Indonesia’s economy grew 5.31 percent in 2022, the highest in almost a decade, marking a return to its growth patterns before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Announcing the 2022 growth figures, the head of the statistics agency Margo Yuwono said that last year’s growth was the highest since 2013 when it was about 5.7 percent.
Last year’s growth is significantly higher than 2021 which recorded a growth of 3.69 percent due to global and domestic factors, said Mr Yuwono.
“Globally, Indonesia benefits from the relatively high prices of leading export commodities in the global market,” said Mr Yuwono.
He added that on the domestic front, growth was contributed by a combination of increasingly vibrant public activities and a mix of fiscal and monetary policies to maintain purchasing power.
The loosening of COVID-19 restrictions is believed to have played a crucial role in the increase of people’s economic activities, he said.
The growth is in line with the projection by the Indonesian central bank of between 4.7 percent to 5.5 percent for 2022.
The quarterly GDP figures for Indonesia showed that Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grew by 5.01 percent in the final quarter, a decrease compared to 5.72 percent in the third quarter of 2022.
According to the statistics agency, household consumption remains a major contributor to the economy accounting for more than half of the GDP at 51.87 percent.
