Economy Grows 5.61 Percent, INDEF: Lower Classes Yet to Feel It

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) states that Indonesia’s economy in the first quarter of 2026 did indeed show growth. Nevertheless, the distribution of the effects from this growth is not yet even. Head of the Center of Macroeconomics and Finance at INDEF, M. Rizal Taufikurahman, said that the economic growth in the first quarter of 2026 indicates that the domestic economy is growing quite strongly. “This means that the economic pie that is formed is not distributed proportionally and evenly,” he said during the Public Discussion on Maintaining the Stamina of Indonesia’s Economic Growth, on Monday (11/5/2026). He added that the economic growth figure of 5.61 percent is a high number. However, this condition is not felt by the general public. The man, who is familiarly called Rizal, explained that the growth is still supported by very expansive consumption and spending, including various holidays. This is further added to by the Holiday Allowance (THR) and the distribution of bonuses for workers. From the government’s side, there is an acceleration of government spending at the beginning of the year, especially for social assistance activities (bansos). According to him, the economy in this context does not speak about the size of fiscal indicator numbers. On the contrary, the economy should be able to provide real added value from every fiscal budget. “How from Rp 1 fiscal, creating real added value that can be Rp 5 to Rp 15, or even Rp 20,” he stated.