News 10.3.2015
European auditors give Statistics Finland's statistics a good grade
Correction. The news release was corrected on 23 March 2015
European experts' Peer Review Report found the statistics production of Statistics Finland, which will have its 150th anniversary this year, to be of high quality and reliable. The impartiality of statistics producers and people's trust in statistics are regarded as particular strengths for Finland.
In the scope of peer reviews launched by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, international peer review groups are currently conducting assessments at European national statistical institutes on their compliance with the European Code of Practice. The Code of Practice concerns the independence of official statistics and the quality of processes and data to be published.
Finland's producers of statistics work in co-operation
The Peer Review Report concerning Finland praises the broad co-operation of the producers of official statistics and the extensive use of registers, which brings cost-efficiency to the work of statistics producers.
In addition to register data, statistics also need data direct from enterprises and private individuals. In terms of the coverage and reliability of statistical data, it is important that as many as possible of those selected to the sample respond to the inquiries and surveys.
"International peer reviewers consider Statistics Finland's SurveyLaboratory particularly innovative in developing interview methods and questionnaires for surveys," says Sirkku Mertanen, Head of Development.
Versatile collaboration with universities is also mentioned as a good example for other actors in the field of statistics. For example, Statistics Finland offers unit-level data for surveys, which can utilised at Statistics Finland's Research Laboratory or through the remote access service.
More attention to users than before
The Peer Review Report also gives recommendations for improvement actions.
"According to the recommendations, more attention should be paid to users and the clarity and availability of statistics should be considered more than before. The report stresses ensuring statistics production, quality and the availability of administrative data when facing new challenges in society," states Sirkku Mertanen.
"The recommendations of the Peer Review Report are in most parts similar to Statistics Finland's strategy, and many of the topics are already included in our development work. Statistics Finland has also introduced social media channels to reach new users and to gain feedback from users."
Peer Review Report in full on Eurostat's site (PDF, 34 p.)
Portal for Official Statistics of Finland (OSF)
Statistics Finland's SurveyLaboratory
Presentation of data collections
Tieto&trendit blog (in Finnish)
Further information: Sirkku Mertanen, Head of Development, +358 29 551 2489