The globalisation of statistical content

Abstract

Statistics are an excellent tool for giving fast, precise and universally understandable information. It is the explicit mission of modern statistical agencies to disseminate their information to specific target groups as well as to a broad public. But how can the accessibility of statistics and likewise the visibility and acceptance of the brand of official statistics be ensured? And this in a period where statistical content is disseminated more and more by third party providers and where new dissemination tools open promising opportunities – where statistical content becomes increasingly globalised.

The article gives an overview of the impact the Internet Revolution of the nineties had on the dissemination of official statistics, shows some of the directions web technologies have taken since then and points out challenges and opportunities for official statistics. Special focus is made on how Web 2.0 and Semantic Web are contributing to changing the traditional dissemination paradigm and to opening new opportunities by broadening, globalising and facilitating access to official statistics. In order to be present and to display its brand of quality, semantically linked data are becoming increasingly indispensable; there is a clear need to harmonise metadata further and to introduce these structures into dissemination offers.