BPS: Regional Languages Increasingly Abandoned by Younger Generations

A report by Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reveals a declining use of regional languages among younger generations. This finding is based on the long-form results of the 2020 Population Census (SP2020), published on Tuesday, January 31st.

The data reflects the proportion of individuals able to speak regional languages within their family or neighborhood. Post-Gen Z individuals showed a 61.7% proficiency rate. The preceding generation, Gen Z, reached 69.9%.

Similar to Gen Z, 72.26% of millennials could speak regional languages, while Gen X reached 75.24%.

Baby boomers showed a significantly higher rate at 80.32%, and the pre-boomer generation even higher at 85.24%.

The BPS report states that "the percentage of regional language speakers decreases from the pre-boomer generation to the post-Gen Z generation."

Overall, regional language use within families reached 73.87%, while in the wider circle of friends and relatives it was 71.93%. A significant 97.24% of respondents reported greater proficiency in Indonesian.

The BPS used the generational classifications from William H. Frey's *Analysis of Census Bureau Population Estimates* (June 25, 2020).

Post-Gen Z refers to individuals born in 2013 and later. Gen Z encompasses those born between 1997 and 2012.

Millennials are classified as those born between 1981 and 1996, while Gen X includes those born between 1965 and 1980.

Baby boomers (or boomers) are those born between 1946 and 1964, and the pre-boomer generation includes those born in 1945 and earlier.

This data is part of the long-form SP2020, involving 4.29 million households. The survey was conducted in two phases.

The first phase, conducted in 2020, involved a short-form census and other instruments. The second phase was a sample census using a more extensive and complex questionnaire.

The long-form SP2020 data collection, initially planned for 2021, was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data processing and dissemination occurred from June 2022 to January 30, 2023.