What do we expect from the 2020 population census?

Kadir Ruslan
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PREMIUM

Jakarta / Thu, October 3, 2019 / 11:40 am

What do we expect from the 2020 population census?

Over five decades, those censuses captured not only a high rate of population growth, from only about 97.1 million people in 1961 to 237.6 million in 2010. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)

Although the 2020 population census ( SP2020 ) campaign was kicked off in February 2018, public discussions and publicity about this event are still very few. Considering its paramount importance and the massive scale of the data collection process, this issue is very crucial and needs to be addressed. The SP2020 plays a pivotal role in providing data for evidence-based policy on population issues. It is the fourth-biggest population census conducted on earth after the population censuses in China, India and the United States, and will involve about 1 million field enumerators and supervisors. That is what makes this 10-yearly undertaking so costly. Indonesia has a long experience in conducting massive population censuses. The first census covering the entire Dutch East Indies was held in 1930. The population was recorded at around 60.7 million people at that time. The postindepend...