REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Minister for National Development Planning and Head of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana in a press statement on Saturday said Indonesia was the second fastest economy in the world. Indonesia only second to China in economic growth, Armida said, pointing out Chinese economy grew 8.7 percent and Indonesia`s economy expanded 6.4 percent in the second quarter of the year. 

Indonesia deserved to be proud that it could continue to chalk up a fairly strong growth when the world was beset by great uncertainty, she said here on Saturday. Yet, she warned of big global challenges for which the government needed the support of provincial administrations to be consistent in carrying out development.

She predicted the country`s economy would grow 6.5 percent in 2014 with unemployment rate less than 6 percent and poverty 10 percent and inflation below 6 percent. Currently, the country`s unemployment rate is forecast to be around 5.8 percent-6.1 percent in 2012, she said. 

She said every growth of 1 percent in the economy would open 350,000 new jobs in the country. Earlier the Central Statistic Agency (BPS) said the country`s GDP in the second quarter of this year was 6.4 percent on-year and 2.8 percent quarter to quarter. 

In the first half of the year, the country`s economy grew 6.3 percent on-year, the agency said.It said the growth drivers included the household consumption, which grew 5 percent, the government consumption which expanded 6.5 percent and exports and imports which respectively grew 4.8 percent and 99.5 percent on-year. 

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