Jakarta, May 15 -- Head of the Macroeconomics and Finance Center at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), M Rizal Taufikurahman, noted that government spending acceleration since the beginning of 2026 has helped sustain domestic demand.

When contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday, he mentioned that social assistance spending, government projects, and priority programs were the primary factors supporting domestic demand in the first quarter of 2026.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that government spending grew 21.81 percent in the first quarter of 2026. This contributed 1.26 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, which recorded an overall growth of 5.61 percent.

"Government spen...