Dissemination rules for official statistics

All information produced by the official statistical service (data and studies) is available free of charge and in compliance with statistical confidentiality, in publications, on computer storage media or on the websites of INSEE and ministerial statistical offices .

The official statistical service implements clear, strict and transparent common dissemination principles, in particular :

Official statistics has adopted a reference framework for the process of disseminating statistical publications.

It is based on two rules:

The legal framework for dissemination is based on a set of international standards and codes adopted by France.

Among international standards, the Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletSDDS (Special Data Dissemination Standard) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the most widely used. Like all industrialized countries, France adhered to this dissemination standard in 1996, and has been among the first countries committed to its new SDDS+ version since 2014. In particular, it requires countries to provide a description of the conditions for data construction and dissemination, and to draw up a dissemination schedule for the next four months. The SDDS standard also sets deadlines for data release. The data release schedule and monitoring of compliance with this standard are available (in English) on Ouvrir dans un nouvel ongletthe IMF website.

The European Statistics Code of Practice establishes principles of professional independence, impartiality and objectivity (principles 1 and 6).

Finally, European regulations or gentleman's agreements, notably concerning short-term statistics, set the dates for the compulsory transmission of most data to Eurostat, with a view to publication of the corresponding European summary.

You can consult them on the "Rules for dissemination of statistical indicators and publications".

In particular, for statistical indicators under embargo, the dissemination rules are available on the "Dissemination of the main economic, social and environmental indicators".

Insee revises the values of its statistics to ensure that they reflect reality as accurately as possible, and to guarantee their relevance and reliability.

After an initial release, new data may be integrated into the production of statistics. These revised statistics gain in accuracy and reliability, but lose in freshness. More generally, revisions occur when input data are modified or supplemented after their initial release. They can also be due to changes in concepts, nomenclatures or methods, and can result from a variety of causes. For this purpose, the institute uses well-established procedures, standardized and planned according to international standards. Revisions are announced simultaneously with their release or in advance, according to a protocol adapted to the source of the revisions, their scope and the sensitivity of the published statistics.

All explanations required to understand these revisions accompany the release of the statistical sources concerned on the Insee.fr website. The general revision policy applied at Insee complies with the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice.

In accordance with the European Statistics Code of Practice, INSEE corrects errors discovered in the information it disseminates as soon as possible, and informs users accordingly. The principles and rules applied by the Institute are set out in its error correction policy.

Several types of micro-data files are accessible via procedures and distribution channels that depend on the level of detail of the data and the nature of the requesters.