Country Profile of Lao People's Democratic Republic
Main statistical agency
Main statistical agency name
National Statistical Centre (NSC)
Web address
http://www.nsc.gov.la/
Position in the government
NSC's head reports to the Committee for Planning and Cooperation, Prime Minister's Office, and other ministries including Ministry of Finance and Bank of Lao. The Department of Statistics belongs to Committee for Planning and Investment.
Organizational structure and finance
The General Director is the head of the NSC, and the Deputy Directors report to the General Director. There are Chiefs of each division:
* Survey Division
* Economic Division
* Division of Information and Technology
* Administrative Division
* Social Statistic Division
* Data Service Division
* Methodology Division
Multi-annual or annual work program
NSC's has an Annual National Statistical Program.
Main duties
* The Department of Statistics has task in collecting, compiling, processing, analyzing and reporting official statistics on socio-economic situation within the country in difference period of time. It is a center of socio-economic statistics supplying to all organizations of the party, government, various sectors, local and others for doing research in policies, controlling social-economy, setting up socio-economic development plans and analyzing specific issues.
* The Department of Statistics is the center for cooperation among various agencies responsible for statistics in different sectors and locals in order to make the control of the national statistical system become a unity with good quality. Moreover, the Department of Statistics is also the central point for the providing technical advice on data collection, surveys, and supplying socio-economic data to all other parties.
Legal basis
Legal basis
The National Statistical Centre (NSC) operates on the basis of a statistical decree.
No. 140 /PM Decree
On Organization and Activities of the National Statistical System
-In reference to the Law on the Government of the Lao PDR No. 01/95, dated 8/3/95,
-In reference to the proposal made by the Committee for Planning and Cooperation,
-In reference to the agreement reached in the Government cabinet meeting held on 26/06/2002.
Other producers of official statistics
Other producers of official statistics
Besides NSC, line ministries, local authorities, and other agencies (conduct survey based on their specific needs) are the producers of official statistics.
Statistical advisory bodies
Statistical advisory bodies
Statistical advisory body was not established.
Data collection
Most recent population census
1-7 March 2005
Access to administrative data
NSC has access to data from all Party and governmental organizations, various sectors, localities and other parties involved in conducting researches and studies on policies, economic and social management, preparation of socio- economic development plans and analyzing a specific issue.
Data confidentiality
NSC has developed the secondary database for the users' access which prevents disclosure of individual data.
Data dissemination
Release calendar (existence, when and how published)
NSC publishes an advance release calendar, but not very extensively; it is in the process of META DATA development using the IMF's GDDS concept as the reference.
Main publications
Population Census
National Human Development Report
Statistical Yearbook
The Households of Lao PDR - Social and Economic Indicators, Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey 2002/03
Baseline Situation Analysis in three Southern provinces 2002 (BSA 2002)
Business Tendency Survey 2001
Lao Reproductive Health Survey 2000, Summary Report of Provincial Data Analysis
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2000
Agricultural Census 1998/99
Report on National Health Survey, Health Status of the People in Lao PDR
Languages of main publications
English.
How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?
Website.
Lao Info v.4.1 is a user-friendly common indicator database system. LaoInfo v.4.1 provides a key statistical tool for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a data source for the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES), the National Socio Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and for other national development frameworks in the Lao PDR.
Availability of microdata for research purposes
NSC provides the access to the anonymous microdata using the mentioned below steps:
1. The reasearchers have to provide a summary list of varables needed, based on the NSC's questionnaire;
2. Then, micro data is extracted from the database in the form of electronic file.
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