Statistics Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating statistics on the Danish society, for example employment statistics, trade balance, and demographics.
Statistics Denmark is internationally recognized for its large use of public registers in the statistical production. Population censuses are produced entirely from registers since 1981.
The institution is, compared to the population, rather small (570 employees). A large part of the turnover comprises revenue from users (2007: 25%).
The very large database StatBank Denmark in English is available free-of-charge for all users on the Internet. It is updated every day 9.30 am (CET) and contains all new statistics. The statistics can be presented as cross-tables, diagrams or maps. The output can be transferred to other programs for further compilation. There is also a Danish version.
Statistics Denmark provides essential information to politicians, other decision-makers, the general public, scholars, etc.
The production of statistics in Denmark is highly centralised. Statistics Denmark is responsible for ensuring that the overall statistical picture is complete and coherent regardless of the source. The main office is located in Copenhagen and this is where almost all of the 550 people employed by Statistics Denmark work.
The Act on Statistics Denmark gives an independent Board of Directors the responsibility to determine the institution’s work programme, thus allowing Statistics Denmark to operate independently of Government control.
The Act on Statistics Denmark grants access to the basic data necessary to produce the statistics. The Act states that public authorities must supply the information they possess when requested to do so by Statistics Denmark. Decisions on this must be settled by the Board. The private sector is also obliged to supply certain information for statistical purposes. The last population census was conducted in 1970. Censuses are now exclusively based on administrative registers private citizens now only participate in surveys on a voluntary basis. In accordance with these principles, Statistics Denmark has striven to develop a statistical system which is almost entirely based on the administrative registers of other public offices. Other collection methods are employed where necessary, but are only regarded as a supplement.
It is a basic principle that all information on individual persons and business units be treated in strict confidentiality. Only aggregated figures may be passed on to users and the basic information collected by Statistics Denmark is protected by strong data security measures.
The general public are first made aware of new statistics - via the press - by News from Statistics Denmark which can also be downloaded from their web page.
Statistics Denmark is on the Internet with a homepage containing information about Statistics Denmark and our products. All publications can be ordered via the Internet. The Internet is gradually becoming the main channel for the dissemination of statistics.
Statistics Denmark’s electronic data bank (Statbank.dk) is available free-of-charge in Danish or English for any user. It includes almost all statistics produced in-house. When new general statistics are published in News from Statistics Denmark, the same data are made available at the same time from the data bank but in a far more detailed form.
Since the collected data normally offers opportunities to make other combinations and distributions than those published or provided through standard assignments, Statistics Denmark also undertakes special customised projects.
Statistics Denmark actively participates in international statistical activities. Denmark takes part in the joint European statistical programme.
As a member of the EU, Denmark participates in a binding agreement on the compilation, preparation and dissemination of statistics. Although the requirements on statistical output coincide, to a certain extent, with Denmark’s national needs, considerable resources are devoted to the fulfilment of Danish obligations.
Other international cooperation: Statistics Denmark is also actively involved in Nordic and other international statistical co-operation, such as the UN Conference of European Statisticians (CES) and statistical co-operation with the OECD, ILO etc.
Statistics Denmark has an International Consulting division, which co-ordinates technical co-operation. This unit initially focused its activities on transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but has gradually widened both the scope of its activities and the range of countries with which it is involved.