1. Fundamental issues for Official Statistics Lars Thygesen, Director Statistics Denmark

2. ? Why statistics are important Why trust is important
Questions ?
Why statistics are important
Why trust is important
Why you should trust statistics

3. Decisions must be based on knowledge!

4. Whose knowledge and decisions?
Politicians
and other policy makers
Business managers
The Public
decisions on our own life
evaluating our representatives

5. Statistics – a goldmine of knowledge

6. A lighthouse in the information jungle
Official statistics have great potential to generate knowledge
Statisticians are committed to excellence
Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
EU Statistics Code of Practice
The problem is not that we have too little information – on the contrary. But it is difficult to find the right information among the weeds. We want to make sure that people actually get to the good data. This presupposes that they know about it and think it is important

7. Trust in official statistics in the EU
Q: How much trust do you have in the official statistics in your country, for example statistics on unemployment, inflation or economic growth? Source: European Commission. Eurobarometer, January 2010 6

8. Difficulty in understanding statistics
Obstacles to trust
Independence
Quality
Lack of knowledge
Difficulty in understanding statistics

9. European Statistics Code of Practice
Professional Independence
Independence of NSI specified in law
The head of NSI is of the highest professional calibre
Sole responsibility for deciding methods, standards and procedures and the content and timeliness of statistical releases

10. Measures: Relevance Accuracy Timeliness Comparability
Quality
Relevance
Accuracy
Timeliness
Comparability
Measures:
International standards & classifications
Scientific methods
Strong management

11. The End!