Media Al Jazeera highlighted the highest unemployment of youth in Indonesia in Asia

FAJAR.CO.ID – Unemployment in Indonesia is in the spotlight of an independent news channel from Qatar, Al Jazeera. In his report on Friday, July 18, 2025, Al Jazeera highlighted the issue of the difficulty of Indonesian youth to get a decent job.

The media network with the central office in Qatar took government statistical data which said that around 16 percent of the 44 million Indonesian youth (aged 15-24 years) did not have a job. In fact, the number is one of the highest in Asia.

“Indonesia has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Asia. About 16 percent of the 44 million Indonesian citizens aged 15-24 years do not work, according to government data. That figure is more than doubled than the level of unemployment of youth in Thailand and Vietnam,” said the article titled ‘Indonesia Has 44 Million Youths. It’s struggling to get them jobs’.

In addition, the optimism of youth groups to economic conditions is also lower than neighboring countries in ASEAN.

The survey released by the Ishak Ishak Institute in Singapore in January showed that Indonesian young people had a far more pessimistic view of economic and government conditions than young people in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Based on the survey, only about 58 percent of Indonesian young people expressed optimism about the government’s economic plan. This figure is far below an average of 75 percent of the six countries.

Al Jazeera also revealed the disappointment of the young people, culminating in the protest of students who formed the Dark Indonesia Movement in February.