Data-Driven Partnership: How the UN supports BPS to turn data into action for Indonesia’s development

The Government of Indonesia and the United Nations share a clear goal: to make every development decision count for the people who need it most. The new agreement between the Government and the UN, called UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2026–2030, and signed earlier this year, builds on this shared vision anchored in Indonesia’s long-term and medium-term national development plans—ensuring that national priorities and UN programmes are guided by clear evidence and reliable data.

That is where Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the country’s national statistics office and one of the UN’s closest partners, plays a key role in ensuring the availability of high-quality data that measures progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This, in turn, informs national and subnational implementation plans for socioeconomic development.

“Our deep partnership with BPS ensures that development decisions are informed by granular, accurate, and timely data,” said Gita Sabharwal, the UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. “Our results framework is fully aligned with the government data. It’s a reflection of Indonesia’s solid statistical foundation.”

The collaboration runs deep and wide, spanning population dynamics, food security, big data, migration, labour markets, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for policy analysis. Here are some of the ways this collaboration is making a difference:

• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) works with BPS on population and demographic analysis, including the population census and National Transfer Accounts, which help policymakers plan fiscal support and social protection for an aging population.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) collaborates with BPS in implementing its national agricultural survey programme and pilot rice crop monitoring through satellite imagery and advanced analytics—improving agricultural productivity data.  
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) partners with BPS on the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) using SUSENAS data, while also developing child poverty assessments reinforced by nightlight observation to capture invisible dimensions of poverty.
• World Food Programme (WFP), UNFPA and UNICEF jointly work with BPS on small-area estimation methods to generate SDG indicators at the subnational level, helping local governments design data-driven development plans (for more details, see this article).
• International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNFPA collaborate through the One Data for International Migration initiative, integrating migration statistics into the national data ecosystem.
• ILO and UN Global Pulse Asia Pacific are finalising a new collaboration with BPS leveraging big data for near real-time insights on employment levels and well-being in addition to ILOs support for the labour market survey (SAKERNAS). 

Beyond national borders, BPS also leads as the UN Regional Big Data Hub for Asia and the Pacific, in partnership with UNDESA and UNESCAP. This role positions Indonesia as a key driver of data innovation and capacity building for statisticians across the region. This year, three major capacity-building initiatives on machine learning, mobile positioning data, and biodiversity, brought together statisticians from across Asia to exchange knowledge and strengthen expertise.

“With more than 20,000 statisticians nationwide and more than 200 national surveys conducted annually, BPS continues to uphold its reputation for excellence, working hand in hand with the UN and government partners to ensure that data truly serves people,” said Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Head of BPS.