JAKARTA - Around 4.5 million Indonesians work abroad, sending home money that families mostly use for daily expenses rather than building wealth. The government wants to flip that pattern.

Minister Mukhtarudin, who runs the Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, said about 70 percent of remittances get spent on consumption while just 30 percent goes toward productive activities like starting businesses. According to the ministry as quoted by state-owned Antara news agency, he wants to reverse those numbers.

Indonesia received $16.04 billion in remittances in 2024, according to economic data, up from $14.47 billion in 2023. Still, that represents just over 1 percent of Indonesia's economy, far less than countries like the Philippines where remittances make up a much larger share of GDP.

According to BP2MI data, about 272,000 workers were deployed through official channels in 2024, though estimates suggest over 9 million Indonesians work abroad when including undocumented workers. Women make up about 69 percent of workers, mostly employed as domestic helpers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

The ministry is teaching financial literacy to workers before they leave during pre-departure orientation sessions. But they're also targeting families back home because that's where the spending problem often starts. 

"Often, remittances are spent on consumption or poorly managed by family members, which can even create new problems at home," Mukhtarudin said in a ministry statement.