In this section we have brought together the most frequently asked questions received by the information service, along with the responses. We hope that in this way we can settle a number of doubts that users might have.
If you cannot find the response to your question on this page, do not hesitate to get in touch with us via this online form. We will attempt to provide you with a response within a maximum period of three working days.
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Statistical information in general
Where can I find statistical data?
All Eustat statistical information is published on this web site, structured by topics and sub-topics so that finding it is as simple as possible. Select the topic and section of interest to you, or write the related term in the search engine. The information that is available on the website includes all the details of the statistics operation published, both with regard to statistical data and to information on methodology.
How often is the data updated?
The statistical information available on the Internet is permanently updated, given that the Internet is the priority medium used by Eustat for the dissemination of statistical results.
How do we know when the data is updated?
Eustat data follows a strict calendar that indicates the exact publication date of short-term statistics (monthly or quarterly), and the month when dealing with structural statistics (annual or greater periods).
Is it possible to obtain data that is more detailed than that published on the web site?
It is indeed possible to obtain more disaggregated information (sectorial, territorial, etc.) than that published, but this must always be requested in the form of a customized petition. A customized request is not always viable and it will be up to the service responsible for the survey to analyse its viability or otherwise. When the request is viable, production costs are generated that are invoiced to the applicant, according to the approved Official Price List, which has previously been communicated.
Is it possible to view data from periods prior to those that Eustat has published on the web site?
When the statistics operation on which information is being sought was being carried out on the desired date, it will be available in the Eustat data bank.
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CPI. Consumer price index
Where can data be found on the latest CPI to be published?
CPI
What months need to be included to calculate the CPI variation for a full year? Do the initial and final months need to be repeated?
To consider a period of 12 months, the initial month and the final month must be the same. In other words, if we wish to calculate the annual variation experimented by the CPI in September 2004 we must compare September 2003 with September 2004 (12 months), and not August 2003 with September 2004 (13 months), nor October 2003 with September 2004 (11 months). This must be done in this manner because the indices refer to the last day of the month. Therefore, by considering September 2003 this month would not be included within the calculation, but September 2004 would be.
What period should be selected to obtain the variation for the natural year?
The natural year is obtained by considering the period December – December. The explanation of why this needs to be done in this manner is found in the previous section.
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Population data
What is the population of the A.C. of the Basque Country?
The population figures are those that are derived from the Municipal Population Statistics (code 010154 in the Basque Statistics Plan), and are published annually with the reference date of 31st December each year.
In addition, population figures are published that are obtained from the Population Censuses, which are purely statistical in nature.
What is the highest level of territorial disaggregation for the population figures?
The population figures may be broken down with a very high level of territorial disaggregation, although this would always be exclusively for statistical purposes. The Nomenclature or List of Population Units, which derives from the Municipal Register, contains the populations of all the entities and neighbourhoods of each municipality.
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What criteria are used to select the people who have to respond to official statistics?
A major part of official statistics is carried out using samples, or in other words, using a selection of people chosen at random in such a way that they are representative of the total population that we wish to study. In this sense, people are usually selected according to sex, age, place of residence or similar data.
To select those people who are to be included in the sample, Eustat uses the Population Register of the A.C. of the Basque Country. In the case of selecting households, the Directory of Households is used.
In the case of telephone surveys, the telephone numbers are obtained from publicly-available telephone directories.
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What criteria are used in the selection of companies that have to respond to official statistics?
Normally, a randomly selected sample of companies is made using the Eustat Directory of Economic Activities (DIRAE). This selection should represent as much as possible other companies of similar characteristics with relation, for example, to the type of activity or the number of employees. As a group, the companies included in the sample represent the sector as a whole or the economic activity that we wish to analyse. Some companies have to be permanently included in the sample because they make a substantial contribution to the activity branch or the territory of which they form a part, without whose information it would not be possible to obtain reliable data.
On the other hand, a small number of surveys on companies are of a census nature, meaning that they include all the companies of significant size or activity belonging to the same area. In other cases, a census of all companies is used when the area of analysis includes only a few companies or companies that differ greatly from each other, meaning that a sample would not reflect the totality of the area under study.
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Confidentiality of the data
Can information be obtained from Eustat on a particular person or company?
No. Eustat does not provide nominative data on any of the persons or companies collaborating in the surveys, or included in any type of registry which it administers, given that this type of information is always protected by statistical secret.
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Is responding to official statistics questionnaires compulsory?
Collaboration by the population and by companies in responding to questionnaires is a legal obligation, given the public interest nature, as determined by the Basque Parliament, of all statistics integrated into the Basque Statistics Plan and its Annual Programmes of statistical action (Articles 9 to 16 and 19 to 23 of the Law 4/1986, from 23th April, on Statistics of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country). With this an adequate quota of responses is assured, thus giving a set of reliable statistical results.
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Why isn’t other already existing statistical or administrative information used?
Whenever possible, the official statistics producing bodies make use of data already supplied to the public Administration by the population or by companies, as a result of legal and administrative relations.
However, these administrative registers do not contain all the information required by the Basque Government, economic or social agents, or the different statistics users, meaning that it is often necessary to conduct specific surveys to complement or update them.
Whatever the case, Eustat and the other bodies of the statistics system of the A.C. of the Basque Country try to significantly reduce the number of questionnaires addressed to the population or to companies, seeking a balance between the burden that different surveys may represent for the informant and the need for part of the population and companies to obtain detailed information. For this reason, Eustat has established, among other courses of action, stable collaboration agreements with the INE to carry out joint operations in order to avoid duplicated statistics.