Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
governmental organization under the
Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs.
The organization is responsible for creating
statistics on the Danish society,
for example
employment statistics,
trade balance
The balance of trade, commercial balance, or net exports (sometimes symbolized as NX), is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports over a certain time period. Sometimes a distinction is made between a balance ...
, and
demographics
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...
.
Statistics Denmark makes large use of public registers in the statistical production. Population censuses have been produced entirely from registers since 1981.
StatBank is a large statistical database maintained by the central authority of statistics in Denmark.
Online distribution of statistics has been a part of the dissemination strategy in Denmark since 1985. It is updated every day at 9.00 am (CET) and contains all new statistics. The statistics can be presented as cross-tables, diagrams or maps. The output can be transferred to other programs for further compilation. There is also a Danish version.
History
Statistics in Denmark has a long history; the first population census in Denmark was conducted in 1769.
Statistics Denmark was founded in January 1850, following the introduction of democracy to Denmark,
as the "Statistical Bureau".
In 1966, the
Danish Parliament
The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of DenmarkâDenmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...
adopted the Act on Statistics Denmark; this act changed the name of the Statistical Bureau to Statistics Denmark and defined its status as an independent institution.
Role of Statistics Denmark
Statistics Denmark provides information to politicians, other decision-makers, the general public, scholars, etc.
Centralised production of statistics
The production of statistics in Denmark is highly centralised.
Statistics Denmark is responsible for ensuring that the overall statistical picture is complete and coherent regardless of the source. The main office is located in Copenhagen and this is where almost all of the 560 people employed by Statistics Denmark work.
Independence: The cornerstone of statistics
The
Act on Statistics Denmark gives an independent Board of Directors the responsibility to determine the institution's work programme, thus allowing Statistics Denmark to operate independently of government control.
Access to data is secured under the Act
The Act on Statistics Denmark grants access to the basic data necessary to produce the statistics. The Act states that public authorities must supply the information they possess when requested to do so by Statistics Denmark.
Decisions on this must be settled by the Board. The private sector is also obliged to supply certain information for statistical purposes.
The last population
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
was conducted in 1970. Censuses are now exclusively based on administrative registers private citizens now only participate in surveys on a voluntary basis.
In accordance with these principles, Statistics Denmark has striven to develop a statistical system which is almost entirely based on the administrative registers of other public offices. Other collection methods are employed where necessary, but are only regarded as a supplement.
Data banks
Statistics Denmark's electronic data bank (Statbank.dk) is available free-of-charge in Danish or English for any user.
It includes almost all statistics produced in-house. When new general statistics are published in News from Statistics Denmark, the same data are made available at the same time from the data bank but in a far more detailed form.
Customised service projects
Since the collected data normally offers opportunities to make other combinations and distributions than those published or provided through standard assignments, Statistics Denmark also undertakes special customised projects.
International Co-operation
Statistics Denmark actively participates in international statistical activities. Denmark takes part in the joint European statistical programme.
As a member of the EU, Denmark participates in a binding agreement on the compilation, preparation and dissemination of statistics. Although the requirements on statistical output coincide, to a certain extent, with Denmark's national needs, considerable resources are devoted to the fulfilment of Danish obligations.
Statistics Denmark is also actively involved in the
United Nations Statistical Commission
The United Nations Statistical Commission (StatCom) is a Functional Commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, established in 1947. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). I ...
, the
Conference of European Statisticians
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...
(CES), the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
, and the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
.
Technical co-operation
Statistics Denmark has an International Consulting division, which co-ordinates technical co-operation. This unit initially focused its activities on transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but has gradually widened both the scope of its activities and the range of countries with which it is involved.
References
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