Armida Alisjahbana, Head of the National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas) expects that Indonesia’s poverty rate will ease to 9-10 percent in 2015, from 11.3 percent currently. The minister is optimistic that the target for next year can be achieved because the government is currently optimizing several poverty alleviation programs. These programs are arranged in four clusters (expounded below). According to Alisjahbana, the key to success of these programs is good coordination between the central and regional governments.

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Minister of National Development Planning (Bappenas) Armida Alisjahbana is optimistic that Indonesia's inflation rate will stay below the six percent mark in 2014. After seeing inflation ease to 7.75 percent (year-on-year) in February (from 8.22 percent in January), Alisjahbana in fact believes that inflation can be kept below 5.5 percent (just within the target range of Bank Indonesia). Limited inflation is important in the context of poverty eradication. The country's poverty rate is targeted to ease to 10.5 by the year-end.

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The government of Indonesia targets economic growth rates in the range of six to eight percent per year in the period 2015 to 2019. By the end of this period, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita should reach around USD $7,000. According to Minister of National Development Planning (Bappenas) Armida Alisjahbana, if these targets are met then Indonesia can escape from the middle income trap by 2019. The middle income trap occurs when growth stagnates after reaching middle income levels.

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The Gini ratio of Indonesia - the coefficient that measures inequality in income distribution - is expected to improve slightly this year as commodity prices have a stable outlook. Based on data from Statistics Indonesia, the ratio increased significantly since the country's Reformasi period. Between 1999 and 2013, it rose from 0.31 percent to 0.41 percent (a coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, while one implies perfect inequality). In the last three years (2011- 2013), however, the ratio remained stable at 0.41 percent.

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Per 14 November 2013, 24 Indonesian provinces have confirmed their new provincial minimum wage for the year 2014. As Indonesia numbers 34 provinces in total, 10 more provinces are expected to announce their new minimum wages soon. It is interesting to note that of the 24 provinces that have already published the new minimum wage, 11 provinces have set the minimum wage below the assumed need for decent living in the province, which implies that the minimum wage is not enough to finance a person's minimum monthly basic needs.

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The government of Indonesia aims to reduce the country's poverty rate to between 6.5 and 8.0 percent by 2019. The government, through its Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), is currently busy finalizing the targets of the National Medium-Term Development Plan 2015-2019 (RPJMN 2015-2019). This RPJMN is the third phase of implementation of the National Long-Term Development Plan 2005-2025 (RPJPN 2005-2025) which forms the basis for ministries and government agencies when formulating their policies.

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After Indonesia's outlook for economic growth in 2014 was revised down from 6 percent to between 5.8 and 6 percent, the government also revised targets of poverty and unemployment reduction. In the 2014 State Budget (APBN 2014), the government set the targeted poverty rate at 9.0 to 10.5 percent of Indonesia's total population. However, the government revised down this poverty rate to between 10.54 and 10.75 percent, which is also far below the target that was set in the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) at 8 to 10 percent.

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Indonesia's poverty rate is expected to jump to between 11.13 and 11.37 percent of the total Indonesian population in 2013 due to inflationary pressures. Inflation may reach 9.2 percent at the year end. The new poverty forecast is significantly higher than the government's original target of 9.5 to 10.5 percent as set in the country's State Budget. The revised forecast was presented by Indonesia's Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). Poverty basket inflation is expected to rise accordingly.

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The government of Indonesia has the ambition to reduce Indonesia's unemployment rate to about 5.7 percent in 2014. This ambition was pronounced by Armida Alisjahbana, the minister of National Development Planning. According to the latest data released by Statistics Indonesia, the country's unemployment rate currently stands at 5.92 percent. The minister stressed that the unemployment target of 6 percent that was set in Indonesia's National Medium Term Development Plan to be reached in 2014, has already been achieved.

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Various high government officials, including president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Finance minister Agus Martowardojo and National Development Planning minister Armida Alisjahbana stated that Indonesia's economy is estimated to grow between 6.3 and 6.8 percent in 2014. Its main economic pillars of support are thought to be (foreign and domestic) investments, domestic consumption, and government expenditure. Poverty is targeted to be reduced to ten percent of the population.

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