Differing Views of Two Ministers on World Bank Release
The World Bank has lowered its projection for Indonesia’s economic growth in 2026 from the previous 4.8% to 4.7% against gross domestic product (GDP). Two ministers in the Red and White Cabinet, namely Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and Airlangga Hartarto, responded to the release with differing statements.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa firmly criticised the projection published by the World Bank. The minister, who was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto on 8 September 2026, stated that the World Bank’s calculations were incorrect because the figures presented differed from the government’s own computations.
Purbaya is confident that the World Bank will revise its projection again once global oil prices stabilise. “But they have already committed a grave error by creating negative sentiment for us. I’ll wait for their apology when oil prices return to normal levels,” he said at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Thursday, 9 April 2026.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto responded with a different statement. According to Airlangga, the downward revision of the projection is normal amid the escalation of war in the Middle East. “With the war situation, they are lowering projections for all countries in various regions. But if we look at those figures, they are still above the global average growth. The global average growth is 3.4%,” he said on Friday, 9 April 2026.
Airlangga remains optimistic that the economic growth figures for the first quarter of 2026 will improve. According to the former Minister of Industry, it is not a problem if the World Bank calculates Indonesia’s economic growth to be below 5%. However, he is confident that the government’s calculations are often better than such predictions.
He stated that international institutions and domestic agencies each have their own projections for economic growth. “We don’t need to intervene,” he said.
In its publication titled East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Economic Update April 2026 edition, the World Bank slashed its projection for Indonesia’s economic growth in 2026 to 4.7% against GDP. Previously, or in October 2026, the World Bank had predicted Indonesia’s economy would grow by 4.8% against GDP.
The World Bank explained that the slowdown in growth is due to obstacles from rising oil prices and investor risk aversion sentiment. This figure is also lower than Indonesia’s economic growth last year, which reached 5.1%. Meanwhile, for 2027, the World Bank predicts Indonesia’s economic growth will be higher, reaching 5.2%.