Country Profile of Austria
Main statistical agency
Main statistical agency name
Statistik Austria
Web address
www.statistik.at/web_en
Position in the government
Through the national Federal Statistics Act, Statistics Austria was established as a federal institution under public law, having own legal personality. Statistics Austria (the management) reports to the Statistics Council and to the Economic Council. Once a year the Statistics Council presents a report which has to be forwarded by the federal government to the national parliament. The Economic Council is reporting to the Federal Chancellor.
Organizational structure and finance
Statistics Austria is the central authority of Federal Statistics. Federal statistics is defined by the Federal Statistics Act as statistics (including analysis, prognosis, statistical models) concerning more than one single (federal) province ("Land").
Statistics Austria has no regional offices (fully centralized system): Central and uniform system of data collection, producing and disseminating statistical information.
It is a non-profit organisation, mainly funded by the national budget (baseline funding).
In addition to Statistics Austria there are nine Provincial Statistical Services ( - 9 provinces):
- providing regional statistical information (analysis/prognosis) for their provincial administrations/governnments, mainly by using Federal Statistics from Statistics Austria
- carrying out own surveys - restricted to the respective province - just in case no regional statistical information provided by the federal authorities
Multi-annual or annual work program
The annual work programme for the next year (incl. the multi-annual work programme) has to be prepared and forwarded to the Statistics Council before the end of May of each year.
Main duties
The Federal Statistics Act of 2000 defines federal statistics as a (non-personal) information system of the government providing data on the economic, demographic, social, ecological and cultural situation in Austria. This information helps administrative bodies in planning and political decision-making procedures and in controlling the measures they have taken. Moreover, data are made available to the scientific and economic community and to the general public. Federal statistics comprises the compilation of statistics of all kinds as well as analyses, prognoses and statistical models which reach beyond the interests of an individual Austrian province. The statistics are decreed by international legal acts of the European Community, by federal laws and by regulations.
In the performance of its duties, Statistics Austria must observe a number of principles in the interest of its clients, other users and respondents. The most important of these are
1. to maintain objectivity and impartiality in the compilation of statistics;
2. to apply statistical methods and procedures according to internationally accepted scientific principles and standards and to disclose them;
3. to continuously control quality improvements;
4. to maintain a high degree of topicality;
5. to publish statistics and their underlying concepts, definitions and explanations immediately; main results will be available via the Internet free of charge from 2002 onward;
6. to endeavour to keep the costs to relevant persons and business enterprises as low as possible and to supply the providers of statistical data with sufficient information;
7. to keep personal data confidential. Access to the compiled data should be possible not only for administrative purposes but also to the scientific and economic community, to the public and to individual citizens. To enable this access, Statistics Austria provides information and expert services, in particular statistical analyses, as well as statistical data free of charge or at a reasonable cost.
Brief history and other relevant background information
Brief history and other relevant background information
At the beginning of 2000, the former Austrian Central Statistical Office was separated from Government Services by a new Federal Statistics Act. It is now an independent and non-profit-making federal institution under public law and is called Statistics Austria. It is responsible for performing scientific services in the area of federal statistics.
Legal basis
Legal basis
The Federal Statistics Act of 2000 (amended 2003, 2007, 2009) defines federal statistics as a (non-personal) information system of the government providing data on the economic, demographic, social, ecological and cultural situation in Austria. This information helps administrative bodies in planning and political decision-making procedures and in controlling the measures they have taken. Moreover, data are made available to the scientific and economic community and to the general public. Federal statistics comprises the compilation of statistics of all kinds as well as analyses, prognoses and statistical models which reach beyond the interests of an individual Austrian province. The statistics are decreed by international legal acts of the European Community, by federal laws and by regulations.
Other producers of official statistics
Other producers of official statistics
Statistics Austria is the central authority of federal statistics.
According to the Federal Statistics Act other federal institutions may also act as bodies of federal statistics, based on European regulations or on federal laws (Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, Public Employment Service, National Bank, E-Control GmbH, etc.).
Statistical advisory bodies
Statistical advisory bodies
17 special advisory subcommittees, working groups within the Central Statistical Commission (51 members: 31 ordinary, 20 extraordinary members; the members represent their organisations: Ministries, Provinces, Austrian National Bank, Austrian Court of Auditors, organisations of the Social Partners, communities association, towns association, individual experts, the Austrian representative of CEIES); link between producers and users of statistics; meetings: yearly; working groups: ad-hoc.
The Statistics Council (16 independent members) is responsible for monitoring the quality and objectivity of the statistical work of Statistics Austria. The scientific control by this body should ensure the practical implementation of the high standards set. The responsibilities of the Statistics Council also comprise recommendations concerning the co-ordination of statistical activities at the national level and recommendations concerning planned statistical projects of the European Union (Article 47). Once a year the Statistics Council presents an activity report which has to be forwarded by the federal government to the national parliament. Meetings: quarterly; meetings of the subcommittee "quality": monthly.
Data collection
Most recent population census
15 May 2001
Access to administrative data
E.g. social security register, tax authority data, central population register
Data dissemination
Release calendar (existence, when and how published)
Within the annual working programme: full coverage; advance release calender at the homepage of Statistics Austria.
Main publications
* Statistical Yearbook: Statistisches Jahrbuch Österreichs 2008, (incl. CD-ROM) ISBN 978-3-902587-29-9, December 2007, 644 pages, EUR 63,00 (CD + publication), download free of charge
* Periodical: Statistische Nachrichten 2008, (63rd Volume, New Series), ISSN 0029-9960 (on average 80 pages per month), single copy EUR 13,00, annual subscription (incl. CD-ROM) EUR 130,00
* Austria.Figure.Data.Facts: booklet, free of charge, downloadable
Languages of main publications
German, partly English (table of contents, table headings, summaries)
How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?
All
Availability of microdata for research purposes
Providing anonymized data sets.
|