August 12, 2025 | 04:54 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) claimed that the United Nations has responded to its request to audit Indonesia's second-quarter 2025 economic growth data released by Statistics Indonesia (BPS). The request was submitted on Friday, August 8, 2025.
Celios Fiscal Policy Director, Media Wahyudi Askar, said their request received a response last night. "The UN Statistical Commission responded that they will discuss the matter internally within the UN," he told reporters at the Celios office in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
According to Media, the accuracy of BPS economic growth data will influence the draft of the 2026 state budget, of which President Prabowo is scheduled to present the Financial Note on August 15.
Media explained that the economic growth data will serve as a basis for the government in making policies, especially concerning incentives.
"If our economic data is improving, there won't be any increase in social protection, nor incentives. This is what's concerning about the incorrect data," said Media.
Celios Reviewed BPS' Economic Growth Data
Previously, Celios Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira stated that this audit request aims to maintain the credibility of BPS data. BPS itself announced that economic growth in the second quarter of 2025 reached 5.12 percent year-on-year, an improvement compared to first quarter of 2025 with 4.87 percent.
Bhima explained that Celios had attempted to review all the indicators provided by BPS, focusing on the manufacturing industry. BPS reported a 5.68 percent growth in the manufacturing sector during the second quarter of 2025.
However, Celios noted a contraction in manufacturing activity during the same period, as indicated by the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). "So, on what basis can the manufacturing industry grow by 5.68 percent year-on-year? Transparent answers are needed for conflicting data," Bhima said in an official statement on Friday, August 8, 2025.
Indef Cites 12 Indicators Contradicting BPS Data
In addition to Celios, the economic growth data has also been questioned by the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef). Indef believes that the 5.12 percent economic growth surpasses most predictions and appears to contradict several key indicators suggesting a slowdown.
"There are around 12 main indicators that actually declined in the second quarter or during the first half of 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024," enior economist M. Fadhil Hasan said during a public discussion titled Response to the Economic Growth in Quarter II-2025 held at his office on Wednesday, August 6.
According to Fadhil, economist projections were generally close to one another and typically did not differ much from actual performance. However, BPS reported a growth rate of 5.12 percent, while most forecasts placed it around 4.8 percent or below 5 percent.
Government Responds to Data Inaccuracy Accusations
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has denied the suspicion of economic growth data manipulation. "No such thing," Airlangga told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
The former Chair of the Golkar Party explained that according to BPS data, household consumption saw a significant growth at 4.97 percent y-o-y. Household consumption expenditure contributed up to 54.25 percent to Gross Domestic Product.
Tempo has attempted to seek confirmation from the Head of BPS Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Deputy Head of BPS Sonny Harry Harmadi, and the Head of the Statistics Division of BPS Media and Communication Eko Rahmadian for their responses. However, as of the writing of this article, they have not provided any comment.
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