Once Poor, Now Economic Giants: Indonesia Must Learn from These Countries

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Over the past 30 years, the world income map has changed drastically. A number of countries that were still in the low-income or middle-income groups in the mid-1990s have now moved up a class, with some even managing to enter the high-income category.

Indonesia has also experienced this change. Based on the World Bank’s classification, Indonesia rose from lower-middle income in 1995 to upper-middle income in 2025.

However, the biggest changes have occurred in Asia and Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Guyana has become one of the countries with the most striking leaps after an offshore oil boom transformed its economic structure.

Asia has become the engine of income growth. Over the period 1995-2025, 30 economies in the region rose at least one level in the World Bank’s income classification. This increase was driven by a combination of manufacturing growth, exports, and the development of the technology industry. Despite this, income levels among countries in Asia remain highly diverse, meaning economic disparities in the region have not entirely disappeared.

Indonesia is one of the countries that has successfully improved its position over the three decades. The World Bank now places Indonesia as an upper-middle income country, up from lower-middle income in 1995. This change reflects an increase in national per capita income, allowing Indonesia to move into the upper-middle income group. However, Indonesia has not yet entered the high-income group, which is mostly inhabited by developed countries.

Significant changes have also been seen in Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Russia have all risen from lower-middle income to high-income status in the same period. This transformation was supported by economic reforms, increased investment, and economic integration with Europe, especially for countries that later joined the European Union.

If most countries took decades to move up a class, Guyana did it much faster. The South American country jumped from the low-income group to high-income status. This leap occurred after the development of offshore oil reserves drove a sharp increase in economic output and state revenues in recent years. Guyana represents one of the most extreme changes in the World Bank data over the last three decades.

Although they have all successfully moved up a class, the paths taken by each country are different. Asia was largely supported by exports, industrialisation, and the development of the technology sector. Eastern Europe grew through economic reforms and investment, while Guyana experienced acceleration thanks to an oil boom. This means that the shift in income classification does not follow a single pattern. The economic structure, sources of growth, and development policies of each country produce different trajectories.

Moving up a class is not the finish line. The World Bank’s income classification groups countries based on gross national income (GNI) per capita into four categories: low income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high income. A shift from one group to another indicates an increase in the average income of the population. However, this classification does not automatically reflect the quality of public services, the equity of welfare, or the overall level of development. Therefore, the changing world income map over the past 30 years is more accurately read as an illustration of how the global economic structure continues to shift. Some countries have managed to move up a class, while others are still in the process of catching up to higher income levels.