BPS Targets Online Businesses: We Will Visit Every House
Online business operators who have been running enterprises from behind their mobile phone screens are now on the radar of the 2026 Economic Census. During the 2026 Economic Census in Jogja, officers will visit every house to search for businesses that are not visible from the outside.
This was conveyed by the Deputy Chief of BPS RI, Sonny Harry Budiutomo Harmadi. The door-to-door census strategy was adopted after a previous trial run of the economic census.
“Before this Economic Census commenced, we conducted a full-scale rehearsal, a trial of the Economic Census, last year. It turned out that a great many businesses are operated inside homes, with online sales, and they were completely undetected. So, only when we asked in detail at the houses did we find out,” Sonny revealed when met in the Malioboro area of Jogja City on Thursday (18/6/2026).
Sonny admitted he once encountered a first-semester university student who was earning millions of rupiah each month from an online business buying and selling used clothing.
“We think it’s just a house, oh, there’s no business activity here, just ordinary. But it turns out, once we enter, I even met a TikToker who sells thrifted clothes. He is still a first-semester student, and his profit per month is Rp 9 million,” he said.
During the census, Sonny explained, officers will affix a BPS sticker to houses that have been visited. This will make it easier to track houses that have not yet been censused.
“Door to door. We will visit all houses. That is why business operators will have a sticker affixed, and houses visited door-to-door will also have a sticker affixed later. So, if media colleagues see a house that has not yet had a sticker affixed, it means it has not been visited by officers or is still refusing to receive officers,” he stated.
Additionally, during the 2026 Economic Census, officers will also utilise artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI is also used to detect anomalous data during the data collection process.
“So, one of the most important aspects of the economic census is classification, the classification code. Which sector or subsector it belongs to. There is something called KBLI, the Indonesian Standard Industrial Classification. We cannot make a mistake entering that. So, for example, a trader, a toy trader, what kind of toys, like that. It is very detailed,” he said.
“Therefore, when they enter the KBLI code, the AI will check whether the code provided is correct or incorrect. If it is wrong, they will be asked to repeat it. So, we are using many methods to try to apply filters, so that the data quality is better,” he concluded.