JAKARTA - Remittances from Indonesian migrant workers reached Rp288 trillion in 2025, up 14 percent from Rp253 trillion the previous year, according to Bank Indonesia data cited by the government's migrant worker protection minister.

Migrant Worker Protection Minister Mukhtarudin disclosed the figures to reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment office in Central Jakarta on February 24, after a coordination meeting with Coordinating Minister Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar on the government's SMK Go Global program.

“In 2024, from 253,000 placements carried out, including accumulated figures from the previous year, remittances entering our country based on Bank Indonesia data amounted to Rp253 trillion,” Mukhtarudin said.

“And in 2025 there was a 14 percent increase, so roughly Rp288 trillion in remittances entered Indonesia.”

He said the money flows directly into households, lifting purchasing power alongside government spending and investment at the grassroots level.

The government is currently pushing to raise the quality of outbound workers as part of a broader effort to expand protections. Mukhtarudin said future placements will require a minimum senior high school diploma, followed by vocational training and a competency test from the destination country. 

The SMK Go Global program is targeting 500,000 overseas job placements in 2026, with Muhaimin saying the government is prioritising higher-skilled placements in Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States.