JAKARTA, July 27 — The approval rating of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto fell to 51.1 per cent in July, a poll showed, with respondents pointing to the state of the country's economy more than a year and a half into his term of office.
Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting executive director Deni Irvani said that Prabowo's approval rating stood at 81.2 per cent in November 2025, before falling to 66.4 per cent in a survey conducted between late February and early March.
"Public perceptions of a deteriorating national economy were the main factor behind the decline in satisfaction with his performance," he said during a livestreamed media conference yesterday.
Nearly half of the respondents, or 49.4 per cent, said economic conditions were either "bad" or "very bad", with just 15.7 per cent saying that the economy was doing well, down from 40 per cent in November.
Irvani added that the survey confirmed the opinions of some economists that while Indonesia's economic growth figures are accurate, they do not reflect perceptions of prosperity on an individual level.
Dissatisfaction with the political situation, as well as the state of law enforcement, has also undermined Prabowo's popularity.
The survey collected the opinions of 749 respondents from July 5 to July 19, and has an estimated margin of error of 3.7 per cent.
As many as 42.8 per cent of the respondents said Prabowo's handling of the political situation was "bad" or "very bad", up sharply from 23 per cent in November 2025.
The number who approved of his political performance has fallen to 13.5 per cent compared to 35.8 per cent in November.
On law enforcement, 37.6 per cent of the respondents said conditions were either "bad" or "very bad".
Prabowo took office in October 2024 after a sweeping general election victory on promises to stamp out corruption and increase economic opportunities by accelerating annual gross domestic product growth from five per cent to eight per cent.
However, his administration has been reeling this year under the impact of a depreciating currency and a poorly performing stock market, as well as concerns about overspending and the independence of the central bank.
One of the key parts of Prabowo's election campaign was an ambitious free-meals programme launched in January 2025, but the programme has been riddled with problems and its budget has been cut twice.
Despite the cuts, Indonesia's budget deficit is still expected to widen to 2.85 per cent of gross domestic product this year.
