Press Release ECE/STAT/00/8
Geneva, 28 July 2000
GIS - A revolution in the world of statistics!
"Since ages, statistics have been elaborated on the basis of
administrative units, i.e. population for a given city, cultivated land per districts or
average precipitation by country. The introduction of geographical information system
technologies (GIS) and remote sensing by satellites are revolutionising the world of
statistics" says Mrs. Jana Meliskova, Senior Statistician at the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)." GIS allows to link statistical data
directly to the place of the earth where it was observed. Land can be subdivided into
small geographically defined areas, which, unlike administrative units, are not going to
change".
GIS is used for data collection, production of various statistical
analyses and presentation of outcomes in the diverse mapping forms. High potential of data
integration with GIS technologies upgrades a power of statistical analysis comparing with
traditional technologies. GIS software is available on the market for reasonable prices,
can be installed on personal computers and in the near future will be a part of standard
office software package available on any desktop. Its value is further increased through
Internet and Intranet access and upgrading dissemination of the results.
Revolutionary developments are also in remote sensing techniques.
Satellites are used for digitalisation and analysis of forest statistics, crop monitoring,
meteorological catastrophes (for example USA mapped and analysed using satellite
techniques a movement and consequences of the hurricane Mitch) and many other projects.
Although the technology is a driving force in the development of GIS statistical
application, many challenges remain to be explored. Just to point out some of the most
important the methodology of data integration, database design and data security should be
mentioned.
How could the GIS methods and techniques be better harmonised with the
traditional production of statistics in National Statistical Offices? What are the major
challenges to the integration of statistics and geography? Is recent technological
development indeed the only driving force in the newly implemented spatial data
warehousing? What about the risk of misusing spatial information? Is disclosure control
sufficiently developed and available? How can international cooperation accelerate
development in this field? These and many other questions were discussed at the UN/ECE
Work Session on Methodological Issues Involving the Integration of Statistics and
Geography held recently in Neuchâtel, kindly hosted by the Federal Statistical Office
of Switzerland. About 60 experts from 21 UN/ECE member countries and Eurostat attended
this meeting.
Although there is a fairly strong technical potential in mapping
technologies in both national and international statistical agencies, the Neuchâtel
meeting showed that methodology for the integration of statistics and geography is still
in its infancy. The lack of a common spatial referencing system, insufficient quality of
descriptive metadata and a low level of implementation of international spatial standards
were weaknesses reported at the meeting.
* * *
For more information about the meeting please contact:
Mrs. Jana Meliskova
Team Leader, Team on EDP and related matters
Statistical Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 917 4150
Fax: +41 22 917 0040
E-mail: [email protected]
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