Indonesia’s economy expands 3.69 percent in 2021

The country's GDP rose 3.69 percent in 2021 from the previous year, driven largely by a rebound in investment, compared to a 2.07 percent contraction the year before, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported on February 7.

The country's economy grew by 5.02 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.

That was roughly in line with the Indonesian government’s prediction and a touch faster than the 4.9 percent expected in a Reuters poll.

Indonesia’s GDP is forecast to rise in 2022, however, the outlook for this year is clouded due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and rising COVID-19 cases.

“Indonesia’s economy rebounded strongly in the final quarter of last year, but the recovery is now entering a more difficult phase,” analyst Gareth Leather of UK-based Capital Economics research consultancy said.

The IMF in January downgraded Indonesia's 2022 economic growth forecast to 5.6 percent in 2022, from 5.9 percent in its previous report, and 6 percent in 2023 from 6.4 percent./.