The Government approved the official statistics programme for the next year

In 2010 Statistics Estonia will conduct 132 surveys, 90% of which are surveys on economic units. For most of the surveys, Statistics Estonia collects data by statistical questionnaires.

In the framework of a new survey that will be launched next year, activities targeted to organise the 2021 Population and Housing Census in the form of a register-based Census will be carried out. These works will be reflected in the survey on the register-based Population and Housing Census and preparation work for the pilot Census. Two more new surveys have been included in the list: the survey Non-agricultural Use of Pesticides which is aimed at studying the extent of use of pesticides and the environmental pressure caused by them; and the survey related to the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics. After a pause of two years, the Household Budget Survey will be conducted in an updated version.

In 2010 the Agricultural Census will be conducted on a large-scale basis. Respective preparations have been going on for a couple of years already. This Census will embrace nearly 30,000 agricultural holdings.

In connection with the budget cuts, several surveys ordered by national users of statistics (e.g. Foreign Visitors in Estonia, Border Survey, and Tourism Services) have been left out, and in case of some surveys, the designed scope of works has been reduced.

According to Mr. Priit Potisepp, Director General of Statistics Estonia, the goal for the production of official statistics is to make use of the state databases to the maximum possible extent. “In a lot of subject areas, registers cannot, unfortunately, meet the needs for data required by the users of statistics or, the data may be unsuitable for the production of statistics. Reduction of the duplicate data collection is often a time-consuming process,” admitted Potisepp. As an example of the afore-said, Potisepp points at the data collected for the purpose of producing business and economic statistics which only to a small extent are included in the annual reports submitted to the business register.

Starting from 1st January 2009, the business register is to launch an electronic data transmission system for submitting annual reports. The system is still in the construction phase and a transition period is foreseen for a switch-over to the simplified reporting system in order to give institutions enough time for implementing necessary organisational and technical changes. Statistics Estonia has planned to display the data presented in electronic annual reports preliminarily in the data collection channel eSTAT, which is possible only if economic units have presented data to the business register in the electronic form. “To prevent any interruption in the production of official statistics and publication thereof on fixed dates and in prescribed scopes during the transition period, the data that economic units are going to submit in the scope of electronic annual reports will also be collected by Statistics Estonia with the help of statistical questionnaires in 2010,” states Potisepp.

Information on the questionnaires that economic units are required to submit in 2010 will be set out in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded http://www.ametlikudteadaanded.ee/ (only in Estonian) on 15 December 2009. Simultaneously, the questionnaires are available in Statistics Estonia’s electronic data collection channel eSTAT and on Statistics Estonia’s website under the heading Andmete esitamine (only in Estonian).

The list of official statistical surveys for 2010 has been published on Statistics Estonia’s website /uudised/vaatlused (only in Estonian).