Quality and statistical principles

The principles underlying the development and distribution of statistics are

• professional independence
• impartiality
• objectivity
• reliability
• data protection and data security
• cost-efficiency.

The principles of national statistics draw on the following international documents:

• Declaration on Professional Ethics by the International Statistical Institute (ISI)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics by the UN Statistics Division (UN)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• European Statistics Code of Practice (pdf 185.2 kb)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• Quality report by the European Statistical System (ESS)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (2239/2009) on the transmission of statistics to Eurostat (Eurostat)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab

THL takes part in the Finnish work on improving the quality of statistics, which is coordinated by the Advisory Board of the Official Statistics of Finland (OSF).

• Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), quality criteriaLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), release guidelinesLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
• Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), OSF data protection recommendation (in Finnish)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab