Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia has lost its uppermiddle-income status after a year, as coronavirus outbreaks have reversed itsgains in curbing poverty and employment.

The World Bank downgraded Indonesia to lower-middle incomestatus on July 1, with a gross national income per capita of 3,870 USD. Thecountry had graduated to upper-middle income status last year with a GNI percapita of 4,050 USD.

Last year, the epidemic has created negative economic growthin almost all countries, including Indonesia, therefore the decline inIndonesia’s per capita income was an unavoidable consequence, Indonesian fiscalpolicy chief Febrio Kacaribu said in a statement on July 8.

The country’s gross domestic product shrank 2.1 percent lastyear as its economy endured its first recession since the Asian Financial Crisismore than two decades ago.

The pandemic has brought about shuttered businesses, paycuts and job losses. That had dragged as many as 2.75 million more Indonesiansbelow the poverty line as of last September.

The country’s efforts to maintain a single-digit povertyrate over the last three years were shattered as the rate rose to 10.19 percentfrom 9.22 percent a year earlier, government data showed. The number ofunemployed increased to 8.75 million as of February, with the pandemic costing1.6 million people their jobs./.