Up to 50 million Indonesian children uncounted: new study reveals

Millions of Indonesian children do not have a birth certificate, due to the costs involved, the distance to legal identity service providers, complex processes with courts and government agencies, or their parents simply don’t know how to register their child.

These findings, released today in a new Baseline Study on Legal Identity: Indonesia’s missing millions, reveal for the first time how legal documents such as a birth certificate or KTP affect access to education, health and other public services.

The Baseline Study highlights that in the poorest 30% of households, girls and boys with a birth certificate are three times more likely to complete 12 years of education. The Baseline Study also shows that in the poorest households, a quarter of girls will be married by the age of 18 and that almost none of these married girls will have a birth certificate (96%).

Several other findings show:

There are 50 million Indonesian children and youths aged 0-18 years currently are unaccounted for
In the poorest 30 per cent of households: 55 per cent of couples do not have a marriage certificate and 75 per cent of their children do not have birth certificates. In the poorest 30 per cent of households in NTT and NTB, only 1 in 10 couples have a marriage certificate.
A marriage certificate is needed for a child to have a birth certificate with both their mother and father’s name on it.
In the poorest 30 per cent of households, only 24 per cent of female heads of household, giving their status as divorced, have a divorce certificate. This affects their ability to obtain a family card stating they are the head of family, which in turn affects their ability to access a range of social protection programs.
Indonesia’s census year, which occurs once every ten years, currently forms the basis for planning, budgeting and delivery of health and education services for children. However, government agencies estimate that up to 60 per cent of Indonesian children do not have birth certificates.

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty said: “Australia is pleased to support research that will help Indonesia meet its own development goals. Australia will work together with Indonesia to increase the number of children, women and men with a legal identity. This will help remove a barrier to economic development, especially in poor households and in rural communities.”The Baseline Study was produced by the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice and PUSKAPA UI (the Centre on Child Protection at the University of Indonesia), PEKKA (Empowerment of Female Heads of Household NGO) and the Family Court of Australia funded by the Australian aid program.

Media enquiries:
Mia Salim, Public Affairs, 0812 107 0237