BPS: National Decile Rankings May Differ from Regional Assessments
The government has stated that the welfare rankings, or deciles, used as the basis for determining recipients of the National Health Insurance Premium Assistance (PBI) are calculated at the national level, not based on individual regional calculations. This difference in methodology has the potential to create discrepancies in assessments between the central and regional governments.
This was conveyed by the Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, during a press conference following a coordination meeting led by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhaimin Iskandar, together with Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf and BPJS Kesehatan, on Monday, 16 February 2026, at the Coordinating Ministry in Jakarta.
"National decile ranking will certainly differ from the decile rankings in each region," said Amalia.
According to her, the PBI policy targeting deciles 1 through 5 is based on national-level rankings. This means that residents classified as poor or vulnerable in a particular district may not necessarily fall within deciles 1 to 5 at the national level, as the calculation encompasses the entire Indonesian population.
However, when asked about the specific criteria for a person to be classified within deciles 1 to 5, the BPS Head did not provide a specific answer. Amalia only explained that decile classification is not determined solely by income.
BPS uses approximately 40 variables in calculating the welfare level of the population. These variables encompass housing conditions, asset ownership, and other socio-economic indicators. "Decile ranking is a welfare ranking of the Indonesian population measured at the national level," she said.
The clarification came amid the controversy surrounding the deactivation of approximately 11 million PBI participants. The government stated that the deactivation was carried out to ensure that assistance reaches the intended recipients, namely those in Deciles 1 to 5.
Of that total, approximately 106,000 participants who had previously been deactivated have been automatically reactivated, particularly for cases involving catastrophic illnesses. Additionally, more than 40,000 individuals have applied for reactivation, with approximately 2,000 of them switching to become independent participants.
BPS, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs, will conduct ground checks on the 11 million deactivated participants. The verification process is targeted for completion within approximately two months. When converted to household units, the figure is equivalent to approximately 5.9 million families.
This was conveyed by the Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, during a press conference following a coordination meeting led by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhaimin Iskandar, together with Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf and BPJS Kesehatan, on Monday, 16 February 2026, at the Coordinating Ministry in Jakarta.
"National decile ranking will certainly differ from the decile rankings in each region," said Amalia.
According to her, the PBI policy targeting deciles 1 through 5 is based on national-level rankings. This means that residents classified as poor or vulnerable in a particular district may not necessarily fall within deciles 1 to 5 at the national level, as the calculation encompasses the entire Indonesian population.
However, when asked about the specific criteria for a person to be classified within deciles 1 to 5, the BPS Head did not provide a specific answer. Amalia only explained that decile classification is not determined solely by income.
BPS uses approximately 40 variables in calculating the welfare level of the population. These variables encompass housing conditions, asset ownership, and other socio-economic indicators. "Decile ranking is a welfare ranking of the Indonesian population measured at the national level," she said.
The clarification came amid the controversy surrounding the deactivation of approximately 11 million PBI participants. The government stated that the deactivation was carried out to ensure that assistance reaches the intended recipients, namely those in Deciles 1 to 5.
Of that total, approximately 106,000 participants who had previously been deactivated have been automatically reactivated, particularly for cases involving catastrophic illnesses. Additionally, more than 40,000 individuals have applied for reactivation, with approximately 2,000 of them switching to become independent participants.
BPS, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs, will conduct ground checks on the 11 million deactivated participants. The verification process is targeted for completion within approximately two months. When converted to household units, the figure is equivalent to approximately 5.9 million families.