Indonesia has a national digital ID ecosystem built around the electronic identity card (eKTP), introduced in 2011.[10] The Digital Population Identity (Identitas Kependudukan Digital, IKD) is now being implemented as a central component of the country’s digital public infrastructure and a gateway to many public services.[11] As stated above, the eKTP is mandatory for all residents in the country.[12] This framework is foundational, built on the population registry and the unique National Identification Number (Nomor Induk Kependudukan, NIK). It is increasingly being integrated into other digital public infrastructure layers such as payments and data exchange.[13]
eKTP is a biometric smartcard linked to the central population database and NIK. It has been rolled out to over 170 million residents and is used as the basis for multiple government and private-sector transactions.[14] Since May 2024, the government has introduced the Identitas Kependudukan Digital (IKD, Digital Population Identity), a smartphone-based digital ID application that digitizes the KTP, family card, birth certificate and other population documents for online identity verification and access to services.[15] From January 2026, the government has announced a change in document verification.[16] Scan results using third-party applications or ordinary cameras will no longer be automatically connected to the authentic verification system and the IKD application will be the only way to check the authenticity of ID documents.[17]
The eKTP and IKD are anchored in Indonesia’s population administration regime under the Law No. 23 of 2006 on Population Administration. This law designates the NIK and associated identity documents as the core means of population identification for public services.[18] The IKD acts as the digitalization of existing legal identity credentials, not as a separate parallel system, aiming to make these legal identity documents usable in digital interactions.[19]
Between 2011 and 2013, senior government officials and business persons were involved in a corruption case manipulating the e-KTP budget and awarding of contracts.[20] It is estimated that the scheme resulted in the siphoning of roughly Rp 2.3 trillion (around US $170–173 million) in state funds through rigged tenders, mark-ups, and kickbacks to lawmakers and officials.[21] The case has become emblematic of systemic corruption in large-scale infrastructure and technology procurements, and has triggered ongoing trials, asset recoveries, and public debate about accountability in Indonesia’s digital-identity rollout.[22]
Indonesia’s digital ID is both foundational and functional in nature. It is foundational as it is derived from and linked to the National Civil Registration and Population Registry, is intended to uniquely identify all residents, and is used as the base credential for a wide range of unrelated services.[23] As a functional ID, eKTP/NIK and IKD are continuously being integrated for access to population administration services, education and health services, social assistance, financial transactions, government administration and police services, issuance of passports, driving licenses, taxpayer identification numbers, insurance policies and land certificates.[24]
Indonesia issues different population documents to citizens and non-citizens.[25] While the legal structure accommodates non-citizen residents, public digital ID initiatives are described as targeting citizens and are built on the citizen-focused population administration database.[26] Available sources provide limited clarity on whether refugees or stateless persons can obtain equivalent digital credentials.
Analysis by organizations like the UNHCR and NGOs emphasize that the mandatory use of NIK/eKTP risks excluding communities that face barriers to civil registration, including indigenous groups, undocumented persons and those at risk of statelessness.[27] The lack of eKTP/NIK leads to exclusion from government programs and public services, demonstrating that while the ID may not be formally required for access to every service, it is operationally indispensable.[28]
