Country Profile of Liechtenstein
Main statistical agency
Main statistical agency name
Amt für Statistik Liechtenstein
Web address
http://www.as.llv.li
Position in the government
The Office of Statistics Liechtenstein reports to the Ministry of General Government Affaires and Finance.
Organizational structure and finance
The Office of Statistics is organizationally divided in three departments: Registers and International Relations; Economic and Education Statistics; and National Accounts. Currently, there are eleven staff members working for the Office of Statistics Liechtenstein.
Multi-annual or annual work program
The main goal of the biennial work programs is to determine current statistical activities as well as plans for future projects. The work program is revised annually in a rolling wave planning process.
Main duties
The Office of Statistics is the centre for statistical information about Liechtenstein. Its main task is to provide relevant, reliable and coherent statistical information about Liechtenstein, its society, economy and environment. The Office of Statistics serves the public as well as government and municipal authorities by providing objective information for the shaping of the public opinion and the political decision making process.
Brief history and other relevant background information
Brief history and other relevant background information
Initial surveys were carried out in Liechtenstein in the form of population censuses as far back as 1784. The official statistics were institutionalized in 1950 with the creation of the Office of Statistics. In 1976, the Office of Statistics was incorporated in the Office of Economic Affaires as a division, only to be re-established in January 2009 as an independent office. Since then, the Office of Statistics reports directly to the Ministry of General Government Affaires and Finance.
Legal basis
Legal basis
The activities of the Office of Statistics Liechtenstein are based on the Statistics Act of September 17th, 2008. This act, together with the obligations arising under the EEA Agreement, forms the legal framework for the statistical work.
The Statistics Act of September 17th, 2008, regulates:
• the role and organization of the Office of Statistics
• data collection, data protection and statistical publications
• cooperation with government and municipal authorities, members of the European Statistical System as well as international organizations in the field of statistics
The professional independence of the Office of Statistics is embedded in the Statistics Act. In the Statistics Ordinance of July 7th, 2009, there are detailed provisions relating to the statistical registers and publications.
The European Code of Practice for official statistics was integrated into the new Statistics Act of September 17th, 2008. According to the Statistics Act, the Office of Statistics is required to follow the principles of the European Statistical System when carrying out its duties. The principles of the Code of Practice are listed in the Statistics Act.
Liechtenstein has been a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) since May 1st, 1995. The EEA Agreement be-tween the EU member states and the three EFTA states of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also regulates statistical cooperation. Under the EEA Agreement the member states are responsible for producing and disseminating coherent and comparable statistics to describe and monitor all relevant economic, social and ecological aspects of the European Economic Area. For this purpose the member states develop and employ harmonised methods, definitions and classifications as well as joint programmes and procedures.
Other producers of official statistics
Other producers of official statistics
The Office of Statistics is the centre for statistical information about Liechtenstein, thereby working together with other government agencies.
There are no other national statistical authorities in Liechtenstein.
Statistical advisory bodies
Statistical advisory bodies
The work of the Office of Statistics is supported by the Statistical Committee. According to the provisions of the Statistics Act, the government appoints a Statistical Committee every four years. The task of the Committee is to examine all questions concerning statistics that are referred to them by the Government or the Office of Statistics. Additional tasks of the Statistical Committee include the evaluation of the biennial statistical program as well as the assessment of any changes to the Statistics Act or the Statistics Ordinance. The Statistics Commission is composed of six to eight members, which are representative of the communities, associations, as well as specialized persons.
Data collection
Most recent population census
December 31st, 2010.
Access to administrative data
Due to the small size of Liechtenstein with only 37’000 inhabitants, surveys are not conducted frequently for both statistical and economic reasons. Administrative data hence play a crucial role for the production of official statistics.
Data confidentiality
The privacy of data providers (household, enterprises, administrations and other respondents), the confidentiality of the information and its use only for statistical purposes are guaranteed by the articles 16-18 of the Statistics Act of September 17th, 2008, as well as the Data Protection Act of March 4th, 2002.
Data dissemination
Release calendar (existence, when and how published)
The release calender can be found on the website.
Main publications
The Office of Statistics publication program includes 32 different publications. Some of the most important publications are the Statistical Yearbook, Liechtenstein in Figures, Population Statistics, Employment statistics and National Accounts. The statistical information covers the following topics:
• Environment and Energy
• Population and Housing
• Labour Market
• Economy
• Sustainable Development
• Transport
• Social Protection and Health
• Education
• Justice and Politics
• Public Finance
Languages of main publications
German
How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?
All publications, along with the tables in Excel format, are made available on the website of the Office of Statistics. Hard copies for all publications, expect of the statistical Yearbook, are available free of charge.
The release of new statistical publications is announced through a newsletter.
A substantial part of the data produced by the Office of Statistics are transmitted to Eurostat, where they are included in the Eurostat database and publications along with the data of the member countries of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association.
Availability of microdata for research purposes
Microdata are available for research purposes on the basis of non disclosure agreements with the researchers.
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