International Cooperation

The Hungarian Central Statistical Office pays special attention to its international professional relations and participation at the professional forums of international statistical organisations and institutions (EU, UNO, OECD, ISI). In the following, we will highlight the key points of the activities of different organisations and make clear how the cooperation with HCSO develops in various fields.

1. The European Statistical System and its institutions
   
   The European Statistical System aims to facilitate the establishment of comparable statistics at EU level. ESR Members include the national statistical offices of the EU Member States, Eurostat, i.e. the statistical office of the European Union, as well as the statistical offices operating in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The ESR also cooperates with the statistical offices of the countries intending to join the European Union, as well as the Directorates-General and Agencies of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and international organisations such as OECD, UNO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The operation of the European Statistical System is facilitated by the institutions, working groups, decision-preparing and decision-making bodies supporting the activity of the above-mentioned member organisations.
   Introduction of the on Eurostat Website
   
   
   1. The European Statistical System Committee was established according to Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation. Its members include the heads of the statistical offices operating in the Member States and Eurostat. The Committee is mainly responsible for providing professional guidance for the European Statistical System regarding the development, generation and disclosure of European statistics, as well as for performing legislation duties.
   
   
   2. The Partnership Group (PG) is a high-level decision-preparatory group acting beside the European Statistical System Committee. PG identifies and suggests strategic topics to ESR Committee for negotiation, and in consideration of the suggestions and opinions of the Member States it promotes the development of a preliminary common position, facilitating the more efficient operation of the European Statistical System Committee. Gabriella Vukovich was an elected member of the working group from 2016 to 2018.
   
   
   3. Set up in March 2008, the European Statistical Advisory Committee is a body that represents data users, data suppliers, Europe’s leading scientists and other stakeholders in statistics and helps the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission harmonise the strategical objectives and priorities set forth in the statistical information policy of the Community. Gabriella Vukovich has been an elected member of the Committee since 2013.
   
   
   4. In 2008 another organ, the˙European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB), was established with the aim of monitoring the practical implementation of the basic principles laid down in the European Statistics Code of Practice and reviewing the European Statistical System - with respect to the implementation of the code of conduct on European statistics – in an independent manner.
   
   
   5. The European Director Generals of Statistics Conference (Directeurs Généraux des Instituts Nationaux de Statistique, DGINS) discusses a highlighted current statistical topic every year. This conference is organised by the Member States on an annual basis. Budapest has been the host on two occasions so far, in 2017 for the second time. The Budapest Conference mainly focussed on international migration statistics, a topic being a challenge in methodological terms.
      
      


2. The statistical institutional system of UNO and specialised organisations
   
   The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistics Division UNSD was established in 1945 by 51 founding countries.
   
   
   1. The UN Statistical Commission (UNSD) is a subordinate regional organ of the UN Economic and Social Council. Its main functions include the fulfilment of the statistical demands of the geographical region and the coordination of the global statistical system. By elaborating common directives, the Statistics Division helps certain countries consolidate their own national statistical system.
   
   
   2. The UN Statistical Commission functions as the highest decision-making forum of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the statistical activity of the United Nations. It has a fundamental role in the establishment and development of standardised statistical methods and terminology. It is responsible for coordinating, commenting on and making recommendations on the elaboration and application of statistical standards, terms and methodology at national and international level. Beyond the professional and methodological harmonisation facilitating international comparison, this Commission pays special attention to the development of statistical activities in less-developed countries and to international assistance related to this. Also, it fulfils a significant role in the harmonisation of the statistical activities of different international organisations.
      Gabriella Vukovich was the Chair of the UN Statistical Commission between 2012 and 2013, and Vice-Chair and Acting Chair between 2014 and 2015. Since 2015 she has been Co-chair of the UN High Level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity Building. This High Level Group is responsible for controlling the implementation of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” Framework at global level and providing advice to the UN Statistical Commission in the issues of coordination, capacity development and partnership.
   
   
   3. The Commission on Population and Development of the UN debates recommendations and directives regarding world population development, the policies regarding it; the topic has frequently statistical relevancy, it may be linked to statistical issues.
   
   
   4. There is a regular data exchange between the HCSO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as with the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


3. Cooperation with the OECD
   
   Hungary is part, since 1996, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). HCSO participates on a regular basis, from the start, in the work of the important and relevant committees to the HCSO.
   On the initiative of the OECD the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, (PIAAC) started in 2008; it is so far the most comprehensive international research regarding adult competencies; it studies within the participating countries the competencies necessary in the information age and measures in a comparable way adult competencies, the basic competencies utilised in everyday life and in the workplace. Hungary joined the third wave of the survey in 2016. The project is carried out by a consortium formed by the National Vocational and Adult Training Office, the Ministry for National Economy as well as the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. The head of the consortium is the National Vocational and Adult Training Office, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office is responsible for carrying out the survey.


4. Scientific organisations in international statistics
   
   The HCSO membership in international organisations contributes to the fact that its members learn from the scientific periodicals or at the annual conferences of the given organisations about the latest statistical methodologies, processes in a given field, about shaping international statistical guidelines. The possibility of being a member facilitates the professional development of Hungary’s statisticians and by adopting good practices promotes the production and publication of better quality statistics.
   
   
   1. The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is an international scientific organisations with a great past. Károly Keleti, János Hunfalvy and József Kőrösi were among the founding fathers of the ISI. We find among the names of its members – since its establishment in 1885 – 74 Hungarian statisticians. During the 2018 election of officials of the international statistical community the members elected Gabriella Vukovich, the President of the HCSO as vice-president; she is in 2017 – 2021 period a member of the ISI Council as well.
   
   
   2. The specialists of the HCSO are members of the below international scientific organisations as well:
      • International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS),
      • International Input-Output Association (IIOA),
      • International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW),
      • European Association for Population Studies (EAPS),
      • Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA),
      • International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR).