Summary: 

When Indonesia was forced to impose lockdowns and other degrees of social restrictions due to the pandemic, the digital sphere presented opportunities to maintain some degree of normalcy. 37%¹ of consumers in Indonesia’s digital economy were only recently motivated to come online, due to the pandemic. 93% of consumers new to digital economy intend to continue patronizing online services and goods beyond the pandemic. This week’s chart assesses the accessibility of the internet in various regions of Indonesia.  

Highlights:  

• Despite the consistent increase across all regions, regional disparities have persisted with no immediate signs of convergence.    
• 62.2 percent of the population in the Java region have been able to access the internet. While this is the region with the highest access in the country, it also signifies that some 37.8 percent of the population remains untapped for the digital economy.    
• The Palapa Ring Project sought to digitally connect the outermost and rural parts of Indonesia by building a nation-wide fiber optic telecommunication infrastructure. The project began in 2017 and was completed in 2019. 
• The Kalimantan region saw its highest 25.5 percent increase from 2017-2018. Similarly, the Bali-Nusa Tenggara region also saw its highest increase of 24.7 percent in 2018-2019.  
• The regions’ percentage changes are still below optimal. Maluku-Papua’s rate was recorded at just 37.8 percent. Yearly percentage changes have been on a general decline.  
• Some reasons for the regions’ lackluster internet penetration might include the lack of technological know-how, little relevance to their line of work and study, and the affordability of sustaining a digital lifestyle.  

¹ The e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. 

Article By Clarice HANDOKO

Graphic By Shu En LEE