official statistics
official statisticsStatistical information produced, collated, and disseminated by national governments, their agencies, and the international bodies which link them. These data are almost invariably nationally representative, because they are obtained from complete censuses or very large-scale national sample surveys, and they usually seek to present definitive information conforming to international definitions and classifications or other well-established conventions. The impersonal character of official statistics, and their resistance to innovation, stand in sharp contrast to statistics and data-sets from other sources: academic research, market research, independent research institutes, commercial organizations, local, regional, and state bodies.
Official statistics used invariably to be published in large tomes and preserved in book libraries as the definitive record. This method of dissemination...
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