Shocking! Indonesia's Upper Class Population Turns Out to Be Only 0.4%

Recent economic changes over the past few years have begun to influence Indonesia’s social structure. Shifts are evident in the composition of the population based on welfare levels, from the poor and vulnerable groups to the middle class. Amid economic recovery, the distribution of society across economic groups shows ongoing dynamics. According to data from Susenas, processed by Mandiri Institute, the proportion of the middle class has declined from 21.4% in 2019 to 16.6% in 2025. This decline has occurred gradually over recent years and signals that economic pressures are still felt by the public. The upper class proportion stands at 0.4%, nearly stagnant over seven years. They are those whose economic class exceeds 19 times the poverty line or more than Rp10,355,721. At the same time, the population aspiring to the middle class has increased to 50.4% in 2025. This means more people are in transitional positions vulnerable to downgrading if hit by economic shocks or income declines. Meanwhile, the vulnerable class population remains around 24%, while the poor population proportion has dipped slightly to 8.5%. Although poverty rates are relatively controlled, the weakening of the middle class remains a concern because this group is the main driver of national consumption. The economic class classification in the above data uses monthly per capita expenditure as a reference, compared to the national Poverty Line (GK) of Rp609,160 as of March 2025.