Indonesia Witnesses Slowest Quarterly Economic Growth in Almost Two Decades

Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) indicated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 2.97% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2020, compared to GDP growth of 4.97% YoY in the last quarter of 2019. This marked Indonesia’s slowest pace of growth in almost twenty years.

The impact of COVID-19 was seen to have taken a toll on business activity in the country in March 2020. According to the Chairman of BPS, Suhariyanto, widespread lockdowns led to a fall in trade with many of Indonesia’s key trading partners, including China, the United States of America, and Singapore.

On a quarterly basis, the economy contracted 2.41% in the Jan-Mar 2020...