The Complete List of Poorest Cities In Indonesia

No cities meet the strict criteria for a “Poorest Cities in Indonesia” list based on official city-level poverty rates.

Define the metric up front: this conclusion uses official BPS city (kota) poverty rates for the chosen year. Cities in Indonesia rarely show the very high, city-wide poverty rates that match strict cutoff rules. Many of the poorest places are regencies (kabupaten), not cities. Administrative differences and how BPS measures poverty make a zero-result list possible.

Administrative and technical reasons explain the empty result. BPS separates regencies and cities; regencies cover larger rural areas where poverty is higher. City populations are more urban and often have mixed incomes, so citywide poverty rates are lower or statistically unstable. Small sample sizes, yearly revisions, and boundary changes make strict, reproducible city rankings rare.

Look at close alternatives that do exist. Use lists of poorest regencies (kabupaten) or provincial rankings — provinces like Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) and parts of Papua typically show the highest poverty rates. Consider city-level tables from BPS, top-20 city summaries if you relax the cutoff, or maps of urban poverty pockets and slum indicators.

Explore poorest regencies, provincial poverty rankings, or a relaxed top-20 city list using BPS raw data instead.

Poorest Cities in Other Countries