JAKARTA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- A World Bank (WB) economist said on Monday that efforts to further boost middle class society was a key factor for Indonesia to expand potentialities in attaining further growth.
"Boosting up middle class society would maximize national potentialities, propelling Indonesia's status to become a high-income country," WB Senior Economist Vivi Alatas said in Indonesia Economic Outlook 2019 held in state University of Indonesia (UI) here.
She pointed out that middle class society holds 47 percent of the nation's total households consumption, apart from consumptions made by upper class society.
As middle class society also invested their revenues in education sector, Vivi said credible expansion of the group may eventually affect in generations afterwards.
She added that middle class society in Indonesia were apparently job opening agents as many of them, approximately 42 percent, employing other people.
Attaching great importance on government role in developing middle class society, Vivi said that providing inclusive opportunities, social safety net and improving the nation's economic mobility were ways to facilitate development of middle class society.
Efforts to overcome education gap and scrapping malnutrition issue among infants were also essential to support middle class society in the country, she added.
Indonesia National Development Planning (Bappenas) office initially estimated that middle class people in Indonesia would expand to 200 million from an estimated 360 million population by 2045 on the back of improving income among countries, including in Indonesia, in the future.
Currently, middle class group in Indonesia was approximately 40 million from 260 million population.
