisah said this pessimism also shows that young people are more aware and critical of government policies.

Especially amid Indonesia's current political situation, which lacks control (checks and balances).

“We hope they can be more critical and act as a balance so that the government can be motivated to evaluate its performance,” Aisah said.

Among the ASEAN countries surveyed, young people in Singapore and Vietnam were the most optimistic about the political situation in their countries.

According to the study, 72.4% of respondents in Singapore rated their political situation as very good and good. In Vietnam, up to 68.2% of young people feel this way.

This is more than four times higher than in Indonesia.

Nine out of ten young people in Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia also have an optimistic view of the direction of their countries' economic development.

Overall, this survey shows that countries that have not experienced a change in political system with steady economic growth encourage greater optimism among their young people.

Conversely, countries experiencing political and economic turmoil like Indonesia make young people more skeptical.

“These findings highlight the need for Southeast Asian governments to pay attention to the aspirations and concerns of their young populations in order to strengthen confidence, optimism and socio-economic stability in the region,” says the report.