JAKARTA. Indonesia’s economy fell short of expectations by growing 6.23 percent throughout last year. It expanded only 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter as prevailing global uncertainties continued to put pressure on the country’s exports, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has reported.

BPS head Suryamin said on Tuesday that a weak contribution from Indonesia’s agriculture sector heavily affected by bad weather also caused the lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter last year.

The annual economic growth of 6.23 percent was below the government’s target of 6.5 percent as stipulated in the 2012 State Budget Law.

Both Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo and Bank Indonesia (BI)Governor Darmin Nasution predicted earlier this year that Indonesia’s annual economic growth would top at least 6.3 percent in 2012.

Despite the disappointing performance, with 6.23 percent growth, Indonesia remains among the world’s fastest-growing economies as its strong domestic spending has cushioned the country from the global slowdown. Among G-20 members, Indonesia has the second-fastest growth after China.

“Resilience despite the tough external demand environment has enabled the [Indonesian] economy to outperform its peers in the region,” Eugene Leow, an economist with DBS Bank in Singapore, wrote in a research note released on Tuesday. (sat/ The Jakarta Post)