REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's poverty rate has been declining at a slow rate since 2009 despite the various efforts of the government, according to head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Suryamin.

"Since 2009, our poverty rate has been declining, but in very small proportion. It will continue to decline insignificantly if no special efforts are made," the BPS chief said here on Friday (2/1).

He emphasized that the government should do its best to prevent the prices of essential goods from increasing and keep the country's inflation rate low, as price hikes will severely burden poor people.

"If prices go up and the people's incomes do not increase, it will burden the poor. It will also raise the poverty rate. One of the ways in which the government can solve the matter is by continuing its social assistance programs," he added.

According to the BPS data, poverty rate in 2009 stood at 14.15 percent, or 32.53 million poor people. This number declined by March 2014 and stood at 28.28 million poor people or about 11.25 percent, indicating an average reduction of 4 million poor people.

The number of Indonesia's poor, as of September 2014, stood at 27.73 million (10.96 percent), which was lower than that in the previous year, which stood at 28.6 million, or 11.46 percent.

While most of the poor people live in villages, 17.37 million or 13.76 percent, the number of urban poor stands at 10.36 million (8.16 percent).

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