JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s unrevised budget deficit for fiscal year 2024 stood at 2.29% of GDP, lower than the finance ministry’s previous estimate but higher than that of 2023, official data showed on Monday.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy previously estimated a budget gap of 2.7% of GDP for the whole of 2024. In 2023, it had a deficit of 1.61% of GDP.
The projected deficit for 2025 is 2.53% of GDP.
In her data presentation, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati described the 2024 deficit as “the foundation for an effective government transition,” as Indonesia inaugurated Prabowo Subianto as its new president in October.
Earlier this week, she said a smaller-than-expected deficit could also be a strong foundation for 2025, which economists warned could be an uncertain year due to a shift in policy in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump.
In Indonesia, financial markets followed the government’s fiscal policy after Prabowo said he wanted to be bolder with debt to fund his flagship programs, which include free school lunches and a significant expansion of farmland.
The “Free Nutritious Meals” program, which has a budget of 71 trillion rupiah ($4.39 billion), was due to start on Monday.
($1 = 16,180.0000 rupiah)
