Statistical principles and quality

Producers of official statistics follow in their statistics production

  • The principles of official statistics approved by the United Nations Statistics Division
  • The European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP)
  • Professional ethics
  • The UN’s Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM)
  • The recommendations of the Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland.  

Principles of official statistics

The principles approved by the United Nations Statistics Division define the rights and duties of producers of official statistics in society and the most important principles to be followed when compiling and publishing statistics. Such principles include reliability and statistical data protection.

European Statistics Code of Practice

Producers of statistics belonging to the European Statistical System follow the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) when compiling statistics.

The Code of Practice concerns the independence and accountability of statistical authorities and the quality of processes and data to be published. The principles are in line with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics approved by the United Nations Statistics Division and are supplementary to them. The principles are also compatible with those of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).

Professional ethics

The principles of professional ethics compiled by Statistics Finland comply with the Declaration on Professional Ethics of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), which contains the ethical obligations for all persons working in the field of statistics towards society, customers and partners. Statistics Finland's guide on professional ethics is based on the ISI declaration.

Generic Statistical Business Process Model

Statistics Finland and other producers of statistics apply the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) in their activities. The model is a description of the production process of statistics (statistical process) maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and European statistical institutes.

Recommendations of the Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland

The quality and publication of Official Statistics of Finland are guided by the recommendations of the Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland.

The quality criteria are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice and define what kinds of issues must be taken into account in the quality of statistical products. The recommendation on quality description defines how the quality of statistics should be described when publishing statistics. The release guidelines provide instructions on the modes of publishing, on the data given to users and on the data presentation modes. The most important practical guidelines and recommendations based on legislation have been included in the recommendations concerning data protection.

Quality assurance for Official Statistics of Finland

The producers of Official Statistics of Finland commit themselves to good quality in all their activities.