BPS: Decile figures not a single measure of family economic conditions
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti explained that decile figures in the National Single Social and Economic Data (DTSEN) should be understood as a depiction of relative position in welfare rankings, not as a single measure of a family’s economic condition.
“Deciles show the relative position of a family compared to other families based on various socio-economic characteristics,” said Amalia in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.
BPS emphasised that deciles are neither an absolute measure of poverty nor a nominal measure of a family’s income or wealth.
For example, a family in decile 3 means it is in the third group of ten groups in the relative welfare ranking.
Families in the same decile do not always have the same income, expenditure, or socio-economic conditions.
BPS explained that decile determination is not based solely on income, ownership of one type of goods, electrical power, employment, or any single indicator.
The ranking considers various socio-economic characteristics together, including housing conditions, drinking water sources, cooking fuel and energy, asset ownership, electricity capacity and consumption, family composition, education, employment, health, and disability.
This information is considered together using the Proxy Means Test (PMT) statistical method to estimate family welfare levels based on observable characteristics.
Because it uses a combination of various characteristics, a single condition or indicator alone does not automatically determine a family’s decile position.
PMT is a statistical approach also used internationally, particularly when household income or consumption information is difficult to obtain or verify completely.
The approach allows various observable socio-economic information to be used systematically to help estimate a family’s relative welfare position.
BPS stated that deciles function as a ranking tool that helps the government identify community groups based on their relative welfare position.
This information can be used by ministries and agencies as one basis for determining programme targets or priorities in accordance with the objectives and provisions of each programme.
Thus, deciles are not a list of programme recipients, and their use must always be read in the context of the relevant programme.
According to BPS, decile positions can change as a family’s socio-economic conditions change and as its relative position compared to other families changes.
Therefore, the relevance of DTSEN must be continuously maintained through data updating.
A change in one indicator also does not automatically cause a decile change because various characteristics are considered together in the ranking process.
DTSEN updating is carried out using various sources, including administrative data, census and survey results, updates by ministries/agencies and local governments, ground checks, and updates submitted by the public through available channels.
BPS noted that as of 10 July 2026, DTSEN Version 3 Year 2026 covers 290.13 million individual records and 95.98 million family records.
This coverage is continuously updated so that the data increasingly reflects the latest socio-economic conditions of the community.
If members of the public find information about themselves or their families that does not match actual conditions, updates can be submitted through the proposal and rebuttal mechanism on available official channels, including Cek Bansos (cekbansos.kemensos.go.id) or its application, SIKS-NG through village/sub-district operators, and Cek DTSEN (dtsen-form.bps.go.id).
Submitting an update does not mean the decile position changes automatically. The information submitted becomes part of the updating and recalculation process so that the decile position remains determined based on applicable data and methods.
“BPS together with ministries/agencies and local governments continues to carry out updates to maintain the quality of DTSEN so that it increasingly reflects community conditions. Public participation in ensuring that information about themselves and their families matches actual conditions is also an important part of this process,” said Amalia.