Indonesia poverty rate falls to 15.4 pct in March from 16.6 pct year earlier

from Reuters FX Hub

JAKARTA - Indonesia's poverty rate as a percentage of the total population fell to 16.58 percent as of March this year from 17.75 pct in March 2007, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

The decline was attributed to the fall in the unemployment rate, lower rice prices and higher wages, the statistics bureau said.

It said the number of people living below the poverty line fell to 34.96 million in March from 37.17 million the year before.

The poverty line level over that period rose to 182,636 rupiah ($19) per month against 166,697 rupiah per month previously.

The poverty line is the monthly income level below which a household is defined to be living in poverty.

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