Jakarta. Indonesia is aiming to increase its gross national income (GNI) per capita beyond $5,500 in 2025 as the country wants to escape the middle-income trap, according to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

Bappenas data shows that Indonesia has two scenarios for its GNI per capita. If the Indonesian economy expands at 6 percent, the GNI per capita target is set at $5,500 in 2025. Prabowo Subianto, who will be sworn in as president on October 20, will oversee the target. The government will raise the GNI per capita target to $5,520 if Indonesia sees a 7 percent growth. In both scenarios, Indonesia’s population size is expected to reach 284.4 million people by next year -- quite a huge jump from the 2020 national census of 270 million people.

“We are getting closer to graduating from the middle-income trap. So we are aiming to have the GNI per capita within a range of $5,500-5,520 next year,” Bappenas head Suharso Monoarfa said in Jakarta on Thursday.

If Indonesia keeps up the 6 percent growth trend, the country’s GNI per capita is targeted to reach $7,400 by 2029 -- the final year of Prabowo’s term. The target will increase to $7,670 in the 7 percent growth scenario. By 2029, Indonesia will be home to 295 million people.

According to the World Bank, Indonesia’s GNI per capita stood at $4,580 as of 2022, the highest the country has ever recorded in history. Prabowo’s campaign manifesto shows that he has not set a specific target on GNI per capita, although the document -- and as seen in many of his statements -- states that he had vowed continuity to Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s existing policies.

At the recent Qatar Economic Forum, Prabowo, who currently serves as the defense minister, said he was “very confident” about bolstering the economic growth to 8 percent in the first two or three years in office. His future government will be banking on food and biodiesel production, among others, to achieve this ambitious target.

Indonesia’s economy grew at 5.11 percent in the first quarter of 2024. Bank Indonesia’s latest estimates put Indonesia’s forecast economic growth for the entire year within a range of 4.7 and 5.5 percent. The central bank raises the expected growth to 4.8-5.6 percent for 2025.