Indonesia subscribed to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) on September 24, 2003. Based on information provided on the IMF's SDDS website, Indonesia meets SDDS requirements for periodicity, coverage, and timeliness of data, although it does avail of the flexibility option with regards to timeliness and periodicity for employment and unemployment data, and timeliness for data on wages and general government. Further, Indonesia also fulfills SDDS requirements for the access dimension, except for exchange rates and population data, where there is no mention of the SDDS requirement for advance dissemination of release calendar. Further, simultaneous release to all interested parties is only available upon request for the national accounts data category. Information on the IMF's SDDS website also shows that Indonesia does not meet all SDDS requirements for integrity of data, as several data categories lack information about provision of information about revision and advance notice of major changes in methodology. The country clearly addresses the confidentiality of individually identifiable information for all data categories except for general government (public sector operations) and central government operations. With regards to the quality of data, information provided on the IMF's SDDS website indicates that Indonesia fulfills the SDDS requirements.

General Overview

Indonesia subscribed to the IMF's SDDS on September 24, 2003. According to the IMF's 2005 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), Indonesia on June 2, 2000, met SDDS specifications for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data, as well as for the dissemination of advance release calendars. Further, the report notes that Indonesia regularly updates its metadata. Per the 2005 IMF ROSC, Indonesia "is characterized by a strong legal environment that encourages objectivity and professionalism on the part of the statistical agencies and that underpins the overall integrity of the statistical process" (p. 4). The IMF's SDDS website notes that the legal framework for the generation and dissemination of all Indonesian statistics is based on: (1) the Law of the Republic of Indonesia on Statistics (Statistical Law of Indonesia of 1997); and the (2) Act of the Republic of Indonesia Concerning the Bank of Indonesia (Central Bank Act of 1999).

The IMF's SDDS website notes that the institutions involved in data dissemination in Indonesia are the following: Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, or BPS), the Ministry of Finance (Departemen Keuangan, or MoF), and the Central Bank (Bank Indonesia, or BI). The BPS is defined on its website as a non-departmental government institution that directly reports to the office of the president. The functions of the BPS, as defined on its website, are to: (1) provide data to the government and the public; (2) oversee all statistical activities and assist other government institutions in developing and implementing their statistical systems; (3) improve standards and provide training in statistics; and (4) establish and maintain cooperation with international institutions for statistical development purposes.

The IMF's 2005 ROSC recommended that Indonesia widen the scope of the data compiled, "strengthen and expand the collection and analysis of the basic source data that underlie the aggregate macroeconomic statistics, improve and formalize cooperation among the major statistics-producing agencies to foster greater consistency of data among the major datasets, and accelerate the full implementation of best practice methodologies" (p. 4). Indonesia is making further improvements to its statistical framework, according to the IMF ROSC, and has adopted many measures in recent year to conform to internationally recognized best practice methodologies for its macroeconomic dataset.

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

FC

The IMF's SDDS website discloses that Indonesia meets or exceeds most SDDS requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness. However, the country avails itself of the flexibility option with regards to timeliness and periodicity for labor market (employment and unemployment), and timeliness for labor market (wages and earnings) and general government.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

CP

Indonesia issues advance release calendars for all relevant data categories except for exchange rates and population. Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties except for national accounts entry points, where data is only available upon request, according to the IMF's SDDS.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

CP

According to information provided on the IMF's SDDS website, dissemination of the terms and conditions for all data categories are clearly stated. Identification of internal government access to data before release and identification of ministerial commentary are also spelled for all data categories. Further, the protection of confidentiality of individually identifiable information is stated for all data categories with the exception of general government (public sector operations) and central government operations, where the information provided on the IMF SDDS website is "not applicable." Several data categories, exchange rates, and population data lack information about revision, and various data categories such as national accounts, production index, exchange rates, and interest rates do not provide advance notice of major changes in methodology. According to the 2005 IMF ROSC, the 1997 Statistics Law together with Decree No. 6 of 2000, gives the BPS a strong legal basis for compiling statistics. The MoF and the BI collects, compiles, and disseminate statistics on the basis of Law 33/2004 and the Republic of Indonesia Act No. 23 of 1999.

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

FC

According to the IMF's SDDS website, documents related to methodology and sources used in preparing statistics is available to the public for all data categories except for the international investment position, where information is only available on request. Similarly, summary methodologies are provided for all the data categories. All data categories, according to the IMF's SDDS website, meet the SDDS requirement for dissemination of component detail and sound statistical frameworks that support cross-checks. Per the 2005 IMF ROSC, there is a comprehensive methodological guide for national accounts. As for Government Finance Statistics and Balance of Payment Statistics, the report indicates that summary methodology on the concepts, statistical techniques, and coverage is provided in the respective government agencies websites.