President Prabowo: Seven Years of 5% Growth Yet Poverty and Middle-Class Decline Persist

President Prabowo Subianto stated that Indonesia’s economic growth over the past seven years has not been accompanied by an improvement in people’s welfare. In his closing address at the Nahdlatul Ulama National Alim Ulama Conference 2026 in Bangkalan Regency, East Java, on Tuesday, the President said that theoretically, economic growth of around 5% annually for seven years should result in a significant increase in public welfare. “For the last seven years, it has been said that our economy grew by 5% each year. Seven years times five means 35% growth. Logically, over seven years, Indonesia should have become 35% richer,” President Prabowo stated, as monitored via the Presidential Secretariat’s broadcast in Jakarta on Tuesday. However, the President continued, the data he received showed a different reality. He said the economic growth that occurred had not been enjoyed equally by all levels of society. “The reality is that after seven years of 5% growth, the number of poor people has increased. The country is getting richer, but the poor are increasing. This is something strange, an anomaly. The middle class, which had previously escaped poverty, is declining,” he explained. According to Prabowo, this condition signals that the fruits of economic growth are being enjoyed predominantly by a select group. The President emphasised that economic development must create equitable welfare and broaden the benefits of growth for all Indonesian people. “We see that this means our system is wrong. The system is wrong because if the poor increase and the middle class decreases, it means only a handful of people are enjoying this growth,” he clarified. President Prabowo added that his administration will strive to improve various policies so that economic growth can be felt more fairly and evenly by the public. According to Prabowo, the ideal of Indonesian independence is to realise social justice and prosperity for all people, so that economic growth can be enjoyed fairly and equitably. “This is what I believe and this is what I will work on, to fulfil my oath to the people to safeguard their interests in accordance with the oath I took when I was inaugurated,” said President Prabowo.