Distribution of planned Ramadan budget Indonesia 2024
In 2024, a survey on how respondents in Indonesia planned to budget their Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr spending found that 84 percent of respondents planned to spend on zakat, infaq and shadaqah, which are religious donations to the poor. Ramadan is the largest shopping period in Indonesia, boosted by the mandatory holiday allowance, or Tunjangan Hari Raya.
Tunjangan Hari Raya
The Tunjangan Hari Raya (THR) is a mandatory holiday allowance akin to a 13th month salary. It should be paid out at latest one week before the start of the respective religious holiday of the employee. Indonesia recognizes the right to religious freedom, however, the THR is only given for five recognized religions and their holidays: Eid al-Fitr for Muslims; Christmas for Catholics and Protestants (which are considered as two different religions in Indonesia); Chinese New Year for Confucianism; Nyepi for Hindus; and Vesak for Buddhists.
Eid al-Fitr spending boost
With 87 percent of the Indonesian population professing to be Muslim, a majority of the THR is thus paid out during the month of Ramadan, which precedes the Eid celebrations. In previous years, retail sales during this period saw double digit growth, which was not surprising considering that the majority of Indonesians across all age ranges planned to spend more than a quarter of the THR. Apart from religious donations, other popular product categories to spend on during this festive period include clothing, personal care products, and food and drinks.
