Public StatisticsDefinition

Statistical information is a powerful tool for presenting complex issues in a comprehensible form, allowing comparisons that transcend regions and span different periods. A figure or a statistical indicator can express situations and developments fast and concisely above and beyond political and linguistic boundaries.

All that statistics can mean:

• «Statistics» describes the science of deriving reliable information from observing mass phenomena. In this science, the main target of research is mathematical statistical methods.

• On the other hand, «statistics» means the findings - or statistical results - obtained from applying these scientific methods. These can cover all areas of life: medicine, technology, society, industry and the State... As early as the 16th and 17th centuries, statistics provided rulers with information about the status of vital aspects of their States (hence the term «statistics» - such as population, potential tax revenue and military power. Nowadays, public statistics (ie statistical information compiled by the Government and its offices) provides data about a broad spectrum of everyday sectors for the public as a whole.

• Lastly, «statistics» also means the organization, as well as the financial and staff infrastructures, that make official statistical data possible in the first place. And that too is dealt with in this brochure.