National Bureau of Statistics

www.stats.gov.cn

As is stipulated in the Statistical Law, the State establishes a centralized and unified statistical system by instituting the statistical management system featuring unified leadership and decentralized administration. Government statistical agencies and personnel shall exercise their functions of statistical survey, reporting and supervision according to the law without any infringement. The official statistical system in China consists of the government statistical system and department statistical system.

I. The Government Statistical System

The institution of statistical agencies and deployment of statisticians at all levels of the government constitute the government statistical system. The National Bureau of Statistics is established under the State Council while independent statistical agencies are set up in local people's governments at and above county level. At the township level, either statistical stations are instituted or full-time or part-time statisticians are employed. In addition, the National Bureau of Statistics has also established, under its direct leadership and administration, 3 survey-taking institution, namely, Organization of Rural Socio-economic surveys, Organization of Urban Socio-economic Surveys and Organization of Enterprise Surveys across the country.
Major functions of the overall government statistical system include:

1. To work out plans for statistical surveys, making arrangements for and inspecting statistical work and economic accounting work at national or local levels;

2. To organize the implementation of national and local statistical surveys, to collect, process and provide statistical data of the whole country or of a particular region;

3. To conduct statistical analysis on economic and social development and to exercise statistical supervision;

4. To administer and coordinate statistical survey questionnaires designed by various department;

With regard to statistical agencies of local governments, they do not only collect and provide statistical data for governments at higher levels, but also collect and provide statistical information and submit statistical analysis reports for the local government.

II. Department Statistical System

The institution of statistical agencies and employment of statisticians by various departments both directly under the State Council and at the local levels in light of the requirements of statistical tasks constitute the department statistical system. Its major responsibilities include:

1. To organize and coordinate statistical work of the department concerned, accomplish the tasks in national and local statistical surveys, work out and implement department statistical survey programs, and to collect, process and provide statistical data;

2. To make statistical analysis of and exercise statistical supervision over the development of the department and sector concerned;

3. To organize and coordinate statistical work of enterprises and institutions within the jurisdiction of the department concerned and managed statistical questionnaires to be used within the department.

In order to carry out its functions, the National Bureau of Statistics is composed of 12 functional departments together with a number of directly-affiliated institutions. The basic functions of major departments are:

1. Administrative Office: Responsible for overall coordination and management of internal administration, communication of administrative information and secretarial work;

2. Department of International Cooperation: Responsible for the organization and implementation of bilateral and multilateral international statistical exchange and cooperation programs, and communication with international organizations and official statistical agencies of various countries:

3. Department of Statistical Policies and Legislation: Responsible for working out medium-to-long-term programs and implementing methods for statistical restructuring; drafting, revision and supervisory inspection of statistical laws, regulations and operation rules;

4. Department of Statistical Design and Management: Responsible for working out statistical restructuring plans and schemes: organizing and establishing the system of national accounts and national statistical surveys: working out national statistical standards and examining and finalizing statistical standards by other departments; examining, approving and managing statistical survey programs and plans formulated by various departments;

5. Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy: Responsible for conducting monitoring, forecast and comprehensive analysis on the performance of the national economy and preparing macro-regulation proposals;

6. Department of National Accounts: Responsible for organizational work in the implementation of the system of national accounts; preparing gross domestic product accounts, input-output tables, flow of funds accounts, balance of payments, asset-liability accounts and resources and environment accounts;

7. Department of Industrial an Transport Statistics: Responsible for organizational work in the implementation of surveys for industrial and energy statistics, collecting, processing an providing statistical data on transportation, post and telecommunications as well as conducting statistical analysis;

8. Department of Statistics on Investment in Fixed Assets: Responsible for organizational work in the implementation of statistical surveys on investment in fixed assets, on construction industry and real estate, collecting, processing and providing statistical data relating to geological prospecting, urban housing and public utilities as well as conducting statistical analysis;

9. Department of Statistics on Trade and External Economic Relations: Responsible for organizational work in the implementation of statistical surveys on wholesale and retail trade, catering and on the performance of market operation, collecting, processing and providing statistical data concerning foreign trade, foreign investment and tourism as well as conducting statistical analysis;

10. Department of Population, Social and Science Statistics: Responsible for organizational work in the implementation of statistical surveys on population and labor, collecting, processing and providing statistical data pertaining to social development and scientific and technological advancement as well as conducting statistical analysis;

11. Organization of Rural Socio-Economic Survey: Responsible for collecting, processing and providing statistical data on agricultural production, income and expenditure of rural households, rural economy, farming activities and distribution of income as well as conducting statistical analysis;

12. Organization of Urban Socio-Economic Survey: Responsible for collecting, processing an providing statistical data relating to market prices, income and expenditure of urban households and urban development as well as conducting statistical analysis;

13. Organization of Enterprise Survey: Responsible for collecting, processing and providing statistical data through sample surveys of enterprises of various types of ownership and from through special surveys as well as conducting statistical analysis;

14. Census Center; Responsible for studying and working out census plans on major items reflecting the state and strength of the country, studying special technical problems in censuses, organizing the implementation of censuses of basic statistical units and the tertiary industry, providing relevant statistical data and conducting analysis;

15. International Statistical Information Center: Responsible for Providing Chinese statistical information to international organizations and to foreign government statistical agencies through statistical data exchange programs, collecting, processing and utilizing statistical information from other countries as well as from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and conducting studies on International Comparison Program (ICP);

16. The Computing Center: Responsible for organizational work in the development and management of the national statistical information system, application and development of information technology, processing and administration of data from national statistical surveys and the establishment of the national statistical database system as well as the operation, maintenance and management of statistical information networks across the country.

Apart from these department, there are also departments in charge of personnel management and training of statisticians, budget management, statistical research, publishing, new release and press relations, economic performance survey, information service and logistics support.

All budget of the National Bureau of Statistics and the operational budget for statistical programs of local government statistical agencies are appropriated by the central government form the State budget and managed by the National Bureau of Statistics. The administrative budget for local statistical agencies comes form the local governments, and their expenses for capital investment are also arranged by local governments. Budget for rural, urban and enterprise survey organizations and their local branches is allocated by the National Bureau of Statistics. All the expenditures for the department statistical system is covered and managed by departments concerned.

The Second National Census of Basic Units

Executive Plan of the Third National Industrial Census (NIC)

As an agency directly under the State Council, the National Bureau of Statistics is in charge of statistics and economic accounting in China. In Accordance with the Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant stipulations of the State Council.

Major Functions of the National Bureau of Statistics include:

1. To work out laws and regulations on statistical work, to formulate directive rules for statistical operation, to draw up plans for statistical modernization and nationwide statistical surveys, to organize, exercise leadership and supervision over statistical and economic accounting work in various localities and departments, and to supervise and inspect the enforcement of statistical laws and regulations:

2. To set up and improve the national economic accounting system and statistical country; to work out national statistical standards; to review and approve statistical standards by other government departments; to organize the administration of national statistical survey projects, to examine, approve and manage plans and schemes for statistical surveys by other departments;

3. To organize the implementation of major censuses on the basic items relating to the state and strength of the country; to exercise unified administration over socio-economic surveys in various localities and departments, to collect, process and tabulate basic statistical information from a statistical perspective on the national economic and scientific progress and social development; to provide statistical information and relevant proposals for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council and government departments concerned;

4. To act as the exclusive agency in verifying, approving, administering and publishing basic national statistical data and to regularly disseminate to the general public statistical information with regard to the national economic and social development;

5. To build up an administer the national statistical information system and the national statistical database system; to formulate basic standards and operational rules for statistical database networks in various localities and departments;

6. To exercise leadership over directly-affiliated surveying agencies in various localities; to exercise unified management over operating expenses of statistical activities for statistical agencies in local people's governments at and above county level; to assist in the management of directors and deputy directors of local statistical offices of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government; to organize and administer qualification examinations and the evaluation of professional titles for statisticians across the country.

The following laws and regulations are in force:

Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Third Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress, on December 8, 1983, and revised in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Revising the Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China adopted on May l5, 1996).

Administrative Provisions for Statistical Investigation Projects'' Examination and Approval

Management Method of the State Statistical Investigation Certificate

Classification Standard of Large/Medium-sized Non-industrial Construction Projects

Regulations on the composition of gross wages

Detailed Rules for Implementation of Statistics Law of People's Republic of China

Interim Measures for Administration of Foreign-related Social Survey Activities

Measures for Fifth National Population Census

1 November 2000

The National Bureau of Statistics has access to the data gathered by the 12 functional departments.

Statistical data pertaining to State secrets must be kept confidential． Single item investigation data concerning any individual or his／her family shall not be divulged without the consent of the said person.

Statistics institutions and statisticians shall have the obligation to maintain commercial secrets of the units and individuals under their statistical investigation, which they have come to know in the process.

Preliminary Regular Press Release Calendar and Statistical Communiques are published on the website.

Detailed information about all publications and available data are posted the website.

Currently available data categories are:

1. Divisions of Administrative Areas and Natural Resources

2. General Survey

3. National Accounts

4. Population

5. Employment and Wages

6. Investment and Fixed Assets

7. Production and Consumption of Energy

8. Consumer Price Index

9. Statistical Yearbook

10. Tourism

11. Agriculture

12. Government Finance

Chinese, English

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