Jakarta. Public approval of President Prabowo Subianto's administration remains strong despite mounting concerns over the economy and rising living costs, according to a national survey released by pollster Poltracking Indonesia on Thursday.

"Public satisfaction with the Prabowo Subianto–Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration remains relatively high, as its approval rating is still above 70%," Poltracking Indonesia's lead researcher, Masduri Amrawi, said on Thursday.

The survey found that 72.2% of respondents were satisfied with the performance of the Prabowo-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration, while 74.2% said they trusted the government.

The poll, conducted between May 11 and May 17, surveyed 1,220 respondents across all 38 provinces using face-to-face interviews. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

According to Poltracking, the three main factors driving public satisfaction were well-targeted government assistance programs, cited by 14% of respondents, followed closely by the government's flagship Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program at 13.8% and perceptions of Prabowo's firm leadership style at 10.6%.

The survey showed the highest satisfaction ratings in the healthcare sector, where 75.4% of respondents expressed approval. Defense and security followed at 74.5%, while education received a 72.5% approval rating. Satisfaction was lower for political stability and governance at 69.1% and for law enforcement and anti-corruption efforts at 64.5%.

"Economic management emerged as the administration's weakest area, with only 59.2% of respondents expressing satisfaction," Masduri said.

Support for the government remained relatively consistent across Indonesia's major regions, including Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, and eastern Indonesia, as well as across all major demographic groups, from Generation Z to Baby Boomers.

The survey also highlighted the popularity of the government's flagship social programs. The Free Nutritious Meals initiative was identified as the program delivering the greatest benefits, cited by 27.6% of respondents, followed by the Indonesia Health Card (11.1%), the Indonesia Smart Card education program (10.1%), free healthcare services (8.5%), and wage subsidy (8.3%).

Awareness of the Free Nutritious Meals program was exceptionally high, with 92.1% of respondents saying they knew about it. Among those familiar with the initiative, 55.6% said they were satisfied with its implementation, while 41.2% expressed dissatisfaction.

Despite the government's strong overall ratings, economic pressures continue to dominate public concerns. More than one-third of respondents, or 37.5%, identified rising food prices as the country's most pressing issue. Difficulty finding jobs ranked second at 9.2%, followed by the high cost of healthcare at 7.8%.

"The survey also found broad public support for tighter regulation of social media use among minors, with 77.4% backing restrictions on children under the age of 16," Masduri said.

Meanwhile, respondents said the recent increase in non-subsidized fuel prices had primarily affected household budgets through higher food prices, cited by 53.8% of those surveyed. Higher transportation costs and declining purchasing power were the next most commonly reported impacts.

Among state institutions, the Indonesian Military (TNI) recorded the highest approval rating at 78.9%, followed by the presidency at 70.7% and the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) at 70.1%.

The House of Representatives (DPR) ranked lowest, with an approval rating of 57.3%. Public satisfaction with the legislature's core functions — including government oversight, lawmaking, budget formulation, and representing public aspirations — remained below 60%.

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