Commercial and economic office, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Embassy of Republic of Bulgaria in Vietnam

The Economy of Indonesia

Indonesia has a mixed economy in which both the private sector and government play significant roles. The country is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G-20 major economies. Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product (GDP), as of 2013 was US $ 867.468 billion, and per capita GDP was US $ 3 499. At World Economic Forum on East Asia, Indonesian president said Indonesia will be in the top ten countries with the strongest economy within the next decade. The industry sector is the economy's largest and accounts for 46.4% of GDP (2012), this is followed by services (38.6%) and agriculture (14.4%). However, since 2012, the service sector has employed more people than other sectors, accounting for 48.9% of the total labor force, this has been followed by agriculture (38.6%) and industry (22.2%). Agriculture, however, had been the country's largest employer for centuries.

According to World Trade Organization data, Indonesia was the 27th biggest exporting country in the world in 2010, moving up three places from a year before. Indonesia's main export markets (2009) are Japan (17.28%), Singapore (11.29%), the United States (10.81%), and China (7.62%). The major suppliers of imports to Indonesia are Singapore (24.96%), China (12.52%), and Japan (8.92%). In 2005, Indonesia ran a trade surplus with export revenues of US$83.64 billion and import expenditure of US$62.02 billion. The country has extensive natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold. Indonesia's major imports include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs. And the country's major export commodities include oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, rubber, and textiles.

The tourism sector contributes to around US$9 billion of foreign exchange in 2012, and ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors. Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and Japan are the top five source of visitors to Indonesia.

Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98. During the crisis there were sudden and large capital outflows leading the rupiah to go into free fall. Against the US dollar the rupiah dropped from about Rp 2,600 in late 1997 to a low point of around Rp 17,000 some months later and the economy shrank by a remarkable 13.7%. These developments led to widespread economic distress across the economy and contributed to the political crisis of 1998 which saw Suharto resign as president. The rupiah later stabilized in the Rp. 8,000–10,000 range and a slow but steady economic recovery ensued. Since 2007, however, with the improvement in banking sector and domestic consumption, national economic growth has accelerated to over 6% annually and this helped the country weather the 2008–2009 global recession. The Indonesian economy performed strongly during the Global Financial Crisis and in 2012 its GDP grew by over 6%. The country regained its investment grade rating in late 2011 after losing it in the 1997. However, as of 2012, an estimated 11.7% of the population lived below the poverty line and the official open unemployment rate was 6.1%.