PRINCIPLES GOVERNING…

                                     PRINCIPLES GOVERNING INTERNATIONAL
                                            STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES

  Bearing in mind that statistics are essential for sustainable economic, environmental and social development and that public trust in
official statistics is anchored in professional independence and impartiality of statisticians, their use of scientific and transparent methods
and equal access for all to official statistical information, the Chief Statisticians or coordinators of statistical activities of United Nations
agencies and related organizations, agree that implementation of the following principles will enhance the functioning of the international
statistical system.

  In doing so, they note the endorsement of these principles by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities on 14
September, 2005; they further recall the adoption by the United Nations Statistical Commission of the Fundamental Principles of Official
Statistics in its Special Session of 11-15 April 1994, and the endorsement of the Declaration of Good Practices in Technical Cooperation in
Statistics in its 30th Session of 1-5 March 1999.


1)   High quality international statistics, accessible for all, are a fundamental element of global information systems



Good practices include:

       Having regular consultations with key users both inside and outside the relevant organisation to ascertain that their needs are met
       Periodic review of statistical programmes to ensure their relevance
       Compiling and disseminating international statistics based on impartiality
       Providing equal access to statistics for all users
       Ensuring free public accessibility of key statistics


2)   To maintain the trust in international statistics, their production is to be impartial and strictly based on the highest
     professional standards


Good practices include:

       Using strictly professional considerations for decisions on methodology, terminology and data presentation
       Developing and using professional codes of conduct
       Making a clear distinction, in statistical publications, between statistical and analytical comments on the one hand and policy-
       prescriptive and advocacy comments on the other


3)   The public has a right to be informed about the mandates for the statistical work of the organisations



Good practices include:

       Making decisions about statistical work programmes publicly available
       Making documents for and reports of statistical meetings publicly available


4)   Concepts, definitions, classifications, sources, methods and procedures employed in the production of international
     statistics are chosen to meet professional scientific standards and are made transparent for the users


Good practices include:

       Aiming continuously to introduce methodological improvements and systems to manage and improve the quality and transparency
       of statistics
       Enhancing the professional level of staff by encouraging them to attend training courses, to do analytical work, to publish scientific
       papers and to participate in seminars and conferences.
       Documenting the concepts, definitions and classifications, as well as data collection and processing procedures used and the quality
       assessments carried out and making this information publicly accessible
       Documenting how data are collected, processed and disseminated, including information about editing mechanisms applied to
       country data
       Giving credit, in the dissemination of international statistics, to the original source and using agreed quotation standards when re-
       using statistics originally collected by others
       Making officially agreed standards publicly available
5) Sources and methods for data collection are appropriately chosen to ensure timeliness and other aspects of quality, to be
   cost-efficient and to minimise the reporting burden for data providers


Good practices include:

      Facilitating the provision of data by countries
      Working systematically on the improvement of the timeliness of international statistics
      Periodic review of statistical programmes to minimise the burden on data providers
      Sharing collected data with other organisations and collecting data jointly where appropriate
      Contributing to an integrated presentation of statistical programmes, including data collection plans, thereby making gaps or
      overlaps clearly visible
      Ensuring that national statistical offices and other national organisations for official statistics are duly involved and advocating that
      the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics are applied when data are collected in countries


6)   Individual data collected about natural persons and legal entities, or about small aggregates that are subject to
     national confidentiality rules, are to be kept strictly confidential and are to be used exclusively for statistical purposes
     or for purposes mandated by legislation


Good practices include:

      Putting measures in place to prevent the direct or indirect disclosure of data on persons, households, businesses and other
      individual respondents
      Developing a framework describing methods and procedures to provide sets of anonymous micro-data for further analysis by bona
      fide researchers, maintaining the requirements of confidentiality


7)   Erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics are to be immediately appropriately addressed



Good practices include:

      Responding to perceived erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics
      Enhancing the use of statistics by developing educational material for important user groups


8)   Standards for national and international statistics are to be developed on the basis of sound professional criteria, while
     also meeting the test of practical utility and feasibility


Good practices include:

      Systematically involving national statistical offices and other national organisations for official statistics in the development of
      international statistical programmes, including the development and promulgation of methods, standards and good practices
      Ensuring that decisions on such standards are free from conflicts of interest, and are perceived to be so
      Advising countries on implementation issues concerning international standards
      Monitoring the implementation of agreed standards


9)   Coordination of international statistical programmes is essential to strengthen the quality, coherence and governance
     of international statistics, and avoiding duplication of work



Good practices include:

      Designating one or more statistical units to implement statistical programmes, including one unit that coordinates the statistical
      work of the organisation and represents the organisation in international statistical meetings
      Participating in international statistical meetings and bilateral and multilateral consultations whenever necessary
      Working systematically towards agreements about common concepts, classifications, standards and methods
      Working systematically towards agreement on which series to consider as authoritative for each important set of statistics
      Coordinating technical cooperation activities with countries between donors and between different organisations in the national
      statistical system to avoid duplication of effort and to encourage complementarities and synergy
10) Bilateral and multilateral cooperation in statistics contribute to the professional growth of the statisticians involved and
    to the improvement of statistics in the organisations and in countries


Good practices include:

      Cooperating and sharing knowledge among international organisations and with countries and regions to further develop national
      and regional statistical systems
      Basing cooperation projects on user requirements, promoting full participation of the main stakeholders, taking account of local
      circumstances and stage of statistical development
      Empowering recipient national statistical systems and governments to take the lead
      Advocating the implementation of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics in countries
      Setting cooperation projects within a balanced overall strategic framework for national development of official statistics