Fact check: Indonesia's debt reaches Rp10,000 trillion

A Facebook video lasting about one minute has claimed that Indonesia’s debt has reached Rp10,000 trillion. The post also alleged the government is employing a ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ policy to service its debt, leading to claims that Indonesia is on the brink of bankruptcy. The video has been viewed approximately 51,000 times, received 191 comments, and been liked by more than 900 users. The narrative in the post reads: ‘2030 INDONESIA DISSOLVES. DEBT REACHES 10 THOUSAND TRILLION, INDONESIA ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL TOWARDS BANKRUPTCY?! TORTURING THE PEOPLE BY FORCING TAX PAYMENTS.’ However, is it true that Indonesia is heading for bankruptcy because its debt has reached Rp10,000 trillion? Based on investigation, Bank Indonesia reported in its publication on 18 May 2026 that Indonesia’s External Debt position in the first quarter of 2026 was recorded at 433.4 billion US dollars, or approximately Rp7,791 trillion (at an exchange rate of around Rp17,978 per US dollar), with annual growth of 0.8 percent, slowing compared to the previous quarter. Bank Indonesia also stated that the structure of Indonesia’s external debt remains healthy as it is managed prudently, dominated by long-term debt, and the external debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio fell to 29.5 percent from 30.0 percent. The government and Bank Indonesia continue to strengthen coordination to maintain the sustainability of debt management as a source of development financing. The video in the post was found to be a clip from a YouTube video titled ‘LAST WARNING! Tsunami Ekonomi & Mega Financial Crisis Indonesia’, which contains the content creator’s personal analysis and opinions on the Indonesian economy and predictions regarding various future economic risks. The content is not an official statement from the government or state institutions. Therefore, the claim that Indonesia is definitely heading for bankruptcy because its debt has reached Rp10,000 trillion is false.