National Statistical Service
Authorities produce statistics in Finland on the data they have in their possession and have collected for national and international use.
The National Statistical Service comprises Statistics Finland and 12 other organisations, most of which are government agencies. Together these organisations form the national statistical ecosystem. One of Statistics Finland's tasks is to manage and develop the activities of this statistical ecosystem.
A good overall picture of the Finnish national statistical service can be found in the Statistical Programme published by Statistics Finland and in the annual review.
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF)
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF) are a collection of statistics describing society. They comprise around 250 sets of statistics. The production of Official Statistics of Finland must be continuous and of high quality and the producer of the statistics must commit to quality criteria. The Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland grants the OSF stamp.
The Official Statistics of Finland are our shared national capital and our common data basis that are used in society in various contexts. Statistics are widely employed in social decision-making, legislative drafting and planning. They are used to monitor the effects of the decisions made and they are also generally used indicators to monitor the development of society.
European Statistical System (ESS)
In addition to the Official Statistics of Finland, several agencies also produce statistics for the policy needs of the European Union in accordance with the requirements of the European Union’s Statistical Programme and the European Statistical System (ESS). The majority of ESS statistics are produced in accordance with European Union legislation.
The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the quality criteria of the European Statistical System.
Producers of statistics
Official statistics are produced by expert organisations in public administration. They guarantee the continuation of statistics and are committed to common quality criteria.
The Statistics Act (280/2004, Finlex) defines four statistical authorities: Statistics Finland, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the National Institute for Health and Welfare and Finnish Customs. Statistical authorities have the mandate to collect data for statistical purposes by virtue of the obligation to provide data decreed in the Finnish Statistics Act.
In addition to the statistical authorities, other authorities producing official statistics include the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, the National Land Survey of Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. In addition, the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland act as producers of official statistics outside the budget economy of the state.
Official statistics produced by statistical authorities and other producers of statistics are available to all users free of charge.
Release calendars of producers of statistics
Publishing of official statistics and publications is monitored by means of continuously updated release calendars on the web.
- Finnish Centre for Pensions
- Finnish Customs
- Finnish Environment Institute SYKE
- Finnish Meteorological Institute
- Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
- National Land Survey of Finland NLS (in Finnish only)
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
- Natural Resources Institute Finland
- Social Insurance Institution of Finland (in Finnish only)
- Statistics Finland
Each producer is responsible for its own release calendar.
Further information
Co-ordination of Official Statistics
Satu Elho, [email protected]