NSO Website
How is the NSO website organised?
Statistics on the NSO website are organised into 7 themes which are further split up into specific statistical activities. Therefore, sections such as ‘News releases’, ‘Publications’, ‘Sources and Methods’ and ‘Visualisations’ are mainly arranged according to the theme of the statistical information being produced. An alternative access for published output is by chronological order.
Where can I access time series data?
Time series data are available either from the NSO online database, StatDB, or through the ‘Selected Indicators’. A link to StatDB can be found at the bottom of the homepage or under the ‘Statistical Products’ tab whereas a box for ‘Selected Indicators’ can be found in the middle of the homepage.
Does the NSO website cater for data visualisation facilities?
Does the NSO website cater for data visualisation facilities?
Yes. The following are the visualisation facilities available on the website and can be easily accessed through the ‘Visualisation’ box at the bottom of the homepage:
STATAMAP presents statistics in graphic formats (maps) and enables visual data to be customised to individual needs. STATAMAP is also located in ‘Statistical Products’.
Infographics offer a visual representation of statistics and are available on the website by theme.
Legal Obligations
What are my legal obligations when I am asked for personal information by the NSO?
The NSO is empowered by the Malta Statistics Authority Act – Chapter 422 of the laws of Malta, to collect data for official statistics. As a result, selected individuals, households and entities have a legal obligation to respond and provide the information requested by the NSO. This creates a legal obligation and therefore is covered by article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations.
Additionally, the GDPR allows exceptions to the rights of the data subject to object, be forgotten, access to the data subject, rectification and erasure, and restriction of processing, in the case of data collected for statistical purposes. This allows NSO to collect data and process it with the purpose of fulfilling its obligation in producing statistics.
Is my data kept confidential?
NSO is obliged to ensure that all its processes, including data collection, respect the confidentiality of the individual, household and/or entity and all data published cannot divulge the identity directly or indirectly unless prior consent is obtained from the individual, household and/or entity. Data is handled on a need to know basis even within the Office and access is given to the persons working on datasets only.
All officers of statistics working at NSO undertake the oath of secrecy as prescribed by the MSA Act. The oath places added legal responsibility on the officers of statistics to make appropriate use of the data being handled.
How can I be sure that the person on the phone is actually an NSO representative?
It is NSO’s policy that,for Face-to-Face surveys prior to making contact, with sampled individuals and households, a survey notification letter is sent with essential information on the ongoing survey and data collection process.
In the case of Face-to-Face surveys, our interviewers will be calling you beforehand in order to set up a mutually convenient appointment during which to conduct the survey. In most cases, Face-to-Face interviews will be conducted at your residence or other mutually convenient place that is safe and suited for data collection (e.g. the NSO Office or your workplace).
All our interviewers are provided with an official interviewer NSO identification tag, which is to be presented prior to conducting Face-to-Face interviews.
The NSO would like to thank all those who have, one time or another, participated in its surveys as through their cooperation it was able to produce and disseminate high quality statistics for Malta.
NSO Surveys
What is INTRASTAT?
INTRASTAT is a system which captures and records information on trade among EU countries. The INTRASTAT system administered by NSO provides a platform for all traders in Malta to declare their imported and exported goods from/to EU Member States. This system is also shared with other various National entities (such as the VAT Department) in order to provide one holistic service to traders when it comes to submitting trade information and necessary approvals.
What is the Labour Force Survey?
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is an inquiry held among households with the purpose of obtaining information on the labour market and related issues. The method involves a series of personal interviews. In Malta, the LFS is carried out on a continuous basis using a quarterly sample of 3,200 households. The LFS covers all persons who live in private households and excludes those in collective households such as residential homes and hospitals. The definitions and methodology used to carry out the LFS are common to all EU Member States.
What is SILC?
Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) is an annual inquiry carried out among persons who live in private households. SILC is the reference source for comparative statistics on income distribution, relative poverty and social exclusion among EU Member States. On the basis of SILC, reliable quantitative information on relative poverty, social exclusion, material deprivation and dwellings conditions is produced.
The inquiry at European Union level is known as EU-SILC. It was formally launched in 2004 and expanded in 2005 to cover all the EU25 Member States, together with Norway and Iceland. Malta was one of the countries that launched SILC in 2005.
What is TOURSTAT?
TOURSTAT is a continuous survey which collects information on tourist departures. With regard to air departures, the survey is carried out at the departure lounge of the Malta International Airport by means of a series of personal interviews. Information on sea departures is collected at the Valletta Cruise Port, also through personal interviews. Both branches of the TOURSTAT survey are supplemented by administrative records.
- Inbound tourism refers to visits to a country by visitors who are not residents of that country.
- Outbound tourism refers to visits by residents of a country to other countries
