Report: Indonesia has few think tanks to build policy capacity
Indonesia hosts just 37 registered think tanks, a tally that leaves the G-20 member far behind global peers as it attempts to build the policy capacity required for long-term national development, according to the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report released by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania. Despite this limited count, several domestic institutions—including ICW, CSIS, ERIA, SMERU, PATTIRO, CIPS, and CIFOR—have earned recognition among the best globally across various categories.
United States Leads Global Think Tank Rankings
Out of 11,175 registered think tanks worldwide, the United States leads with 2,203 institutions, followed by China with 1,413 and India with 612. Nine G-20 nations occupy the top nine ranks globally, and 9 out of the top 10 think tanks originate within the G-20 block. Yet Vietnam ranks 10th globally with 180 institutions, serving as an intellectual motor for economic reforms that began under Doi Moi in 1986 and helped drive national growth to 8 percent in 2025.
By contrast, Indonesia struggles with a government effectiveness score of 0.392 and a Human Development Index of 0.728, placing it below the linear trend-line shared by other G-20 members. A Pearson correlation of 0.732 links government effectiveness and human development across 19 G-20 countries evaluated using 2023 data.
Transformational Frameworks and Golden Indonesia 2045
The plan relies on social, economic, and governance transformations, shaping the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and regional documents. This vision encompasses eight specific missions aimed at establishing a sovereign, advanced, and sustainable unitary state.
Development planning often faces hurdles from sectoral ego, rigid bureaucracy, and inconsistent leadership periods. Projects frequently advance without adequate public participation or regard for environmental carrying capacity, causing budget allocations to miss targets and widen economic disparities.
Indonesia Allocates Minimal Funding to Research
Indonesia allocates only 0.3 percent of its gross domestic product to research, a minuscule figure compared to regional neighbors like Thailand, Malaysia, China, and India. Expanding this budget remains necessary, with think tanks acting as idea factories that bridge policymakers, academia, and civil society to strengthen evidence-based policymaking.
Think Tanks as Strategic Pillars
The strategic importance of these bodies extends beyond domestic research, functioning as a vital pillar for national stability. As noted by Stephen Tong in 2015, the role of such institutions in protecting a nation can be compared to the logistics of Japan’s live fish export industry to Moscow, Russia—a journey that requires a cargo flight time of approximately 15 hours to maintain quality and viability.