Jakarta
Indonesia’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 doo...