North Sulawesi Strengthens Growth Foundation through 2026 Economic Census
North Sulawesi holds a strategic geographical position as Indonesia’s gateway to trade in the Asia Pacific region. In addition to being rich in natural resources, the ‘Land of the Swaying Palms’ possesses natural beauty that attracts both domestic and international tourists.
Bunaken National Park has long been known as a world-class tourist destination due to its underwater beauty. The Likupang Tourism Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been a Super Priority Tourism Destination since 2019 and continues to develop as a new economic growth centre through the tourism, investment, and creative economy sectors.
Amidst global economic uncertainty, North Sulawesi’s economy continues to grow at a high rate, accompanied by a decline in poverty levels. North Sulawesi is also the second-largest coconut producer in Indonesia and ranks eighth in national marine fishery production. To maintain this economic growth trend and accelerate poverty reduction, complete, accurate, and up-to-date economic data is required.
Through the 2026 Economic Census (SE2026), the government will obtain a comprehensive overview of the conditions and characteristics of businesses in North Sulawesi. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Sonny Harry Budiutomo Harmadi, during the launch of SE2026 in North Sulawesi on Tuesday (30/6).
“The Governor will therefore receive a complete picture of the economy in North Sulawesi. From the sea to the land, everything is extraordinary. Looking at the data, North Sulawesi’s economic growth exceeds the national average, accompanied by a continuously declining poverty rate, which has reached 6.62%,” said Sonny during the SE2026 launch agenda.
The launch of the 2026 Economic Census took place at the North Sulawesi Governor’s Office, attended by the Governor of North Sulawesi Yulius Selvanus, Vice Governor Victor Mailangkay, members of the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda), heads of vertical agencies, regional apparatus, leaders of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) and Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), business association representatives, and academics.
According to Sonny, the results of the SE2026 will serve as a strong foundation for formulating various economic development policies, encouraging investment, strengthening MSMEs, developing economic zones, and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are felt equally by all people in North Sulawesi.
“An economic census is like undergoing a medical check-up. We might feel our body is healthy, or perhaps we feel something is wrong. We can only truly know the cause of our discomfort through such a process,” said Sonny.
He also emphasised that the implementation of SE2026 is not a sudden agenda, but rather a mandate of Law Number 16 of 1997 concerning Statistics, which regulates the conduct of an economic census every ten years. In addition to recording companies or business entities, BPS will also record household economic activities door-to-door so that all community economic activities can be fully represented.
Sonny invited the entire community, business actors, local governments, academics, media, and all stakeholders to work together to ensure the success of SE2026.
“Let us together succeed the economic census with TIR. TIR stands for: Receive the 2026 Economic Census officers, Fill in the data correctly, and Data confidentiality is maintained,” Sonny concluded.
On the same occasion, the Governor of North Sulawesi, Yulius Selvanus, emphasised that the success of economic development cannot be separated from the availability of accurate and high-quality data. In his view, statistical data is the primary foundation for formulating targeted policies, including driving investment, strengthening regional competitiveness, and increasing community welfare.
“I am confident that BPS, with its experience in conducting the Population Census and the Agricultural Census, will certainly be able to carry out this Economic Census well. Especially with the support of a field team reaching over two thousand personnel,” said Yulius.
As a symbol of the SE2026 launch in North Sulawesi, the Deputy Head of BPS RI and the Governor of North Sulawesi together unsheathed the pedang kabasaran, a traditional Minahasa weapon symbolising bravery, unity, and commitment. The procession served as a strong symbol of the local government’s support for the successful implementation of SE2026.
BPS is deploying 2,401 officers to collect data from approximately 297,000 business units spread across 15 regencies/cities in North Sulawesi Province.