Official Statistics

There is no internationally accepted definition of “official statistics,” but in international practice a body of statistics is usually treated as official if it follows the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and is issued by a nationally or internationally designated institution [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.16, PDF p. 17, 2018]. One key objective of the Principles is to stress that high quality must be an indispensable feature of official statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.16, PDF p. 17, 2018].

The UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

Reproduced by IRES as Box 1.1 (adopted at the Special Session of the UNSC, 11–15 April 1994; in the energy-statistics context, “official statistical agencies” is understood to include national energy agencies/institutions involved in collecting, compiling or disseminating energy statistics) [IRES, Ch. I, Box 1.1, PDF p. 17, 2018]:

1. Official statistics are an indispensable element of a democratic society’s information system and are to be compiled and made available impartially to honour citizens’ entitlement to public information.
2. Statistical agencies decide on methods and procedures according to strictly professional considerations, including scientific principles and professional ethics.
3. Agencies present information according to scientific standards on sources, methods and procedures to facilitate correct interpretation.
4. Agencies are entitled to comment on erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics.
5. Data may be drawn from surveys or administrative records, chosen for quality, timeliness, cost and respondent burden.
6. Individual data collected for statistical purposes are strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes.
7. The laws, regulations and measures governing statistical systems are made public.
8. Coordination among national statistical agencies is essential for consistency and efficiency.
9. Use of international concepts, classifications and methods promotes consistency and efficiency of statistical systems.
10. Bilateral and multilateral cooperation contributes to improving official statistics systems in all countries.

[IRES, Ch. I, Box 1.1, PDF p. 17, 2018]

Why energy statistics should attain official-statistics status

IRES frames developing energy statistics as official statistics as a long-term goal, moving from data collected internally by specialized energy agencies toward an integrated, multipurpose system situated within a country’s official statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.17, PDF pp. 17–18, 2018]. The benefits identified are: (i) a stronger legal basis guaranteeing data-provider confidentiality and protection against misuse; (ii) improved international comparability through implementation of international standards and concepts; and (iii) greater transparency in compilation and dissemination [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.18, PDF p. 18, 2018].

Actions to strengthen energy statistics as official statistics operate at two levels. Internationally, this includes developing the recommendations themselves and their implementation programme — e.g., the forthcoming Energy Statistics Compilers Manual (ESCM), training materials and regional workshops [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.20, PDF p. 18, 2018]. Nationally, this includes strengthening the legal framework and institutional arrangements — while noting that confidentiality requirements can conflict with market concentration/ liberalization pressures on data disclosure [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.21, PDF p. 18, 2018]. See Legal Framework and Institutional Arrangements for IRES Chapter VII’s detailed treatment of this legal and institutional strengthening. IRES also recommends treating official energy statistics as a public good, with disseminating agencies ensuring convenient public access [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.22, PDF p. 18, 2018].

Quality of energy statistics specifically is covered in Chapter IX, building on countries’ and international organizations’ experience [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.16, PDF p. 17, 2018].

Related

• Recommendations and Encouragements — how IRES’s normative statements (like the ones above) should be read
• International Recommendations for Energy Statistics — the standard that operationalizes this concept for energy statistics
• United Nations Statistical Commission — the body that adopted the Fundamental Principles and IRES itself