A central piece of reference for the Census and Statistics Department in carrying out its statistical activities is the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics adopted by the United Nations in 1994.
In respect of statistics obtained through surveys, only aggregate statistical data are published. Procedures are in place to ensure that information relating to any particular individual person, household or undertaking will be kept strictly confidential and will not be divulged to external parties.
In respect of dissemination of economic and financial statistics, the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) serves as a practical guide.
In April 1997, the IMF accepted Hong Kong's subscription to the SDDS. The department has undertaken to follow international standards regarding the coverage, periodicity, timeliness, integrity and quality of disseminated data and access by the public to economic and financial data.
In March 2010, IMF endorsed the proposals to broaden SDDS by including seven financial soundness indicators and external debt by remaining maturity, on an encouraged basis, while prescribing the quarterly reporting (instead of annual reporting) of International Investment Position (IIP) data, with a maximum lag of one quarter, with a four-year transition period which ends in 2014. Hong Kong has disseminated the first set of quarterly IIP statistics in June 2010 for the reference period of the first quarter of 2010, which fully meets the new prescribed requirement of the SDDS.
Hong Kong has even exceeded the SDDS requirements in certain areas. Details regarding the compilation methods and dissemination practices of Hong Kong's economic and financial statistics are posted on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board on the Internet (http://dsbb.imf.org).
The department is committed to releasing statistical data as early as possible, as the usefulness of statistics is related to the timeliness with which the statistics are made available to users.
In drawing up schedules for releasing statistics, the department carefully strikes a balance amongst various factors:
Related to these factors is the need to control costs.
Where appropriate, the practice of releasing provisional statistics is adopted for certain statistical series. With the provision of clear information about the revision practice and time schedule, users may apply the provisional statistics or the final figures to suit their needs at different times.
Continuous efforts are made to shorten the time lag in releasing statistics. Since 2000, most monthly statistics are released within one month and all quarterly statistics within 3 months after the reference period. For instance, employment statistics and Consumer Price Index are released around 3 weeks, and merchandise trade statistics about 4 weeks after the reference month. The quarterly GDP estimates are released around 1.5 months after the reference quarter.
The department follows closely the widely accepted definitions, concepts and methods on statistical matters and classification systems promulgated by international organisations such as the United Nations, International Labour Organization and International Monetary Fund in compiling and disseminating statistics. The adoption of internationally accepted standards helps ensure a definite level of quality in the statistics compiled and comparability with statistics of other economies.
Transparency of statistical methods and practices is one of the key factors in creating public confidence in the quality of statistics released by the department. Descriptions or explanations about coverage, definitions, methodology and sources of data are readily available to the public in publications or reports. Notice for changes in methodology would be given. Information about revisions of official statistics is also provided to the public.
For statistics of common interest, the department issues press releases to the media. The schedule for issuing press releases on regular series of statistics for each calendar year is announced by the department in September of the preceding year. The schedule, covering some 130 press releases per year, is distributed to the media and also made known to the general public on the website of the department. In the past, except for such circumstances as very adverse weather conditions leading to temporary closure of business, all releases were made exactly on the scheduled dates.
As a rule, a press release for releasing regular statistical information is issued to the media through the Information Services Department at 4:30 p.m. on the pre-announced scheduled date. Statistics are treated with strict confidence before the scheduled release date. Access to embargoed statistics slightly in advance of the release date is confined to a very limited number of people and is based on genuine needs. They are mainly high-ranking officials in the Government who have to prepare commentaries on the released statistics. The extent of advance accessibility is limited to a reasonably short period, i.e. normally 3 to 4 working days before the release date.
The primary purpose of allowing designated parties to have advance access to statistics is to enable them to prepare their commentaries on the economic or social conditions as may be reflected by the statistics. In line with the department's policy of maintaining neutrality and objectivity in releasing statistics, the commentaries provided by other government officials are clearly distinguishable from the statistical descriptions released by the department.
In meeting the divergent needs of data users, official statistics compiled by the department are disseminated through the following means: