Estimates of Indonesian population numbers: first impressions from the 2010 census

Abstract

This note provides a critical perspective on the preliminary results of the 2010 population census, which were announced by President Yudhoyono on 16 August 2010. It explores the concepts of population used and the adjustments made to increase the accuracy of census estimates. The assumptions underlying various official population projections in the last decade produced estimates for mid-2010 that were substantially below the figure of over 237 million persons counted in May. The note argues that, far from reflecting a ‘population explosion’, this is due to the achievement in the 2010 census of greatly increased coverage of people residing in Indonesia on the census date.