The financial and economic crisis in Europe continued to be felt in the operating environment of statistics in 2011. The EU's new economic monitoring systems increased the demand for statistical data and tightened the quality requirements of statistics. The new Government in Finland launched several projects and reforms that will raise the need for statistical information and have an impact on the operating environment of the national statistical service.

Statistics Finland continued to operate cost-effectively in 2011. The volume of production went up by a couple of percentage points and labour productivity by nearly five per cent from one year earlier. The supply of and demand for free-of-charge statistical data grew at a brisk rate. Charged activities functioned better than planned, and the EU's growing requirements on statistics could also be met. Finnish citizens' trust in Statistics Finland's data remained high, and customer feedback was for the most part positive. The personnel's job satisfaction rose slightly from the year before.

The production processes have been reviewed in recent years by improving the collection systems of business and personal data and by intensifying the use of administrative data files. The dissemination channels of data and the publication and metadata systems have also been renewed. Of individual statistical revisions, the major ones have been the extensive reviews of the systems of national accounts and business statistics.

Renewing of statistical products and services has also gathered speed. The main emphasis has been on the development work that harmonises the activity and on integrating the national activity into the development of European statistics.

During the year under review, preparations were made for updating Statistics Finland's operational strategy and IT strategy. The agency's new medium-term productivity programme was approved. Management and supervisory work were improved in line with Statistics Finland's management policy and policy outlines of personnel strategy.

Along with the European economic crisis, the pressure for renewing the statistical infrastructure has grown both in the activity of the European Statistical System and that of the national statistical institutes. Our scarce resources compel us to prioritise not only statistical programmes but also the points of emphasis in the development work.

Heli Jeskanen-Sundström