Jakarta. Indonesia remains positive about expanding at around 5 percent this year despite a slower economic growth in the third quarter of 2024.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recently reported that Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth had slowed from 5.05 percent year-on-year in Q2-2024 to 4.95 percent the following quarter.

According to Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Q3 growth has historically been slower than that of the previous quarter. The government is now banking on the fourth quarter growth to propel the overall figures for 2024.

“We hope that our economy can do better in the fourth quarter. The Indonesian economy still expanded at 5.03 percent in January-September. With that, we should be able to maintain our growth at the 5-percent level by the end of the year, as we have targeted,” Airlangga told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

Airlangga also attributed the slower growth in the third quarter to the lack of major events and holidays, including school breaks. Even so, other economic indicators remain stable. Indonesia managed to keep its inflation in check at 1.7 percent -- far lower than its ASEAN counterpart Vietnam whose inflation rate reaches 7.4 percent.

Indonesia’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 39.4 percent. In terms of expenditure, household consumption rose 4.91 percent yoy and remained a key driver to the GDP growth in Q3.