Indonesia's Creative Economy: A New Growth Engine in 2025

Exceptional Performance Across Key Indicators

Indonesia's creative economy has demonstrated remarkable growth in 2025, emerging as a vital component of the national economy. The sector's performance has been outstanding across multiple dimensions: export value, investment realization, and employment generation.

Export Achievements

The creative economy's export value reached US$26.68 billion during January-October 2025, accounting for 11.96% of total non-oil exports ⁴

. This significant contribution underscores the sector's growing importance in Indonesia's international trade.

Investment Realization

Investment in the creative economy has also shown impressive growth, with Rp132.04 trillion realized in Q3 2025, exceeding 107% of the 2025 RPJMN target ²

⁴

Source 4

https://finance.detik.com/berita-ekonomi-bisnis/d-8274806/dialog-prasasti-soroti-peran-daerah-dalam-penguatan-ekonomi-kreatif

. This substantial investment demonstrates strong confidence in the sector's potential and growth prospects.

Workforce and GDP Contribution

The creative economy has become a major employment generator, providing jobs for 27.4 million people ⁴

. In terms of GDP contribution, the sector accounted for 7.28% of national GDP in 2024, with a value of Rp1,611.2 trillion, outpacing the overall national GDP growth of 5.03% ⁴

Source 4

https://finance.detik.com/berita-ekonomi-bisnis/d-8274806/dialog-prasasti-soroti-peran-daerah-dalam-penguatan-ekonomi-kreatif

.

Strategic Initiatives for 2026

Building on the success of 2025, the Ministry of Creative Economy has outlined comprehensive strategic programs for 2026. These initiatives are structured around four primary pillars: investment, export, workforce development, and GDP growth.

Investment Promotion

To further boost investment, the ministry is organizing the Ekraf Business Forum at an international scale and the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) 2026, expected to attract participation from over 50 countries ²

³

Source 3

https://finance.detik.com/berita-ekonomi-bisnis/d-8274349/perkuat-sektor-ekonomi-kreatif-kemenekraf-siapkan-program-strategis-2026

. Additional measures include commercialization of creative intellectual property and incentive schemes for priority subsectors such as film, gaming, and applications.

Export Acceleration

The Akselerasi Ekspor Kreasi Indonesia (ASIK) program is being implemented to enhance the global competitiveness of Indonesian creative products. This initiative is complemented by the Creative by Indonesia program, which aims to strengthen brand identity, supported by the Ekraf Hub as a digital collaboration platform ²

.

Institutional Strengthening

The Ministry of Creative Economy has made significant strides in institutional strengthening throughout 2025. Notably, 19 provinces and numerous regencies/cities have established dedicated creative economy departments or committees. Moreover, the ministry has signed multiple strategic partnerships with national and international partners ⁴

.