Official statistics are based on a set of principles that ensure that they are impartial, relevant, and accurate and can be relied upon as a public good by all users. The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) are structured as 10 main issues that cover all the processes of the production and dissemination of statistics: Relevance, impartiality, and equal access; Professional standards and ethics; Accountability and transparency; Prevention of misuse; Sources of official statistics; Confidentiality; Legislation; National coordination, and Use of international standards.

The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics were first developed and adopted at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 30 years ago and later endorsed by the General Assembly as a global standard. This 30th Anniversary provides an opportunity to discuss the past, present, and future of the Principles and their relevance in the context of a rapidly changing data landscape.

This webinar is organized by the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) and the Statistics Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), as an activity of the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA). The IAOS promotes the understanding and advancement of official statistics and related subjects and fosters the development of effective and efficient official statistical services through international contacts among individuals and organizations, including users of official statistics as well as research institutes. The IAOS has taken an active role in supporting the active implementation of the FPOS. ECLAC Statistics Division contributes to improving the production, dissemination and use of statistics for evidence-based decision-making in the region, through training courses, seminars and other capacity building activities, regional data harmonization and dissemination, and supporting the SCA as its technical secretariat. The KTN contributes to the dissemination of knowledge and cooperation in statistics offering access to documents, seminars and methodological materials prepared by the working groups of the SCA and the regional statistical community. Since 2019, the National Statistical Institute (INE in Spanish) of Chile coordinates the organization of virtual seminars.