Data for Indonesia, Devotion to the Nation

August always brings a different atmosphere. The Red and White flag flies in front of houses, various competitions are held in communities, and the spirit of nationalism is rekindled. Each year, we are invited to remember the struggle of the nation’s founders who sacrificed their lives to bring Indonesia into being as a sovereign country.

After more than eight decades of independence, the nation’s challenges have certainly changed. If the struggle was once carried out on the battlefield, today it takes a different form: building Indonesia to be more advanced, prosperous, and competitive. Filling the meaning of independence is no longer just about defending territorial sovereignty, but also ensuring that every development policy truly answers the needs of society.

The question is, what can the public do to contribute to this independence? The answer may be simpler than we imagine. One way is by being willing to provide correct data when the state needs it.

This August, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) is in the final phase of fieldwork for the 2026 Economic Census, a national activity held every ten years to map all economic activities in Indonesia. At a glance, this might appear to be just routine data collection. Yet, behind every question asked by census officers lies an important foundation for the creation of public policies that will influence the direction of Indonesia’s development for years to come.

We often hear the term evidence-based policymaking, a process of drafting policies based on evidence and data, not merely on assumptions or intuition. In modern governance, this approach has become the standard. The government needs to understand the real condition of the economy, which business sectors are growing, which regions require greater support, and how digital transformation is changing the face of the business world. All of this can only be known if accurate, complete, and up-to-date data is available.