In recent months, Statistics Iceland has been working on preparations for a peer review conducted by the European Statistical Cooperation, the aim of which is to assess whether the country's statistical production is in accordance with the European Statistics Code of Practice.
The statistical authorities in the countries of the European Union and EFTA as well as Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, are a subject to the peer review, which is carried out by teams of independent experts and lasts until June this summer. With this quality assessment, the professionalism and production methods of Statistics Iceland will be evaluated and verified how the institution meets the quality standards set for European statistical offices.
The process is carried out on regular basis and includes a quality assessment of the statistical production of Statistics Iceland and other European statistical offices which are members of the European Statistical Cooperation. The process concludes with a visit by experts to the relevant statistical office, who inspect the procedure and subsequently write a final report. In addition to evaluating the statistical reporting based on the European Statistics Code of Practice, recommendations are also made regarding how the procedure can be further improved. Each statistical office individually then draws up an action plan in order to respond to the evaluation's recommendations.
Statistics affect daily life in all areas of society and, among other things, play a key role when it comes to promoting an informed social debate and enabling governments, companies, the academic community and ordinary citizens to make informed decisions. The professional independence of statistical offices ensures that statistics are prepared without political involvement and outside influence. The cooperation of European statistical offices makes it possible, among other things, to compare statistics between European countries. Moreover, the cooperation plays an important role when it comes to making good statistical reporting procedures constantly better.