Who is Statistics Denmark?

Statistics Denmark is the national statistics institution of Denmark. Our mission is to provide impartial
statistics on society as a basis for democracy and
the economy. Statistics Denmark adheres to the
United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and the European Statistics Code of
Practice.
Statistics capacity building
Statistics Denmark participates in international
capacity building projects on all aspects of the statistical production from data collection to processing and dissemination. We also have the skills and
expertise needed to build capacity on issues like
organisational management, quality management,
statistical legislation as well as cooperation within
the national statistics system. Statistics Denmark
assists a number of countries in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and Asia.

Statistics play an important role in planning, governing and developing societies. Statistics are also a key
factor in a well-functioning democracy as it allows
citizens to monitor progress and hold their government accountable. Building statistical capacity is
crucial for improving the lives of people around the
world.
For more information please contact
Charlotte Juul Hansen
Tel. +45 39 17 39 37
cjh@dst.dk
Find out more about International Consulting
www.dst.dk/en/consulting

Sejrgade 11
DK-2100 Copenhagen
dst@dst.dk
www.dst.dk
Phone +45 3917 3917

WHY STATISTICS
ARE IMPORTANT
FOR SOCIETY

We need statistics to build societies

Every country needs statistics to describe its
social, economic and environmental conditions.
This knowledge is needed to improve the lives
and opportunities of its citizens and to create
a sound foundation for its businesses to operate. Knowledge about society which is based
on independent and high-quality statistics is a
prerequisite for a democratic society.
Statistics provide the information needed for
policy-makers to make evidence-based
planning and policy decisions on national
and local level;
citizens to form opinions and hold governments accountable for their policies;
businesses to make sound decisions; and
researchers to analyse society.

help governments to improve the lives of people and foster future opportunities by planning
educational systems on a more evidence-based
basis.
Independent statistics of high-quality
Statistics need to be independent and of highquality to be relevant and useful for society.
High-quality statistics should be based on the
following international principles for officially
produced statistics:
Impartiality
Statistics must be produced independently of
the political system to be credible
Relevance
Statistics must meet the needs of its users

National and local policies built on statistics are

better at meeting their purpose and increasing
effectiveness and financial sustainability.

Reliability
Statistics must portray reality in an accurate
manner

In practice this means that, for example to plan

educational systems, governments need information on enrolment rates, completion and
drop-out rates, numbers of teachers, types of
schooling, the availability of school facilities,
expenditures etc. Statistics on education can

Timeliness
Statistics must be disseminated timely and
punctually
Comparability
Statistics must be consistent over time and

comparable between regions and countries to

make them relevant and increase their usefulness
Accessibility
Statistics should be free of charge, user-friendly and easily accessible for everyone
The role of the national statistics institution
The national statistics institution of a country
plays a key role in producing official statistics. The national statistics institution must be
professional and independent from any political
system and have the capacity to produce impartial, relevant, reliable, timely, comparable and
available statistics.
The national statistics institution must be ready
to meet the needs of both national and international users and ensure equal access to statistics for everyone.