Will Indonesia Review Its Income Decile Data Amid Concerns?<\/p>\n
Reporter<\/p>\n
August 31, 2026 | 03:13 pm<\/p>\n
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government will form an\ninteragency team to evaluate how residents are classified into income\ndeciles, following concerns over inaccuracies in data used to determine\naccess to social and education assistance.<\/p>\n
Deputy State Secretary Minister Bambang Eko Suhariyanto said the team\nwould involve the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the National\nDevelopment Planning Agency (Bappenas), and other relevant\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn interagency team will certainly be formed, involving BPS,\nBappenas and others,\u201d Bambang told reporters at the Parliament complex\nin Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, August 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
He said the government was still reviewing the basis used to assign\nresidents to each income decile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is currently being evaluated,\u201d Bambang said.<\/p>\n
Government Reviews Income Decile Data<\/p>\n
Asked whether errors had occurred in the data, Bambang said the\ngovernment had yet to determine the cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still do not know what the basis is and so on. What is clear is\nthat this is being evaluated by BPS,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bambang expressed hope that the review would lead to improvements in\nthe income decile classification system.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, there will be improvements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The income decile system divides Indonesia\u2019s population into 10\ngroups based on income levels. Decile 1 represents the lowest-income\ngroup, while Decile 10 represents the highest.<\/p>\n
Income Decile Change Affects Student\u2019s Aid Access<\/p>\n
The planned evaluation follows concerns over cases in which\nresidents\u2019 income decile classifications changed significantly,\naffecting their access to government assistance.<\/p>\n
One case involved Timbul, a pedicab driver in Malioboro, Yogyakarta,\nwhose family was initially classified in Decile 1 but was later listed\nin Decile 9.<\/p>\n
The change affected his son, Luki Arya Wijaya, who had been admitted\nto the Mechanical Engineering program at Yogyakarta State University\n(UNY).<\/p>\n
After his family\u2019s classification changed, Luki faced difficulties\nobtaining tuition assistance and accessing the Indonesia Smart College\nCard (KIP-K), a government program that provides financial support for\nstudents from lower-income families. His family was classified as\nfinancially capable under the updated data.<\/p>\n
BPS Updates Timbul\u2019s Income Decile Classification<\/p>\n
BPS later updated Timbul\u2019s income decile classification after finding\nthat his data did not reflect his current circumstances.<\/p>\n
His classification was subsequently changed to Decile 3, after\npreviously being recorded as moving from Decile 1 to Decile 9.<\/p>\n
BPS chief Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said on Friday, August 28,\nthat the update was carried out to support Luki\u2019s application for KIP-K\nassistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cTimbul\u2019s case is part of the data-updating mechanism to support his\nchild\u2019s KIP-K application,\u201d Amalia said in an official statement.<\/p>\n
She said the mechanism allows an updated income decile classification\nto be determined in about two weeks, compared with the regular updating\ncycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Timbul\u2019s data was updated and processed according to the\napplicable mechanism, his current classification is Decile 3,\u201d Amalia\nsaid.<\/p>\n
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