What Is a Desil? Indonesia's Welfare Ranking, Explained
Last updated: 10 November 2026 · Sources: Kemensos, BPS, Puslapdik Kemendikdasmen
Short answer: a desil is your household's welfare rank from 1 (poorest 10%) to 10 (wealthiest 10%) in Indonesia's national DTSEN database. It is calculated by BPS with a Proxy Means Test: it is a relative ranking, not an income figure and not a guarantee of receiving assistance.
Desil 1–10 at a Glance
| Desil | Category | Programs You Can Be Proposed For |
|---|---|---|
| Desil 1 | Poorest | PKH, BPNT/Sembako, PBI-JK, PIP, 10 kg rice aid |
| Desil 2 | Poor | PKH, BPNT/Sembako, PBI-JK, PIP, 10 kg rice aid |
| Desil 3 | Near Poor | PKH, BPNT/Sembako, PBI-JK, PIP, 10 kg rice aid |
| Desil 4 | Vulnerable | PKH, BPNT/Sembako, PBI-JK, PIP, 10 kg rice aid |
| Desil 5 | Lower Middle | PBI-JK (health premium assistance) |
| Desil 6 | Middle | Outside regular program targets |
| Desil 7 | Middle | Outside regular program targets |
| Desil 8 | Upper Middle | Outside regular program targets |
| Desil 9 | Well-off | Outside regular program targets |
| Desil 10 | Wealthiest | Outside regular program targets |
Desil Decoder: What Does Your Desil Mean?
Pick your family's desil number (from the official BPS/Kemensos check) to see what it means and which benefits can be proposed for it.
Don't know your desil yet? Check it officially and free at BPS: green button below. Desil is a relative welfare ranking (PMT), not an income figure, and not a guarantee of aid: quota, proposal and verification also apply.
From DTKS to DTSEN
Indonesia previously targeted assistance with the DTKS registry. Under Presidential Instruction (Inpres) 4/2025, DTKS was merged with the Regsosek socio-economic registry and P3KE data into one single database: DTSEN. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) maintains the welfare modelling. DTSEN version 3 (10 July 2026) contains roughly 290.13 million individuals grouped into 95.98 million families: so a desil boundary is a moving, relative line: your rank depends on everyone else's recorded condition too.
How the Proxy Means Test (PMT) Works
Instead of asking households to declare income: which is hard to verify in an informal economy: BPS enumerators record observable living conditions: floor, wall and roof materials, drinking-water source, sanitation, electricity capacity, cooking fuel, vehicles and assets, plus the education, occupation and number of household members. A statistical model converts these proxies into an estimated welfare score; households are then sorted and split into ten equal groups: the desils. Under the current rules (Permensos 3/2026), Desil 1–4 households can be proposed for PKH and BPNT, and Desil 1–5 form the target group for PBI-JK health premium assistance.
What a Desil Is Not
Three common misunderstandings: (1) a desil is not an income range in rupiah: the same income can rank differently across survey rounds; (2) a low desil is not an automatic entitlement: quotas, proposals and verification still apply; (3) a desil is not permanent: data updates, corrections and life changes (a new job, a death, a house renovation) can move a household between survey rounds.
Next: Check your own desil at BPS · Step-by-step BPS check guide · All programs explained
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Frequently Asked Questions | caracekdesil
What exactly is a desil?
A desil divides all Indonesian households in the DTSEN database into ten equal welfare groups. Desil 1 = the poorest 10%, Desil 10 = the wealthiest 10%. It is a ranking relative to other households: not an income amount, and not a poverty line in rupiah.
What is DTSEN?
DTSEN (Data Tunggal Sosial dan Ekonomi Nasional: National Single Social and Economic Data) is Indonesia's unified welfare database, established by Presidential Instruction 4/2025. It merges the older DTKS, Regsosek and P3KE datasets. The current release (v3, 10 July 2026) covers about 290.13 million individuals in 95.98 million families.
How is my desil calculated (PMT)?
BPS uses a Proxy Means Test: a statistical model that estimates welfare from observable proxies: floor and roof materials, water and sanitation, electricity capacity, assets, occupation, education and household composition: collected in BPS surveys. It estimates welfare rather than measuring self-reported income.
Does a low desil guarantee I receive assistance?
No. Desil is the targeting basis, but receiving aid also depends on program quotas per region, village proposals (usul), field verification and the recipient decree (SK) issued each period. Conversely, data can be wrong: corrections and objections (sanggah) can be filed via the Cek Bansos app or village office.
What changed when DTKS became DTSEN?
The old DTKS registry was merged with Regsosek and P3KE data into one national database under Inpres 4/2025, with BPS responsible for the desil computation. Older articles mentioning only "DTKS desil" refer to the predecessor system; checking now runs through the BPS DTSEN site and Kemensos channels.