God Help Us Later? The Economic Portrait of East Nusa Tenggara Province
East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province is often jokingly referred to by the acronym NTT, which stands for “Nanti Tuhan Tolong” (God Help Us Later) or “Nasib Tidak Tentu” (Uncertain Fate), reflecting widespread perceptions of the province lagging in various sectors.
According to data released by Bank Indonesia (BI) in December 2025, the regional economy of NTT performed well in the third quarter of 2025, recording growth of 4.88 per cent year-on-year. Although this represented a decline from the previous quarter’s growth rate of 5.38 per cent, the performance remained robust.
The economic growth was supported by increased domestic demand, accelerating household consumption and government consumption, as well as improvements in gross fixed capital formation. Meanwhile, the improvement in NTT’s trade balance through net exports continued, albeit at a slower pace than the previous quarter.
From the sectoral perspective, wholesale and retail trade, along with government administration sectors, emerged as the main drivers of third-quarter 2025 economic performance, in line with the acceleration in domestic demand. However, the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors experienced slower growth compared to the previous quarter, influenced by shifts in rice planting and harvest cycles that affected the timing of harvest seasons.
Total government spending realisations from both the Regional Budget (APBD) and the National Budget (APBN) in NTT during the third quarter of 2025 reached Rp38.51 trillion. In nominal terms, this realisation achieved 60.70 per cent of the total 2025 spending budget, lower than the 61.46 per cent realisation during the same period in the previous year.
Regional government spending in the third quarter of 2025 was supported by employee benefits expenses, coinciding with the ongoing recruitment of civil servants and contractual government employees. Overall, spending performance declined in the goods and services components as well as capital expenditure, reflecting budget efficiency policies under President Prabowo’s administration through Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 2025, which prioritises infrastructure spending.
Regarding revenue, the realisation of government income for the provincial and district or city administrations in the area during the third quarter of 2025 contracted by 3.21 per cent year-on-year, lower than the same period in the previous year which grew by 4.44 per cent. Revenue realisations during the reporting period reached 63.86 per cent of the total APBD revenue budget for the province and district or city administrations.