Pramono Claims MBG Contributes to Reducing Economic Inequality in Jakarta

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung claims the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program contributes to the role of reducing economic inequality in Jakarta. Pramono made this claim by referring to the latest economic indicators released by the DKI Jakarta Statistics Agency (BPS).

Pramono said that in general, Jakarta's economic performance showed a positive trend. Jakarta's economic growth was recorded above the national average, with a 5.21 percent annual achievement, compared to the national growth of 5.11 percent.

However, according to Pramono, the most encouraging indicator is not only economic growth, but also improvements in aspects of welfare that have been difficult to move, especially inequality and nutritional problems.

"The most encouraging thing for me personally is the indicator that concerns, which is related to nutrition, shows goodness," said Pramono at the signing ceremony for the DKI Provincial Government's cooperation with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) at the DKI Jakarta City Hall, Monday, February 9.

He highlighted the movement of the gini ratio or the level of inequality in the expenditure and income of Jakarta residents which in recent years has tended to increase and widen. However, in the last period, this inequality figure showed a decrease.

"The gini ratio, which has never gone down, has widened from 0.39 to 0.441, continuing to rise. This has been going on for a long time. Now it's starting to go down. I believe, big or small, this is definitely a joint contribution between the DKI Jakarta Government and the Nutrition Agency," said Pramono.

In addition to inequality, Pramono also touched on a number of other social indicators that he considered to have improved, ranging from the reduction of stunting and poverty to the increase in employment opportunities.

Furthermore, Pramono considers that the management of the education system in Jakarta is currently relatively more controlled than other regions. Because, until now, the DKI Provincial Government has distributed educational assistance such as the Smart Jakarta Card (KJP).

"The school is covered by the DKI government, then there are still other incentives. The matter of nutrition, which was filled by the National Nutrition Agency," said Pramono.

"So if in Jakarta, I am sure that now this is an opportunity for people to be able to live better that is wide open," he continued.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of DKI Jakarta Province recorded a decrease in the inequality of Jakarta residents' spending in September 2025. This decline occurred in conjunction with the improvement in the poverty rate in the capital.

Head of BPS DKI Jakarta Province Kadarmanto said that Jakarta's gini ratio in September 2025 was recorded at 0.423. This figure is down compared to March 2025 which was at the level of 0.441 or decreased by 0.018 points.

He explained that the decline in the gini ratio indicates that the spending gap between the high-income and low-income population groups is narrowing.

"This means that the gap between the spending of the upper and lower classes is getting narrower. This reduction in inequality shows that the benefits of economic growth are beginning to be more evenly distributed among all groups of people," said Kadarmanto in a press statement, Thursday, February 6.

The distribution of household expenditure also showed improvement. In September 2025, the expenditure share of the bottom 40 percent group increased to 16.97 percent. This figure increased by 0.86 percentage points compared to March 2025 which was 16.12 percent.

Even though it has improved, the inequality of Jakarta residents' spending is still in the moderate category if referring to the World Bank classification.