The system of official statistics in France: Decentralized, but closely coordinated

Issue title: CES plenary session 2004

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Le Gléau, Jean-Pierre

Affiliations: Statistical Coordination Department, INSEE, 18 Bd. Adolphe Pinard, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Tel.: +331 4117 5794; Fax: +331 4117 6197; E-mail: jean-pierre.le-gleau@insee.fr

Abstract: France's official statistics system is founded on the dual principle of decentralization by sector in the ministries, with the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) playing a strong coordinating role. Nineteen ministry statistical services produce statistics for their own area. The coordination of the whole is ensured through a common basic training, a high level of mobility between the different services, tools that help information to circulate, the National Council for Statistical Information (CNIS) that gives a coherence to the programmes and ensures their social and economic utility, and unified concepts and nomenclature.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2004-213-407

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 21, no. 3-4, pp. 241-246, 2004