A Statistical System is made up of all public entities that work on the production of official statistics. The extent of work differs based on whether it is the
core focus of the institution; as is the case with National Statistical Institutes (NSIs), or if it is one duty amongst other responsibilities; as seen in several
ministries, governmental bodies, and national authorities. National Statistical Laws on official statistics applies to NSIs and to the other members of the
statistical system. Furthermore, the members of the NSS should be guided by the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. The NSIs are responsible
for the coordination, management and quality of all statistical outputs of the members of the NSS.
Fig. 1 – The Handbook on Management and Organisation of National Statistical Systems, Ch. 4
Fig. 2 – Data flow in a National Statistical System
Figure 2 above shows how data flows from the sources, producers of statistics and official statistics up until dissemination to the users. NSIs are concerned with the production of official statistics, these being statistics that serve as a basis for decision making for politicians and policy makers. This aspect of official statistics is highly important, as democratic societies cannot function without a solid basis of reliable and objective statistics. On the other hand, ‘Others’ in the above figure refers to other national producers of statistics. Therefore, any statistical data collected and published by other bodies are not considered as being official statistics. However, this group may also include ‘Other National Authorities’ (ONAs) that also produce official statistics in line with
the guidelines and standards followed by NSIs
