Interior Minister Reveals Poverty Rates Across All Papua Regions Above National Average
JAKARTA - Interior Minister Tito Karnavian has revealed that the poverty rate across all Papua regions remains above the national average, currently recorded at 8.25 per cent.
“The first is the poverty rate. We see that the poverty rate throughout Papua is above the national level. This is not good, it’s above. Because the higher the number, the greater the percentage of the population that is poor,” Tito said during a working meeting with Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Monday (13/4/2026).
He explained that although the overall poverty figure in Papua is still high, several areas are showing improvement trends.
One of them is Papua Pegunungan, which has experienced a decline in poverty rates.
In addition, Papua Barat and Papua Barat Daya also demonstrate declining poverty trends.
In Papua Barat Daya, the poverty rate is recorded at around 17.5 per cent.
“Papua Barat also has a good trend, declining. Meaning the number of poor people is decreasing in Papua Barat, which is in orange. For the yellow one, we see that Barat Daya is also tending to decline, at 17.5 per cent. Good, at 17.5 per cent of the existing population in the poor group,” Tito stated.
For example, in Papua Tengah, where the poverty rate is relatively stagnant at 29.45 per cent.
“So nearly a third of the population in Papua Tengah falls into the poor category,” he said.
Meanwhile, a different situation is occurring in Papua Selatan, which has instead experienced an increase in poverty rates from 2024 to 2025.
He stressed that this condition requires serious attention from the government, especially for areas experiencing stagnation or increases in poverty rates.
“With a good position and positive trend in Papua Pegunungan, Papua Barat declining, Papua Barat Daya declining. But the flat one, not much movement, is Papua Tengah. Then the one tending to rise is in Papua Selatan. This needs to be a focus of attention,” Tito remarked.