Federal Statistical Office Switzerland

Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is a Federal authority of the Swiss Confederation. It is the Statistics Office of Switzerland, situated in Neuchâtel and attached to the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA).

The FSO is the national service provider and competence centre for statistical observations in areas of national, social, economic and environmental importance. The FSO is the main producer of statistics in the country and runs the Swiss Statistics data pool. It provides information on all subject areas covered by official statistics.

The FSO is closely linked to the national statistics scene as well as to partners in the worlds of science, business and politics. It works closely with EUROSTAT, the Statistics Office of the European Union, in order to provide information that is also comparable at international level.

The key principles upheld by the FSO throughout its statistical activities are data protection, scientific reliability, impartiality, topicality and service orientation.

The first federal population census took place in March 1850 under the direction of Federal Councillor Stefano Franscini. As well as counting the number of inhabitants, these were also asked about their sex, age, marital status, profession, occupation and religious denomination. Between 1860 and 2000 a census took place every ten years in December. The only exceptions to this 10-year rhythm were the population census of 1888 (brought forward as basis for the revision of the constituency allocations) and the population census of 1941 (delayed due to the mobilisation of the army in May 1940). The census of 2000 was the last to use traditional methods. As of 2010 a fundamental change has been introduced: The population census, in a new format, will be carried out and analysed annually by the FSO. In order to ease the burden on the population, the information is primarily drawn from population registers and supplemented by sample surveys. Starting this year, only a small proportion of the population (about 5%) will be surveyed in writing or by telephone. The first reference day for the new census will be 31 December 2010.