Around 71 million Indonesians fall into the sandwich generation category, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2020.
This means that more than a quarter of Indonesia's population lives in a condition of bearing a two-way financial burden. They must support parents who are not yet economically independent, while also supporting the needs of children who are still dependent.
Behind these figures, there are hidden stories of silent struggles that often escape public attention and state policy.
On the surface, they appear to be well-off. They have jobs, steady incomes, maybe even their own homes. But in reality, many of them are living paycheck to paycheck, without adequate savings, or even strong social protection. They are the face of what is now called the new poverty, not because they have no income, but because they have no resilience when shocks come.
New poverty or what is known as new poor is not absolute poverty which is reflected in the inability to meet basic needs, but rather a vulnerable condition that is not visible in macro statistics.
Those in this group have enough income to meet daily needs, but do not have sufficient economic reserves. When social or economic shocks such as illness, job loss, or urgent educational needs for children occur, they will easily fall into poverty.
It is in this context that the sandwich generation becomes a symbol of the growing social tensions in modern society. They live between two generations that both need support, but do not have enough structural strength to sustain both in a sustainable manner.
This is not just a story about family burdens, but a symptom of a system that has failed to create a safety net across generations. Their lives reflect the gap between the narrative of economic success and the reality of social vulnerability that is not captured in macro indicators.