Pacific

Stats show Papua has highest rate of poverty

11:34 am on 19 July 2019

New figures from Indonesia's Statistics bureau again show Papua is the area with the country's highest rates of poverty.

Jayapura Harbour, Papua province, Indonesia Photo: RNZI/Johnny Blades

The poverty rate in Papua is 27.53 percent, more than double the average poverty rate in rural areas, which is 12.85 percent.

The rate in the capital, Jakarta, is 3.47 percent.

The head of the Statistics bureau, Suhariyanto, said the wealth disparity between rural and urban areas remained very high, although overall poverty had decreased slightly.