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Do or die as youth dominate demographics
Productive-age citizens make up 70.72 percent of the population, the highest share since the decennial census began in 1961 and a tell-tale sign of a country entering its fertile period.
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Amid uncertainties and the economic slowdown, fresh graduates and professionals are facing tougher competition in the job market. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
I
ndonesia’s younger population, the so-called Gen-Z and the millennials, now make up more than half of its citizens, according to the latest Statistics Indonesia (BPS) census, signaling the peak of the country’s demographic bonus period, which experts warned could make or break the economy, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gen-Z, defined as people born between 1997 and 2012, contribute 28 percent of the population, the largest chunk, while millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, contribute 26 percent, according to the 2020 BPS population census announced on Thursday.
Overall, productive-age citizens, between the ages 15 and 64, made up 70.72 percent of the population, the highest share since the decennial census began in 1961 and a tell-tale sign of a country entering its fertile period.
“There is definitely either a window of opportunity or a door to disaster here,” Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) demographics researcher Nawawi told The Jakarta Post via text message on Friday.
“It depends on how the government sees this opportunity that has been presented with the domination of Gen-Z and millennials. If not managed properly, it will be a disaster, an economic burden.”
Demographers and economists have warned that such a demographic bonus carried with it the potential to trigger economic growth or massive unemployment, depending on Indonesia’s ability to create jobs and boost workers’ productivity.
