Vehicles drive on a highway as dark clouds are seen over the skyline during the rainy season in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 2, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Indonesia's Q1 GDP growth of 5.61% beats market expectations

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JAKARTA, May 5 : Indonesia's economy grew 5.61 per cent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Tuesday, faster than the 5.30 per cent growth expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The first-quarter growth rate was the fastest since the third quarter of 2022, Statistics Indonesia said. Activity was driven by the manufacturing, trade and agriculture sectors.

The economy had grown an annual 5.39 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Indonesia's growth had been hovering around 5 per cent since the pandemic.

President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to lift growth to 8 per cent during his five-year term, but he faces challenges including those related to the war in the Middle East, which has led to higher energy prices and a weaker rupiah.

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On a non-seasonally adjusted, quarter-on-quarter basis, gross domestic product contracted 0.77 per cent, Statistics Indonesia data showed.

The government had pledged to speed up spending in the first quarter to support growth, including around 15 trillion rupiah ($860 million) for food handouts and other stimulus measures.

The government is targeting 5.4 per cent GDP growth for 2026, while Bank Indonesia forecast growth of 4.9 per cent to 5.7 per cent for the year.

The International Monetary Fund last month cut its global growth outlook for 2026 due to war-driven energy price spikes. It also shaved 0.1 per centage points off its Indonesia outlook, cutting its forecast to 5 per cent.

($1 = 17,425 rupiah)

Source: Reuters

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