There are three main characteristics defining the organisation of Germany’s Official Statistical System, a system which has been tailored to suit a federal republic. Firstly, mandatory legalism which requires that any statistical survey be governed by a specific law (or, in certain cases, by a delegated legislative act). Secondly, very pronounced decentralisation, with a Federal office of statistics, DESTATIS, and fourteen Länder offices of statistics which are independent thereof. Finally, high functional concentration and the absence of Ministerial Statistical Departments in the French sense of the term. Changes in European regulations have given the German Statistical System greater freedom, in particular the ability to make broader use of administrative data and to open up more statistical data in the world of research. They have also reinforced the role played by DESTATIS as a coordinator.

The article is available in French.