Analysis of packaged drinking water use in Indonesia in the last decades: trends, socio-economic determinants, and safety aspect

Abstract

Abstract This study combines multiple data and analyses to gain insights into the trend of the use of packaged drinking water (PDW) in Indonesia, including the national survey to analyze the trends of PDW consumption, the Demographic Health Survey data to discover the socio-economic determinants of PDW consumption, and the systematic literature review to assess the quality and safety of PDW. The increasing rate of PDW consumption per year in Indonesia was 1.24% from 2000 to 2020 annually, and 50% of the Indonesian population is predicted to consume PDW in 2026. The increasing use of PDW in Indonesia was significantly associated with the economic growth of the country, i.e., proxied by the gross domestic product and urban population. Moreover, the use of PDW by households was significantly associated with the age of the household head, mother's educational level, father's educational level, wealth index, types of residence, regions, and types of toilet facility. The findings suggest that young people in urban areas would dominate the PDW consumer in Indonesia. Additionally, previous studies indicated that PDW in Indonesia is often contaminated. Thus, this study underlines the need to improve the quality and safety aspects of PDW to minimize its negative health effects.