The president has said that the numerous census questions
will help future lawmakers make better policies.
Stand by to have your life picked over by total strangers. Indonesia on Saturday kicks off its most ambitious population census to date: Over the next month, about 232 million people in 64 million households in 88,300 cities, towns and villages across the nation will face a barrage of 43 questions from 700,000 officials.
The scale of the census means it will not come cheap, at about
Rp 3.3 trillion ($365 million), but the results will be the bedrock of a comprehensive database to help shape government policy in the next decade, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promises.
“The results of this year’s population census will become the only reference for all institutions, be that at the center or in the regions, in formulating policies and program planning,” he said as he launched the program on Friday, urging everyone to support what he called “one of the largest historical events for us all.”
He said a nation’s success in fulfilling its development plans hinged on its ability to manage adequate, accurate, complete and up-to-date population data and information.
“The data is needed by the government, businesses and other important agencies for development in the next five to 10 years,” Yudhoyono said.
The last census was in 2000, when Indonesia’s population was recorded at 205.1 million. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) estimates it will hit 234 million by the end of this year.
The 12-page census questionnaire contains 43 questions (up from 15 in the 2000 census).
They address personal and family data as well as deaths and births in the past three years, age at time of death, maternity deaths, ownership of property, the number and type of floors one’s house has, sources of drinking water, fuel used for cooking, sanitation facilities and wastewater facilities.
Yudhoyono said the census was also important to help the country develop its citizen registration number (NIK), a single identity system valid nationwide, “so that we can accurately target pro-people programs.”
With the NIK, he said, the country would be better equipped to prevent manipulation of population data and in solving crimes.
This year’s census will be different from those in previous years as “for the first time in history” it will include such things as employment status, housing facilities and access to communication media, Yudhoyono said. “It will provide us with complete and comprehensive data on housing and population.”
The results of the census are scheduled to be announced by the end of the year, and will also provide a database for the 2014 general elections.
This is the sixth national census since independence in 1945.
