Statistics Bureau Plans 2026 Economic Census Targeting Over 42 Million Business Units

This will be the most challenging census undertaken by BPS, as it involves engaging with business actors who naturally have their own priorities. Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has begun a series of socialisation events for the 2026 Economic Census (SE2026) as an initial step to increase participation from more than 42 million business units across Indonesia in the national economic census this year. “Because this is the most challenging census that BPS will undertake, it involves engaging with business actors who naturally have their own priorities regarding what they will share with BPS,” said BPS Secretary General Zulkipli during a presentation in Jakarta on Wednesday. He said that SE2026 is the fifth economic census conducted by BPS and will be the most challenging because it directly targets business actors as the main respondents. According to his presentation, SE2026 will survey all economic activities in 38 provinces and 514 regencies/cities, with the exception of the agricultural sector, government administration, and household activities for self-consumption. Zulkipli mentioned that BPS will prepare a different approach compared to previous economic censuses, including the use of digital technology and strengthening collaboration across ministries/agencies and business associations. “Because, in any case, BPS will definitely not be able to carry this out alone,” he said. The 2026 Economic Census will be carried out in two stages, namely the first phase from 1 to 30 May 2026 using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) method for large businesses that have email addresses. Meanwhile, the second phase of data collection will be carried out from 16 May to 31 July 2026 using the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) method, which targets micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, as well as large businesses that do not yet have email addresses. Expert Staff of the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs in the field of Communication and Mass Media, Molly Prabawati, said that the level of participation from business actors is a key factor in the success of SE2026, especially in increasing the response rate for data collection. “The success of the Economic Census is largely determined by the level of participation from business actors. The biggest challenge for the census is not only the scope of the area but also the response rate and the respondents’ trust in the data collection process,” said Molly. She cited the results of an internal BPS survey in 2025, which showed that 68 percent of business actors were willing to participate if they received a clear explanation of the purpose and benefits of the census, while 27 percent were still hesitant because they were concerned about the misuse of data. According to Molly, public communication that explains that census data is protected by Law Number 16 of 1997 concerning Statistics is key to increasing respondent trust. Through a series of SE2026 publicity events, BPS aims to increase the participation of business actors so that the data generated can more accurately reflect the economic structure, digital economy, and environmental economy as a basis for national development planning towards Golden Indonesia 2045. Copyright © ANTARA 2026 It is strictly prohibited to take content, crawl or automatically index for AI on this website without written permission from the ANTARA News Agency.