Prices versus Income in Jakarta

When you visit Indonesia, you might get excited about the low prices. But don't forget that the average incomes are much lower. The prices may sound great to tourists and expats, but are surely not that great for (most) locals...

Some price examples

You can buy a complete meal (rice, meat and vegetables) for 10.000 to 20.000 rupiah (0.85 to 1.70 euros). Without meat but with one 'gorengan' (fried snack, tahu or tempeh), it costs around 6.000 rupiah (0.50 euros).

A glass of ice tea is normally included in the 'meal package'. However, the ice tea usually contains dirty tap water, so if you don't want to spend your holiday on toilet or in hospital, I would recommend you to spend a bit more and buy a sealed bottle of mineral water, until you're sure that your stomach can handle the dirty water (this takes quite some time normally...).

Watching the newest movies in cinema (bioskop) costs around 20.000 to 50.000 rupiah (weekdays are usually cheaper than weekends). If 1.70 to 4.25 euros for a cinema ticket still sounds expensive to you, you can buy almost every movie (and all TV series) on DVD for circa 50 euro cents (illegal but 'tolerated', you can find it in small shops or in malls like Ambasador/ITC).

The rent for a student room (furnished, ca. 10m2) next to a popular, large university without air-con is around 600.000 rupiah/month (ca. 50 euros). Including water, but without electricity.

For electricity, payment 'per device' is quite common. For example, the monthly payment for electricity if you have a TV, laptop and cell phone is around 100.000 rupiah/month (circa 8.50 euros). A room with air-con is a bit more expensive: an additional cost of 200.000 to 300.000 rupiah/month (circa 17 to 26 euros).

Jakarta is (unfortunately) known for its hectic traffic and terrible 'macet' (traffic jam). Fortunately, the price of fuel is much lower than in many western countries: circa 8500 rupiah/liter (0.72 euros/liter) at Pertamina, the largest Indonesian government-owned Oil & Gas cooperation, and slightly more expensive at Shell fuel stations. However, cheap gasoline is also one of the reasons for the huge amount of cars and motorbikes on the roads, so it's actually not as good as it seems...

Pertamina Fuel Station in Jakarta

Same is applicable to parking lots... Finding parking space is one of the main sources of frustration in Jakarta, but it's cheap: 2000 rupiah to 4000 rupiah/hour (0.17 to 0.34 euros).

Sounds like a lot of cheap stuff, but as I already mentioned, incomes are not as high as in most western countries...

Some income examples

In Jakarta, it's very common to have a maid. A maid earns about 500.000 to 700.000 rupiah/month (42 to 60 euros) in 'regular' neighborhoods and around 1.000.000 rupiah (ca. 84 euros) in more 'wealthy' neighborhoods. And it's normal for maids to work 24-hours a day (or at least to be available 24h/day).

A regular waiter/waitress (not in a 'warung', but for example in food courts in malls) also earns about 500.000 to 700.000 rupiah/month, but the working hours are a BIT more convenient, usually from 9am to 11pm.

Salaries for educated people are also much lower than in western countries. A fresh graduate bachelor student employed in a medium-sized business (50 to 100 employees) earns max. 40 million/year (3343 euros/year, circa 280 euros/month), including commission, bonuses and 'lunch-money'. After 1 year, the fresh graduate can expect a salary raise of 10 to 15 percent.