Official statistics 4.0 - Facts for people in the 21. century

The term ‘statistics’ is used differently; it can refer to a science, a certain kind of information or institutions. Essentially, statistics is the science of learning from data. Certainly, it is a modern technology that is part of the standards of today’s information age and society and is used in a wide array of fields. The history of statistics goes back a long way, accompanying historical eras, technical developments and political turning points just as the census in year zero. Statistics is a method that can reduce complexity, separate signals from noise and distinguish significant from random. The statistical results of this method are used for all conceivable information and decision-making processes. Whether statistics help us better understand the world around us and whether they actually improve decisions (and therefore our lives) is not only a question of scientific methodology. The decisive factor here is whether statistics, like a language, are understood by those for whom the information is relevant. Statistical institutions are the producers of statistics. Using scientific statistical methods, data is collected and existing data is processed in order to calculate condensed information, which is made available to the general public in different forms, such as statistical aggregates, graphics, maps, accounts or indicators. Statistical offices usually belong to the public administration, at state, international, regional or local level. This work is concerned neither with statistics in general nor with the history of theoretical statistics. Rather, the goal is to describe the status quo for a particular area of application, namely ‘official statistics’, based on an analysis of its historical genesis in order then to deploy strategic lines of development for the near future of this particular domain. Central to this work is the quality of statistical information. Statistics can only develop a positive enlightenment effect on the condition that their quality is trusted. To ensure long-term trust in statistics, it is necessary to deal with questions of knowledge, quantification and the function of facts in the social debate. How can we know that we know what we know (or do not know)? The more concrete an answer that can be given to such questions, the more possible it will be to protect statistics against inappropriate expectations and to address false criticism.