The following is a list of national and international statistical services .
61-401: Nearly every country in the world has set a central public sector unit entirely devoted to the production, harmonisation and dissemination of official statistics that the public sector and the national community need to run, monitor and evaluate their operations and policies. This central statistical organisation does not produce every official statistic as other public sector organisations, like
122-428: A sample survey is an investigation about the characteristics of a phenomenon by means of collecting data from a sample of the population and estimating their characteristics through the systematic use of statistical methodology. The main advantages are the direct control over data collection and the possibility to ask for data according to statistical definitions. Disadvantages include the high cost of data collection and
183-658: A common basis like the two standards of the International Monetary Fund , SDDS for Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and General Data Dissemination System (GDDS). Their aim is to guide countries in the dissemination of their economic and financial data to the public. Once approved, these standards have to be observed by all producers of official statistics and not only by the NSO. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ( ECE or UNECE )
244-453: A general interest include the media, schools and the general public. They use official statistics in order to be informed on a particular topic, to observe trends within the society of a local area, country, region of the world. Users with a business interest include decision makers and users with a particular interest for which they want more detailed information. For them, official statistics are an important reference, providing information on
305-666: A particular topic or geographical area, make comparisons between countries or understand changes over time. Official statistics make information on economic and social development accessible to the public, allowing the impact of government policies to be assessed, thus improving accountability. Official statistics provide a picture of a country or different phenomena through data, and images such as graph and maps . Statistical information covers different subject areas ( economic , demographic , social etc.). It provides basic information for decision making , evaluations and assessments at different levels. The goal of statistical organizations
366-470: A presentation. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Graphs and charts usually have a heading describing the topic. There are different types of graphic but usually the data determine the type that is going to be used. Official statistics are part of our everyday life. They are everywhere: in newspapers, on television and radio, in presentations and discussions. For most citizens, the media provide their only exposure to official statistics. Television
427-457: A research interest are universities, consultants and government agencies . They generally understand something about statistical methodology and want to dig deeper into the facts and the statistical observations; they have an analytical purpose in inventing or explaining interrelations of causes and effects of different phenomena. In this field, official statistics are also used to assess a government's policies. One common point for all these users
488-542: A way that facilitates proper interpretation and meaningful comparisons. To reach the general public and non-expert users when disseminating, NSOs have to add explanatory comments to explain the significance of the results released and make analytical comments when necessary. There is a need to identify clearly what the preliminary, final and revised results are, in order to avoid confusion for users. All results of official statistics have to be publicly accessible. There are no results that should be characterized as official and for
549-461: A wide range of topics. The UNECE Statistical Division also provides technical assistance to South-East European, East European, Caucasus and Central Asian countries. The division also provides: UNECE conducted the Fertility and Family Survey in the 1990s in 23 member States, with over 150,000 participants, with hundreds of resulting scientific publications. This activity has hence continued in
610-611: Is a database that is updated continuously for a specific purpose and from which statistics can be collected and produced. It contains information on a complete group of units. An advantage is the total coverage even if collecting and processing represent low cost . It allows producing more detailed statistics than using surveys. Different registers can be combined and linked together on the basis of defined keys (personal identification codes, business identification codes, address codes etc.). Moreover, individual administrative registers are usually of high quality and very detailed. A disadvantage
671-632: Is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council . It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and integration among its member states . The commission is composed of 56 member states, most of which are based in Europe, as well as a few outside of Europe. Its transcontinental Eurasian or non-European member states include: Armenia , Azerbaijan , Canada , Cyprus , Georgia , Israel , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan ,
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#1732773070465732-494: Is presented in Sub-national autonomous statistical services Official statistics Official statistics are statistics published by government agencies or other public bodies such as international organizations as a public good . They provide quantitative or qualitative information on all major areas of citizens' lives, such as economic and social development, living conditions, health , education , and
793-419: Is the possible under-coverage that can be the case if the incentive or the cultural tradition of registering events and changes are weak, if the classification principles of the register are not clearly defined or if the classifications do not correspond to the needs of statistical production to be derived from them. There are different types of registers: Even though different types of data collection exist,
854-602: Is the first and most important principles to be respected for national statistical offices. When releasing information, data and official statistics should be relevant in order to fulfil the needs of users as well as both public and private sector decision makers. Production of official statistics is relevant if it corresponds to different user needs like public, governments, businesses, research community, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations or if it satisfies basic information in each area and citizen's right to information. Once
915-435: Is the primary news source for citizens in industrialized countries, even if radio and newspapers still play an important role in the dissemination of statistical information. On the other hand, newspapers and specialized economic and social magazines can provide more detailed coverage of statistical releases as the information on a specific theme can be quite extensive. Official statistics provides us with important information on
976-447: Is their need to be able to trust the official information. They need to be confident that the results published are authoritative and unbiased. Producers of official statistics must maintain a reputation of professionalism and independence. The statistical system must be free from interference that could influence decisions on the choice of sources, methods used for data collection, the selection of results to be released as official, and
1037-630: Is to produce relevant, objective and accurate statistics to keep users well informed and assist good policy and decision-making. The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics were adopted in 1992 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe , and subsequently endorsed as a global standard by the United Nations Statistical Commission. According to the first Principle "Official statistics provide an indispensable element in
1098-810: The Russian Federation , Tajikistan , Turkey , Turkmenistan , the United States of America and Uzbekistan . The commission was first proposed in London in the summer of 1946 by the Temporary Subcommission on the Reconstruction of Devastated Areas. The commission was established by the Economic and Social Council on 28 March 1947 in order to "Initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for
1159-453: The energy field: Official statistics are intended for a wide range of users including governments (central and local), research institutions, professional statisticians, journalists and the media, businesses, educational institutions and the general public. There are three types of users: those with a general interest, business interest or research interest. Each of these user groups has different needs for statistical information. Users with
1220-485: The Internet, or completed by an enumerator visiting respondents, or contacting them by telephone. An advantage is that censuses provide better data than surveys for small geographic areas or sub-groups of the population. Census data can also provide a basis for sampling frames used in subsequent surveys. The major disadvantage of censuses is usually the high cost associated with planning and conducting them, and processing
1281-431: The NSO but to all producers of official statistics. Therefore, not every figure reported by a public body should be considered as official statistics, but those produced and disseminated according to the principles. Adherence to these principles will enhance the credibility of the NSO and other official statistical producers and build public trust in the reliability of the information and results that are produced. Relevance
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#17327730704651342-708: The Palais des Nations, an event allowing mayors from the UNECE region to exchange their best practices on urban development, housing and land management. UNECE is the first UN Regional Economic Commission to implement such an initiative that facilitates the cooperation between the UN, Member States and cities. The UNECE Transport Division has been providing secretariat services to the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). In addition to acting as secretariat to
1403-592: The UNECE region and beyond through the Conference and its Bureau, and the Database of International Statistical Activities. The Statistical Division develops guidelines and training materials on statistical methodology and practices, in response to demands from member countries. It works with different groups of specialists from national and international statistical organizations, and organizes meetings and online forums for statistical experts to exchange experiences on
1464-467: The United States ). (Institutions from countries marked with * are members of Eurostat 's European Statistical System (ESS).) Some countries are politically organised as federations of states or of autonomous regions; also a specific territory might have been given a partial autonomy. Several of these sub-national regional units have set their own quasi-independent statistical department. A list
1525-619: The World Forum, the Vehicle Regulations and Transport Innovations section serves as the secretariat of the Administrative Committee for the coordination of work, and of the administrative/executives committees of the three agreements on vehicles administered by the World Forum. Among other things, ITC has produced: The World Forum services three UN Agreements: The UNECE Statistical Division provides
1586-931: The accuracy of economic data and the possible impact of data errors on macroeconomic decision-making, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published a dataset that records both initial real-time data estimates, and subsequent data revisions, for a large number of macroeconomic series. A similar dataset for Europe has been developed by the Euro-Area Business Cycle Network. There are two sources of data for statistics. Primary, or "statistical" sources are data that are collected primarily for creating official statistics, and include statistical surveys and censuses. Secondary, or "non-statistical" sources, are data that have been primarily collected for some other purpose (administrative data, private sector data etc.). A statistical survey or
1647-555: The advanced agencies provide the information on their websites in an understandable way, often categorized for different groups of users. Several glossaries have been set up by different organizations or statistical offices to provide more information and definitions in the field of statistics and consequently official statistics. The quality criteria of a national statistical office are the following: relevance, impartiality, dissemination, independence, transparency, confidentiality, international standards . There principles apply not only to
1708-413: The best estimates are based on a combination of different sources providing the strengths and reducing the weakness of each individual source. Official statistics can be presented in different ways. Analytical texts and tables are the most traditional ways. Graphs and charts summarize data highlighting information content visually. They can be extremely effective in expressing key results, or illustrating
1769-578: The east. The work of the commission had to concern itself only with questions that were of common interest to East and West, as to not cause confrontation. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, the economic commissions of the United Nations have been expanding their activities in the former Soviet republics. The following are the member states of the commission, along with their date of admission: The concern of UNECE with problems of
1830-732: The economic reconstruction of Europe," as well as to "maintain and strengthen the economic relations of the European countries, both among themselves and with other countries of the world." It was established at the request of the United Nations General Assembly who called on the Economic and Social Council to create the commission, as well as the Commission for Asia and the Far East , in order to "give effective aid to countries devastated by war." ECE absorbed
1891-689: The energy sector in the region. The Expert Group on Resource Management created the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources , the first widely accepted natural resource management system for classifying, managing, and reporting energy, mineral, and raw material resources in the world. The United Smart Cities programme is a joint effort between UNECE and the Organization for International Economic Relations (OiER). Numerous private business entities and other international and European agencies support
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1952-516: The environment dates back at least to 1971, when the group of Senior Advisors to the UNECE governments on environmental issues was created which led to the establishment of the Committee on Environmental Policy, which now meets annually. The Committee provides collective policy direction in the area of environment and sustainable development, prepares ministerial meetings, develops international environmental law and supports international initiatives in
2013-518: The environment. During the 15th and 16th centuries, statistics were a method for counting and listing populations and State resources. The term statistics comes from the Neo-Latin statisticum collegium (council of state) and refers to science of the state . According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), official statistics are statistics disseminated by
2074-402: The exchange of information on forest working techniques and training of forest workers; periodic surveys of the long-term outlook on forests; technical work on the rational use of wood; reviewing forest product markets; and share experiences on forest and forest sector policy. In 1947, UNECE set up a Panel on Housing Problems, which later evolved into the Committee on Human Settlements and after
2135-478: The exclusive use of the government. Moreover, they should be disseminated simultaneously. Users can be consulted by NSOs but the decisions should be made by statistical bodies. Information and activities of producers of official statistics should be independent of political control. Moreover, NSOs have to be free of any political interference that could influence their work and thus, the results. They should not make any political advice or policy-perspective comments on
2196-584: The form of the Generations and Gender Programme . The Sustainable Energy Division supports the UN's energy program, including security of energy supply, economics, and environmental protection, in the areas of energy efficiency , renewable energy, clean electricity, natural gas, coal, and resource classification. It is the secretariat responsible for Committee on Sustainable Energy and various expert groups supporting access to affordable and clean energy for all, as well as help reduce greenhouse gas emissions of
2257-724: The function and resources of the European Central Inland Transport Organization upon its founding. As the commission was established towards the beginning of the Cold War, it faced difficulties in achieving its mandate of economic reconstruction of Europe due to the Iron Curtain: separately the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation was established in 1948 in the west and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in 1949 in
2318-520: The general public and the research community with a continuing flow of information (...). This bulk of data is usually called official statistics. Official statistics should be objective and easily accessible and produced on a continuing basis so that measurement of change is possible. Official statistics result from the collection and processing of data into statistical information by a government institution or international organization. They are then disseminated to help users develop their knowledge about
2379-506: The information system of a democratic society, serving the government, the economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation". The categorization of the domains of official statistics has been further developed in the Classification of Statistical Activities, endorsed by the Conference of European Statisticians and various other bodies. Statistical indicators provide an overview of
2440-514: The international community, to harmonize environmental conditions and policies throughout the region and to stimulate greater involvement of the public and environmental discussions and decision-making. CEP is the overall governing body of UNECE environmental activities. The committee's work is based on several strategic pillars: The first task of UNECE after the Second World War was to coordinate reconstruction effort in Europe. Timber
2501-643: The national central bank or ministries in charge of agriculture, education or health, may be charged with producing and disseminating sector policy oriented statistical data. The statistical legislation and regulation generally attribute responsibilities and authorities according to statistical domains or functions in addition to those of the central unit. The table below lists these central statistical organisations by country. The United States has no central producing unit, but several units (also listed below) have been given responsibility over various federal statistics domains (see also: Federal Statistical System of
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2562-612: The national and at international levels. The production process of official statistics comprises 8 phases, as documented in the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM): Even after they have been published, some official statistics may be revised. Policy-makers may need preliminary statistics quickly for decision-making purposes, but eventually it is important to publish the best available information, so official statistics are often published in several vignettes. In order to understand
2623-533: The national statistical office must protect the privacy of individual respondents, whether persons or businesses. But on the contrary, government units such as institutions cannot invoke statistical confidentiality. All respondents have to be informed about the purpose and legal basis of the survey and especially about the confidentiality measures. The statistical office should not release any information that could identify an individual or group without prior consent. After data collection, replies should go back directly to
2684-624: The national statistical system in countries where statistical production is de-centralized. These organizations are responsible for producing and disseminating official statistical information, providing the highest quality data. Quality in the context of official statistics is a multi-faceted concept, consisting of components such as relevance, completeness, timeliness, accuracy, accessibility, clarity, cost-efficiency, transparency, comparability and coherence. The core tasks of NSOs, for both centralized and decentralized systems, are determining user needs and filtering these for relevance. Then they transform
2745-470: The national statistical system, excepting those that are explicitly not to be official". Governmental agencies at all levels, including municipal, county , and state administrations, may generate and disseminate official statistics. This broader possibility is accommodated by later definitions. For example: Almost every country in the world has one or more government agencies (usually national institutes) that supply decision-makers and other users including
2806-429: The phenomena or circumstances their own work is focusing on. For instance, those users will take some official statistics into consideration before launching a product, or deciding on a specific policy or on a marketing strategy . As with the general interest users, this group does not usually have a good understanding of statistical methodologies, but they need more detailed information than the general users. Users with
2867-565: The programme, including Environment Agency Austria (EAA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UN-Habitat , and the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). The programme promotes areas of strategic smart city policy and development. The key focus areas as detailed by the programme are: The ECE secretariat has been characterized as a "strong" secretariat. The ECE secretariat
2928-627: The quality issues relating to non-response and survey errors. There are various survey methods that can be used such as direct interviewing, telephone, mail, online surveys. A census is a complete enumeration of a population or groups at a point in time with respect to well-defined characteristics (population, production). Data are collected for a specific reference period. A census should be taken at regular intervals in order to have comparable information available, therefore, most statistical censuses are conducted every 5 or 10 years. Data are usually collected through questionnaires mailed to respondents, via
2989-417: The quality of the accurate and timely results must be assessed prior to release. But if errors in the results occur before or after the data revision, they should be directly corrected and information should be disseminated to the users at the earliest possible time. Producers of official statistics have to set analytical systems in order to change or improve their activities and methods. All data collected by
3050-525: The reform in 2005/2006 into the Committee on Housing and Land Management. The committee is an intergovernmental body of all UNECE member States. It provides a forum for the compilation, dissemination and exchange of information and experience on housing, urban development, and land administration policies; and in areas such as Birmingham, a more fiscal issue-UK. In 2020, the CUDHLM created the Forum of Mayors at
3111-460: The region. CEP works to support countries to enhance their environmental governance and transboundary cooperation as well as strengthen implementation of the UNECE regional environmental commitments and advance sustainable development in the region. Its main aim is to assess countries' efforts to reduce their overall pollution burden and manage their natural resources, to integrate environmental and socioeconomic policies, to strengthen cooperation with
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#17327730704653172-406: The relevant user needs into measurable concepts to facilitate data collection and dissemination. The NSO is in charge of the coordination between statistical producers and of ensuring the coherence and compliance of the statistical system to agreed standards. The NSO has a coordination responsibility as its President/Director General represents the entire national system of official statistics, both at
3233-574: The resulting data. In 2005, the United Nations Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution urging: "Member States to carry out a population and housing census and to disseminate census results as an essential source of information for small area, national, regional and international planning and development; and to provide census results to national stakeholders as well as the United Nations and other appropriate intergovernmental organizations to assist in studies on population, environment, and socio-economic development issues and programs". A register
3294-500: The results released at any time, even at press conferences or in interviews with the media. The need for transparency is essential for NSOs to gain the trust of the public. They have to expose to the public the methods they use to produce official statistics, and be accountable for all the decisions they take and the results they publish. Also, statistical producers should warn users of certain interpretations and false conclusions even if they try to be as precise as possible. Furthermore,
3355-497: The secretariat for the Conference and its expert groups, and implements the statistical work programme of UNECE. The Conference brings together chief statisticians from national and international statistical organizations around the world, meaning that the word "European" in its name is no longer an accurate description of its geographical coverage. The Statistical Division helps member countries to strengthen their statistical systems, and coordinates international statistical activities in
3416-701: The situation and the development trends in our society. Users can gather information making use of the services of the National Statistical Offices. They can easily find it on the agency's website. The development of computing technologies and the Internet has enabled users - businesses, educational institutions and households among others- to have access to statistical information. The Internet has become an important tool for statistical producers to disseminate their data and information. People are able to access information online. The supply of information from statistical agencies has increased. Today
3477-417: The social, demographic and economic structure of the society. Moreover, these indicators facilitate comparisons between countries and regions. For population , the main indicators concern demographics , such as: The gender statistics include: In the employment category: There are various indicators for the economy such as: For trade indicators we find: Environment indicators include: For
3538-611: The statistical producer, without involving any intermediary. Data processing implies that filled-in paper and electronic form with full names should be destroyed. The use of international standards at the national level aims to improve international comparability for national users and facilitate decision-making, especially when controversial. Moreover, the overall structure, including concepts and definitions, should follow internationally accepted standards, guidelines or good practices. International recommendations and standards for statistical methods approved by many countries provide them with
3599-644: The survey has been made, the NSO checks the quality of the results and then they have to be disseminated no matter what impact they can have on some users, whether good or bad. All should accept the results released by the NSO as authoritative. Users need to perceive the results as unbiased representation of relevant aspects of the society. Moreover, the impartiality principle implies the fact that NSOs have to use understandable terminology for statistics' dissemination, questionnaires and material published so that everyone can have access to their information. In order to maximize dissemination, statistics should be presented in
3660-486: The timing and form of dissemination . Statistical business processes should be transparent and follow international standards of good practice . Statistical programs are decided on an annual or multi-annual basis by governments in many countries. They also provide a way to judge the performance of the statistical system. Official statistics are collected and produced by national statistical organizations (NSOs), or other organizations (e.g. central banks) that form part of
3721-580: Was crucial for construction, and energy, but the forests had been heavily overcut and production and trade were at a standstill. The ECE Timber Committee emerged from the International Timber Conference held in 1947 in Mariánské Lázně in the former Czechoslovakia. The main pillars of the committee's activities have been: the collection and publication of the best available statistics on forests, wood production and trade;
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