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Using Administrative and Secondary Sources for Official Statistics

The degree of use of administrative sources in the statistical production process varies considerably from country to country, from those that have developed fully functioning register-based statistical systems, to those that are just starting to consider this approach.
Although several subject specific texts exist, there have, until now, been no general, international methodological guidelines to help those in the early stages of using administrative data.
This handbook aims to fill that gap. It builds on material developed over ten years in the context of an international training course on the use of administrative sources for statistical purposes. That course has now been delivered over ten times, to audiences of official statisticians from throughout Europe, Western and Central Asia, and North Africa.
Each time the course has been run, it has been improved and enhanced by sharing experiences with, and receiving feedback from participants. It has also benefited greatly from the input of various expert guest presenters from Statistics Finland and the British Office for National Statistics.