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Country Profile of Hungary

Main statistical agency
Main statistical agency name
Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO)
Web address
http://portal.ksh.hu/portal/page?_pageid=38,119919&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Position in the government
The Hungarian Central Statistical Office is a professionally independent public administration body with national competence under the immediate supervision of the Government.
The President and the Deputy Presidents of the HCSO are appointed and relieved by the Prime Minister. The period of the respective appointments is 6 years which may be extended twice, by a further 6 years, each time.
Organizational structure and finance
Currently the number of permanent staff is 1 050 in the central office, while the total number of people employed at regional offices is 450.

Organizational units reporting directly to the president:
Internal Audit Section and Administration and International Department.

Deputy President responsible for statistical issues; Organization units reporting to the Deputy President are the Price Statistics Department, Living Standard and Labour Statistics Department, Foreign Trade Statistics Department, Agriculture and Environment Statistics Department, National Accounts Department, Population Statistics Department, Statistical Research and Methodology Department, Sector Accounts Department, Services Statistics Department, Social Services Statistics Department, and Business Statistics Department.








Multi-annual or annual work program
The National Statistical Data Collection Programme is an annual programme of the official statistical service approved each year by the government upon submission of the President of the HCSO. (Act XLVI of 1993 (Act CVIII of 1999) on Statistics
Sections 11, 12, 13, 14). In addition, the HCSO elaborates each year an internal annual work programme.
Main duties
Designing and conducting surveys, recording, - processing and storing data, data analyses- and dissemination, protection of individual data.
The Office provides data for the parliament and public administration, social organizations, local authorities, scientific bodies, economic organizations, the general public and the media as well as for international organizations and users abroad. Official data regarding the socio-economic situation as well as the changes in the population of the country are published by the HCSO. (Act on Statistics Section 6.)


Brief history and other relevant background information
Brief history and other relevant background information
History of the HCSO:
The first independent Hungarian statistical institute, the National Statistical Office was established in 1848 under the leadership of Elek Fényes (a year later it ceased to exist due to the failure of the struggle for independence from Austria in 1849).

The Statistical Office having been operated up to now was founded in 1867 under the leadership of the famous scholar Károly Keleti.
Historical milestones
• First statistical yearbook was issued in 1872
• First statistical act presented to the Parliament in 1874
• In 1897 second statistical act changed the name of the office for Central Statistical Office
• Following the First World War (1914-1918) the borders as well as the economic situation and social conditions of Hungary changed considerably
• The data of the population census were processed machines for the first time in 1930
• At the end of 30’s 180 different data collections were implemented by the HCSO
After the Second World War:
• Characteristics of he statistical system in the centrally planned economy (until 1989-90):
– The central authorities defined the statistics needed
– Broad areas of market statistical activity were missing
– Lack of international comparability
• The centralized planned economy has been replaced by market oriented economy
• Statistical data have become public
• Many representative sample surveys instead of compulsory reporting
• Methodological standardization, determination of statistical codes, classifications and nomenclatures, harmonization of the national statistical system at European level have become tasks of the HCSO



Legal basis
Legal basis
Act XLVI of 1993 (Act CVIII of 1999) on Statistics


Other producers of official statistics
Other producers of official statistics
The ministries, the Office of the National Council of the Judiciary, the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, the National Bank of Hungary, the Office for Economic Competition. Act on Statistics, Section 3.


Statistical advisory bodies
Statistical advisory bodies
Act on Statistics, Section 7 'The National Statistical Council'.


Data collection
Most recent population census
1 February 2001
Microcensus: 2005 (reference date of April 1, 2005)
Access to administrative data
As regards economic statistics access to administrative data is ensured. In certain fields of social statistics - because of legal restrictions - the access to data of several ministries is not ensured.
Data confidentiality
The Act on Statistics is the legal basis, which provides for the extensive protection of the individual data. The provisions of this Act ensure that statistical data can only be used for statistical purposes. Act on Statistics (Section 17-21).

Internal regulations, advanced IT, physical and electronic protection systems are also in place to prevent disclosure.


Data dissemination
Release calendar (existence, when and how published)
The advance release calendar is issued bi-annually and contains the dates of the first releases (www.ksh.hu). New data are released At 9 o'clock a.m. on the day of the release. A special press room is provided for the news agencies.
Main publications
The dissemination policy was approved in January 2002. The electronic dissemination concept (including the data warehouse, the WEB Site, CDs) was approved in December 2002.

HCSO publishes about 150 titles annually.
Yearbooks are the most complex editions.
Besides the Statistical Yearbook of Hungary published annually, HCSO issues more than ten professional yearbooks.
Languages of main publications
Hungarian, English
How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?
Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases
Availability of microdata for research purposes
Individual data and data where the number of data providers is under three, can not be made accessible.




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