1.03 Million Residents of East Nusa Tenggara Live in Poverty
Governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, stated that the percentage of poor residents in NTT in September 2025 stood at 17.50%. This figure represents a decrease of 1.10 percentage points compared to March 2025 and a drop of 1.52 percentage points from September 2024.
“The number of poor residents in September 2025 is 1.03 million people, down 57,090 individuals from March 2025 and down 76,240 individuals from September 2024,” said Laka Lena during the Plenary Session of the NTT Provincial Legislative Council with the agenda of delivering the Governor’s Accountability Statement Report (LKPJ) for the 2025 Fiscal Year.
He stated that the report records several positive achievements in macro development indicators for 2026. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), various sectors show improvement trends, from the Human Development Index (HDI), economic growth, to a decline in unemployment rates.
“The HDI of NTT Province in 2025 is 69.89 points, an increase of 0.75 points (1.08%) from 2024. The HDI increase in 2025 occurred across all dimensions, including long and healthy life, knowledge, and decent living standards,” he explained.
In addition, the open unemployment rate in November 2025 also decreased by 0.21 percentage points compared to August 2025 and fell by 0.7 percentage points compared to February 2024.
“Compared to August 2025 and down 0.7 percentage points from February 2024. Furthermore, NTT’s economic growth in Q4-2025 grew by 5.34% compared to the same period in 2024 year-on-year (y-o-y),” he clarified.
He mentioned that economic growth in the manufacturing industry sector reached 20.35%, as well as exports of goods and services.
“The highest economic growth occurred in the manufacturing industry sector at 20.35%. In addition, the component of goods and services exports experienced the highest growth of 26.92%,” he elaborated.
The government, he said, in implementing development and services to the community in 2025, faced numerous challenges.
“The NTT Provincial Government acknowledges that the implementation of development and community services throughout 2025 was marked by various challenges and development dynamics,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Laka Lena acknowledged that the implementation of development in 2025 was not without challenges, including adjustments to the national fiscal policy and control of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) deficit, which impacted regional fiscal space.
“This situation must become a momentum to improve financial governance and encourage strengthening fiscal independence,” emphasised Laka Lena.
The NTT Provincial Government, he continued, has undertaken several breakthroughs, including the digitalisation of regional payments and levies, as well as vehicle tax relief. These efforts are expected to serve as strategic steps to enhance efficiency, expand service reach, and minimise leakage potential.
In line with that, efforts to strengthen the community economy through UMKM development continue to be pursued.
“Through the One Village One Product (OVOP) Programme, there are currently 190 mentored UMKM with 44 flagship products. In addition, the NTT Provincial Government also provides marketing spaces by establishing NTT Mart in 22 regencies/cities,” explained the Governor.