Press Releases

The 8th European Statistics Day will be celebrated on 20 October 2023. The celebration of the European Statistics Day, which complements World Statistics Day taking place every five years, aims at highlighting the important role of official statistics in our society. The Statistical Service supports this year’s motto “Statistics for better development in a fast-changing world”.

Statistics are a vital tool for observing and analysing social development. They can provide valuable insights into trends, patterns and behaviours that can ultimately lead to improved decision-making and better public policy at all levels of government.

Public policy plays a central role in sustainable growth and development and is critical to the green transition. Effective policy implementation requires the provision of new and relevant indicators and reliable data that can be obtained quickly and are comparable at an international level. In order to formulate public policy targeting issues such as improving household living and working conditions, inflation, migration, housing policy, business competitiveness, etc., it is imperative that decision-makers use official statistics that will contribute to the successful implementation of policies.

At the same time, data sources are multiplying at an unprecedented rate owing to digitalisation and artificial intelligence. Innovation, including the exploration of new ways to use and apply these new data sources, is a major challenge. In this context, continuous dialogue with users to better meet their needs can bring significant tangible benefits, such as better and faster policymaking that improves people’s lives. Moreover, in an era in which we are almost drowning in data, it is essential that official statistics are trusted and used by the general public. Part of this involves ensuring people are able to distinguish reliable data and to use statistics correctly.

Official statistics must retain their central role as a trusted input in decision-making, contributing to informed public debate, strengthening social and economic development, and combating disinformation.

In summary, the message of European Statistics Day 2023 is that we must reinforce the central role of official statistics in creating a fairer and more sustainable world.

In Cyprus, the Authority responsible for the compilation and dissemination of most of the official statistics is the Statistical Service (CYSTAT). In the context of the celebration of the European Statistics Day, CYSTAT announces the launch of the European Statistics Competition in Cyprus on 20 October 2023, which aims to promote the use of official statistics:

• European Statistics Competition

The Statistical Service, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Statistical Society organise the European Statistics Competition in Cyprus. The competition will be held amongst secondary school students during the school year 2022-2023.

(AP)