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Indonesia’s population census to go digital next year
Next year’s census is to collect important demographic data including religion, gender, age, address and employment status.
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Statistics Indonesia (BPS) head Suhariyanto speaks at a press conference. BPS plans to use digital technology to carry out a population census in 2020 (JP/srs)
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tatistics Indonesia (BPS) is to employ smartphones, tablets and the central government’s population database for the first time in the agency’s 59-year history to more efficiently execute next year’s Population Census, which is conducted only once every decade.
BPS head Suhariyanto said citizens would be able to fill in personal data through a website (sensus.bps.go.id/) instead of waiting for door-to-door agency officials or going to regional BPS offices, as was done in previous years.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, you could use your smartphones to fill in your own data. If that doesn’t work, an official will visit your home with a tablet or smartphone. This approach is especially useful for reaching isolated regions,” said Suhariyanto in his presentation at a big data convention in Jakarta on Aug. 28.
BPS' deputy for statistics distribution and services, Yunita Rusanti, told The Jakarta Post separately that the agency had budgeted about Rp 5 trillion (US$353.78 million) to execute next year’s census. The budget is greater than the Rp 3.3 trillion allocated for the 2010 census.
“We’ve been making preparations and maps for the census since last year and it’s quite an extraordinary cost so most of our funds are absorbed by the census,” she said.
Media reports show that BPS officials are currently touring the country, visiting local administrative offices, schools and agencies, to encourage active participation in the census.
Next year’s census is to collect a massive amount of important demographic data on the country’s more than 260 million citizens, such as their religion, gender, age, address and employment status, among 16 such data points. Yet it excludes ethnicity, according to the BPS’ website.
