Wealth Gap Widens in Jakarta, West Java, and Maluku
The gap between rich and poor in Indonesia has widened again, both in urban and rural areas, according to the latest records from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Inequality, as measured by the Gini ratio, reached 0.368 in March 2026, up from 0.363 in September 2025.
The September 2025 level had actually declined consecutively from records since September 2024, which stood at 0.381, and March 2025 at 0.375.
The Gini ratio, which measures inequality in public expenditure, ranges between 0 and 1. A higher Gini ratio indicates greater inequality.
“In March 2026, the figure was recorded at 0.368, slightly higher than September 2025 but still lower than most previous periods,” according to the BPS report released on Friday (7/8/2026).
The highest inequality was still held by urban areas, with a Gini ratio of 0.387, up from 0.383 previously. In rural areas, it was much lower at 0.296, although slightly up from 0.295.
By province, the majority experienced an increase in the Gini ratio in March 2026 compared to September 2025. The number reached 23 provinces, as follows:
Aceh from 0.274 to 0.275
West Sumatra from 0.280 to 0.285
Jambi from 0.291 to 0.305
Bengkulu from 0.339 to 0.340
Lampung from 0.287 to 0.290
DKI Jakarta from 0.423 to 0.435
West Java from 0.397 to 0.413
Central Java from 0.350 to 0.354
East Java from 0.359 to 0.365
Bali from 0.333 to 0.342
West Kalimantan from 0.308 to 0.311
South Kalimantan from 0.281 to 0.301
East Kalimantan from 0.310 to 0.312
North Kalimantan from 0.251 to 0.253
North Sulawesi from 0.341 to 0.344
South Sulawesi from 0.350 to 0.355
Gorontalo from 0.383 to 0.384
West Sulawesi from 0.308 to 0.314
Maluku from 0.273 to 0.281
North Maluku from 0.275 to 0.288
West Papua from 0.383 to 0.384
Southwest Papua from 0.361 to 0.362
Papua from 0.397 to 0.398
Meanwhile, the Gini ratio declined in 12 provinces, with the following details:
North Sumatra from 0.283 to 0.278
Riau from 0.304 to 0.301
South Sumatra from 0.298 to 0.285
Riau Islands from 0.385 to 0.354
DI Yogyakarta from 0.414 to 0.411
West Nusa Tenggara from 0.364 to 0.358
East Nusa Tenggara from 0.322 to 0.319
Central Kalimantan from 0.284 to 0.278
Southeast Sulawesi from 0.357 to 0.356
South Papua from 0.426 to 0.405
Central Papua from 0.340 to 0.315
Highland Papua from 0.347 to 0.301
There were three provinces that experienced no change in the Gini ratio from September 2025 to March 2026, namely the Bangka Belitung Islands at 0.214, Banten at 0.312, and Central Sulawesi at 0.277.
In March 2026, the province with the highest Gini ratio was DKI Jakarta, at 0.435. Meanwhile, the province with the lowest Gini ratio was recorded in the Bangka Belitung Islands, at 0.214.
Compared with the national Gini ratio of 0.368, there were seven provinces with a higher Gini ratio, namely DKI Jakarta (0.435), West Java (0.413), DI Yogyakarta (0.411), South Papua (0.405), Papua (0.398), Gorontalo (0.384), and West Papua (0.384).