Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania)

www.stat.gov.lt

The Department of Statistics shall be headed by the Director General who shall be appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister.

Director General
First Deputy Director General
Deputy Director General
Deputy Director General
Deputy Director General
Secretariat
Agriculture and Environment Statistics
Construction and Investment Statistics
Dissemination of Statistical Information
Documents management
Domestic Trade Statistics
Economic and Finance
Economic Entities Register
Education and Culture Statistics
Employment Statistics
Energy Statistics
Enterprise Statistics
European Affairs and International Cooperation
Financial Services
Foreign Trade Statistics
Industry Statistics
Information systems maintenance division
Internal auditor's service
Interviewers Coordination Service
IT development division
Knowledge economy and special surveys statistics division
Labour Statistics
Legal
Library-Bookshop
Living Standard Statistics
Maintenance Service
Methodology and quality
National Accounts
Personnel
Population Statistics
Price Statistics
Program of Official Statistics
Public Relations
Social Protection
Transport and Service Statistics

Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) prepares middle term-frame strategies with main process directions, actions and expected results.

Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania)shall implement a uniform State policy in the fields of organisation and methodology of statistics. The Department of Statistics shall prepare a work programme of the Official Statistics and a report on its implementation, which are approved by the Government or an institution authorised by it.

To develop services for users by providing comprehensive and detailed official statistics in the most appropriate form, following the single contact point principle, by rationally using the resources and without increasing the response burden.

Statistics Lithuania, central statistical office to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania is a leading statistical institution implementing general policy on statistical and methodological organisation.

THE MAIN HISTORICAL MOMENTS OF LITHUANIAN STATISTICS:

o 1528 - the "zemininku" (farmers) census first mentioned in historical sources.

o 1861 - the survey of national and religious relations in the Vilnius governors' area.

o 1897 - the first population census by sex, confession, business, age and other breakdown.

o 1878, 1888 and 1905 - agricultural censuses.

o 1908 industrial census.

o 06 September 1919 - after the Independence was declared, General Department of Statistics was established. V. Petrulis was appointed as director.

o 01 January 1921 - the Central Statistical Bureau was established. G. Feterauskas was appointed as director.

o 21 May 1921 - statutes of the Permanent Commission of Statistics announced.

o 1922 - the Steigiamasis Seimas (Parliament) passed the Law on the Overall Population Census.

o 1923 - the first Population Census of the pre-war Lithuania.

o 03 October 1923 - Agricultural Statistics was attached to the Central Statistical Bureau.

o 1924 - Foreign Trade Statistics division was established.

o 1927 - the first Balance of Payments compiled in Lithuania.

o 1930 - the Cabinet of Ministers passed the Law on Statistics.

o 1930 - the Overall agricultural census. Its data published in three languages in 1932.

o 1940 - with the outset of the soviet occupation Lithuanian statistics became a part of the Soviet statistical system.
o 18 April 1990 - after the restoration of Independence, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania established the Lithuanian Department of Statistics. (Directors of Statistics Lithuania: V. Jankauskas 1990-1992, V. Truksinas 1992-1993, K. Zaborskas 1993-1997, P. Adlys 1997-2001, A. Semeta 2001-to date).

o The Law on Statistics was adopted in 1993. The Seimas (Parliament) passed the amended law on Statistics (No VIII-1511) on 23 December 1999, which came into force on 31 December 1999.

o The system of electronic data collection was started in 2002.

o After the EU membership in 2004, The Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) became a part of the European statistical system.

o 2007 – management system of Statistics Lithuania was certified by independent Certification Office as fully compliant with ISO 9001:2000 requirements.

LAW ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE LAW ON STATISTICS
23 December 1999 No VIII-1511 Vilnius.

Activities of Statistics Lithuania are regulated by the Law on Statistics, which consolidates the concept of official statistics and general principles of its organization, stipulates the rights and duties of respondents, defines the tasks, rights and duties of institutions managing official statistics and their liability for the violation of the law. The Law on Statistics has been adjusted with the legal provisions of the European Union, which are compatible with the Regulation No322/97 of the European Council on the Community Statistics.

Other legal acts related to the area are available in the website of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania (Seimas) www.lrs.lt

The Statistical Law stipulates: In the Republic of Lithuania, official statistics shall be managed by the following agencies:
1) the Department of Statistics;
2) regional statistical agencies of the Department of Statistics;
3) ministries, other State and local self-government institutions, agencies, as well as the Bank of Lithuania, if it is provided for in the work programme of the Official Statistics.

The system of Lithuanian statistics is guided by the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and, European Statistics Code of Practice.

The Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) is a public authority coordinating official statistics in the country, implementing public policy in the field of organisation and methodology of statistics. In Lithuania, statistics is also managed by regional statistical offices, which, in pursuance of the Work Programme of Official Statistics, collect statistical reports from respondents and enter their data into primary databases, produce statistical information on respective administrative units (counties, municipalities) and provide it to users. Ministries, other public authorities and the Bank of Lithuania manage statistics within the area of their competence: having agreed with Statistics Lithuania, these institutions approve statistical questionnaires, instructions for filling them in, establish the order and time for data submission, collect statistical data and produce statistical information.
The Ministry of Environment collects data on mineral resources, atmospheric protection, use of water resources, waste management, hydrometeorological observations, keeps records on the number of game animals and hunting thereof, and forestry activities.
The Ministry of Finance manages statistics on the State and municipal budgets’ revenue, expenditure, deficit and debt, own resources.
• The Customs Department provides data on freight traffic, transit road transport and those of the Intrastat system.
The Ministry of Culture manages statistics on theatres, concert organisations, cultural centres, libraries and the press.
The Bank of Lithuania is responsible for bank and monetary statistics, production and publication of data of the Lithuanian balance of payments.
The Ministry of Social Security and Labour collects information on the protection of the rights of the child, unemployed persons, financial social support, pensions, allowances and other benefits and beneficiaries thereof.
• The State Labour Inspectorate collects data on accidents at work.
• The Lithuanian Labour Exchange informs on the number of unemployed persons in Lithuania, job vacancies.
The Ministry of Education and Science manages statistics on general schools at the national and municipal level.
The Ministry of Economy collects information on the prices and stock of petroleum products, base metal scrap and purchase of waste.
• The Department of Enterprise Bankruptcy Management manages statistics on enterprise bankruptcy and restructuring.
• The Lithuanian State Department of Tourism collects statistics on the number of visitors of tourism information centres.
The Ministry of Health Care collects comprehensive data on morbidity, primary health care and activity of health care institutions, pharmaceutical companies.
The Ministry of the Interior manages crime statistics, collects data on asylum seekers, refugees, road traffic accidents, fires, salvage operations.
• The Police Department collects data on road traffic accidents and consequences thereof.
• The Fire and Rescue Department systemizes data on fires, salvage operations.
• The State Border Guard Service keeps records of persons and transportation equipment arriving to and leaving the Republic of Lithuania.
The Ministry of Agriculture manages statistics on fisheries, Pedigree Animal Information System, Agriculture and Food Product Market Information System, Land and Animal registers, economic accounts for agriculture; collects crop declarations and data on ecological agricultural production, waste of animal origin, use of public finance for amelioration.

Since 1994, the Statistical Council has been functioning at Statistics Lithuania as an advisory body. The council analyses key organisational and methodological statistics-related issues; considers methodological principles of censuses, statistical registers, main surveys, as well as work programmes of official statistics, main results of statistical surveys, data protection, issues of submission of statistical information to public authorities and publication thereof; draws conclusions; submits proposals to Statistics Lithuania.

6 April 2001

Official statistical data sources shall be the following:

1) statistical surveys and censuses as well as bookkeeping data of natural and legal persons as well as enterprises without the rights of a legal person;

2) information systems of the Bank of Lithuania, tax inspectorates, customs, education and health institutions, labour exchange, social security and municipal economy institutions, State registers as well as data from administrative or personal documents accumulated by county governors, local self-government institutions and agencies.

Rules and Regulations for Data Acknowledgement as Confidential and their Usage:

I. Purpose of rules and regulations

1.1 These rules and regulations define conceptions of confidential statistical data, personal data and specified personal data, and determine their storage and management procedures.

1.2 These rules and regulations shall be observed by all the employees of the Department of Statistics and its territorial statistical offices working with confidential statistical data or personal data or otherwise related to it.

1.3 The rules and regulations are based on the Law on Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania, Law on Legal Protection of Personal Data of the Republic of Lithuania, Law on the Register of Enterprise of the Republic of Lithuania, Law on State Registers of the Republic of Lithuania, other legal acts and EU documents regulating data confidentiality.

II. Key concepts

2.1 Confidentiality of statistical data means usage of the gained primary data solely for statistical purposes so that identification of the protected by the law stored data and activity results of a certain respondent were not possible.

2.2 A respondent is either a natural or legal person as well as an enterprise that does not possess any rights of a legal person that is to submit or shall submit data on himself/herself/itself to statistics managing institutions or offices.

2.3 Personal data is any information related to a natural person whose identity is known or such data as a personal code, one or two elements of a physical, physiological, intellectual, economic, cultural or social character allowing to directly or indirectly disclose identity of the person.

2.4 Specified personal data are those on ethnical or racial origin of a natural person, his/her political, religious or other beliefs, philosophical viewpoints, membership in trade unions, health, intimate life, conviction.

2.5 Microdata are those data base primary data checked and/or filled with additional information.

2.6 Direct identification means recognition of a statistical item according to its name or address or according to its officially bestowed and stated identification number.

2.7 Indirect identification offers an opportunity to identify a statistical item otherwise than by direct identification.

III. Confidentiality of statistical data

3.1 Statistical data, microdata, personal data and specified personal data are confidential.

3.2 Statistical information (aggregated statistical data) is considered confidential if it does not meet the requirements of chapter IV, clauses 4.2.1, 4.2.2 and 4.2.3.

IV. Confidentiality of statistical information (aggregated statistical data)

4.1 Statistical information (aggregated statistical data) is considered confidential provided the respondent can be identified; primary statistical data had been collected about his economic activity results.
4.2 Statistical data (aggregated statistical data) can be released provided it meets the requirements as follows: 4.2.1 the released information comprises data of at least three respondents;

4.2.2 Total volume in a concrete kind of economic activity shall not exceed 70% per one respondent;

4.2.3 Total volume in a concrete kind of economic activity shall not exceed 85% per two respondents.

4.3 Each time when releasing statistical data a check of compliance with requirements laid down in clauses 4.2.1, 4.2.2 and 4.2.3 shall be made.

4.4 Data that do not meet the requirements stated above can be released provided a written permission of the respondent is available.

V. Confidentiality exceptions

5.1 Data confidentiality is not subject to information about the following:

5.1.1. Kind of economic activity of enterprises, institutions and organizations according to Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE) at the 4-digit level.

5.1.2. Enterprises classified by income for the production sold or services provided according to NACE 4-digit level;

5.1.3. Kinds of production produced in compliance with the list of the Economic European Community (PRODCOM).

5.1.4. Size of the staff of the natural person, legal person or the enterprise having no rights of the legal person;

5.1.5. Data disclosing environmental pollution by territorial unit level (NUTS 4).

5.1.6. The list of the biggest exporting/importing enterprises per year when enterprises are classified by their codes and their number is at least 20.

5.1.7. The list of the biggest exporting/importing enterprises by the main trade partners of the Republic of Lithuania when enterprises are classified by their codes and their number is at least 20.

5.1.8. The list of the biggest exporting/importing enterprises by group of commodities (by two commodity code digits of the Combined Commodity Nomenclature) when enterprises are classified by their codes and their number is at least 20. Data shall not be exposed by commodity group provided they do not meet the requirements of clauses 4.2.1, 4.2 and 4.2.3.

5.1.9. The list of the biggest enterprises, institutions and organizations by their income and by economic activity based on NACE.

5.1.10. Report of the Bank of Lithuania on its profit (losses).

5.1.11. Balance-sheet of the Bank of Lithuania.

5.1.12. Social-demographic data on the residents of care institutions, incoming and outgoing reasons.

5.1.13. Data whose written release is based on the respondent's permission.

5.1.14. Data of statistical registers and databases shall be produced in compliance with provisions laid down.

VI. Confidential statistical data management and protection

6.1 Confidential statistical data are being stored observing the order defined by the law. Data can be revealed to unauthorized persons neither within domestic confinement nor outside it. Statistics Lithuania shall have to ensure protection of confidential statistical data so that to head off their disclosure or illegal use.

6.2 Each time before release or dissemination of statistical data persons responsible for release and dissemination of statistical information shall have to check whether statistical data meet the principles of confidentiality.

6.3 In order to head off disclosure of confidential data special methodology shall be applied while processing statistical data.

Limitation of territorial units is one of the methods that inhibit possible data disclosure in territorial units with relatively high probability of disclosure.

Rounding means data rounding to the nearest value. Rounding can be carried out randomly, towards the top or the bottom

Data recoding into categories means that data can be recoded into broader groups that ensure reduction of identification threat.

Erasure of some elements of the data, i.e., some information that is the most sensitive for disclosure may be erased. If a box, line or column in the table is erased, then at least one more box, line or column shall have to be erased so that it were difficult to calculate from the total figure.

6.4 It can be allowed to use confidential data for academic purposes provided no direct identification of the respondent is possible. Academic institutions shall have to ensure a proper protection of confidential statistical data.

6.5 Microdata may be produced to the third parties on contract basis provided their form ensures neither direct nor indirect identification of the respondent. Therefore, special methods have to be applied:

Limitation of territorial units is one of the methods which inhibits possible data disclosure in territorial units with relatively high probability of disclosure;

Withdrawal of the sample means withdrawal of a part of data from the microdata file;

Data coding when introducing upper and lower codes. It means that alternating data are given upper and/or lower codes. Actually, the upper/lower code is the upper/lower limit estimated for a concrete value;

Erasure of super high sensitivity data. Some statistical blocks can have super high sensitivity in microdata files. Accordingly, they can be eliminated from those files;

Erasure of some elements of the data, i.e., some information that is the most sensitive for disclosure may be erased;

Microaggregation is data classification by similarity principles.

6.6 The staff of the Department of Statistics and its territorial statistical offices both directly working with confidential data or related otherwise shall have to observe the requirements as follows:

a) to thoroughly handle by the respondent produced information in compliance with the latest version of the Law on Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania, domestic working regulations, provisions and executive instructions of the Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;

b) not to disclose confidential statistical data, personal data, other confidential information to any person who is not authorized to handle statistical data, either in the domestic confinement of work or outside it;

c) not to create favourable conditions to the third persons to get an illegal access confidential statistical data;

d) to ensure confidentiality of data handled in the confinement of work over the entire confidentiality period;

e) to commit themselves in written form to use confidential data solely for the purposes of statistics and protect them. Severance of the working contract does not make the person exempt from responsibility for such information disclosure.

6.7. The staff of the Department of Statistics and its territorial statistical offices shall let their chief and the person authorized for data protection at the Department of Statistics to know about any suspicious act or behaviour of counterparts in the confinement of work or of the third persons who can raise threat for confidential data safety.

6.8 Employees who are authorized to work with personal data and specified personal data shall observe the Law on Legal Protection of Personal Data of the Republic of Lithuania and the requirements of the satellite legal acts.

A Press release, Publication and Database timetable with precise dates of releases published on the website www.stat.gov.lt . RSS feed is available.

A detailed list of all publications accesible via website http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/catalog/

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It can be allowed to use confidential data for academic purposes provided no direct identification of the respondent is possible. Academic institutions shall have to ensure a proper protection of confidential statistical data.

Microdata may be produced to the third parties on contract basis provided their form ensures neither direct nor indirect identification of the respondent. Therefore, special methods have to be applied:

Limitation of territorial units is one of the methods which inhibits possible data disclosure in territorial units with relatively high probability of disclosure;

Withdrawal of the sample means withdrawal of a part of data from the microdata file;
Data coding when introducing upper and lower codes. It means that alternating data are given upper and/or lower codes. Actually, the upper/lower code is the upper/lower limit estimated for a concrete value;

Erasure of super high sensitivity data. Some statistical blocks can have super high sensitivity in microdata files. Accordingly, they can be eliminated from those files;
Erasure of some elements of the data, i.e., some information that is the most sensitive for disclosure may be erased;

Microaggregation is data classification by similarity principles.