Statistical Journal of the IAOS 33 (2017) 337–372 337 DOI 10.3233/SJI-161028 IOS Press Celebrating the establishment, development and evolution of statistical offices worldwide: A tribute to John Koren Catherine Michalopouloua,∗ and Angelos Mimisb aDepartment of Social Policy, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece bDepartment of Economic and Regional Development, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece Abstract. This paper describes the establishment, development and evolution of national statistical offices worldwide. It is written to commemorate John Koren and other writers who more than a century ago published national statistical histories. We distinguish four broad periods: the establishment of the first statistical offices (1800–1914); the development after World War I and including World War II (1918–1944); the development after World War II including the extraordinary work of the United Nations Statistical Commission (1945–1974); and, finally, the development since 1975. Also, we report on what has been called a “dark side of numbers”, i.e. “how data and data systems have been used to assist in planning and carrying out a wide range of serious human rights abuses throughout the world”. Keywords: National Statistical Offices, United Nations Statistical Commission, United Nations Statistics Division, organizational structure, human rights 1. Introduction limitations to this power. The limitations in question are not constitutional ones, but constraints that now Westergaard [57] labeled the period from 1830 to seemed to exist independently of any formal arrange- 1849 as the “era of enthusiasm” in statistics to indi- ments of government.... The ‘era of enthusiasm’ in cate the increasing scale of their collection. Porter [34], statistics was thus inspired by a new sense of the power adopting this phrase, expanded this period to 1820– and dynamism of society....Thestatists[statisticians] 1900, which Hacking [20,21] considered as the most sought to bring a measure of expertise to social ques- important for the history of statistics and characterized tions, to replace contradictory preconceptions of the it as the “avalanche of printed numbers”. Hacking [21] interested parties by the certainty of careful empirical noted that, this extensive collection of statistics “has observation.” created, at the least, a great bureaucratic machinery. It In this context and with the advent of statistical may think of itself as providing only information, but internationalism, during the late nineteenth century, national statistical histories started to be published. it is itself part of the technology of power in a mod- For instance, in 1882, Cheysson [13], Director at the ern state”. And as Porter [34] argued: “If statistics pro- French Ministry of Public Works – putting forward vided bureaucracies with some of the knowledge that the argument for the creation of a Central Statisti- is indispensable to power, they also suggested certain cal Commission in the fashion established in Bel- gium by Quetelet – presented briefly organizational ∗ histories of official statistics in twelve European coun- Corresponding author: Catherine Michalopoulou, Department of Social Policy, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, tries (Table 1). In 1886, the Journal de la Société de Athens, Greece. E-mail: [email protected]. Statistique de Paris published fifteen national histo- 1874-7655/17/$35.00 c 2017 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved This article is published online with Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC-BY-NC 4.0). 338 C. Michalopoulou and A. Mimis / Celebrating the establishment, development and evolution of statistical offices worldwide Table 1 Some instances of published collections of national statistical histories, 1800–1914 Publication Country Cheysson (1882) JSSP (1886) Meitzen (1891) Bertillion (1895) Koren (1918) Westergaard (1932) Africa √ Algeria √ Egypt Cap de Bonne √ Espérance √ Mauritius Americas √ Argentina √√ Brazil √√ √ Canada √ Jamaica √√√√ United States √ Uruguay Asia √ China √√ √ India √ Japan √ * Turkey Europe √√√ √ √ √ Austria √√√ √ √ √ Belgium √√ Berlin √ Bulgaria √√ √ √ √ Denmark √√ √ Finland √√ √ √ √ France √√ √ √ √ Germany √√ Greece √√√ √ √ √ Hungary √√√ √ √ Italy * √ Latvia √ Luxembourg √√ √ √ √ Netherlands √√√√√ Norway √ Portugal √√√ √ Prussia √ Romania √√√√√ Russia √√ Saxony √ Serbia √√√ Spain √√√ √ √ √ Sweden √√√ √ √ Switzerland √√√√√ UK Oceania √√ √ Australia Sources: J. Bertillon, Cours Élémentaire de Statistique Administrative: Élaboration des Statistiques. Organisation des Bureaux de Statistique. Élements de Démographie, Paris, Société d’Editions Scientifiques, 1895; M. Cheysson, Le Conseil Supérieur de Statistique en France: Rapport fait à la société de Paris, Journal de la Société de Statistique de Paris, S23 (1882), 1–16; J. Koren, ed., The History of Statistics: Their Development and Progress in Many Countries (reprinted from the 1st ed. 1918), Burt Franklin, New York, 1970; A. Meitzen, History, theory and technique of statistics, (translated from the German edition, 1886), The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1 (1891), Supplement 2, Part 1 (1891), 1 + 3 − 100; H. Westergaard, Contributions to the History of Statistics, P.S. King & Son, London, England, 1932. Notes: JSSP = Journal de la Société de Statistique de Paris S26 (1886), 145–413; papers on individual countries. Koren (1918) included for U.S. two articles on federal and state statistics, respectively. *Articles requested and promised but work interrupted by the war. C. Michalopoulou and A. Mimis / Celebrating the establishment, development and evolution of statistical offices worldwide 339 ries of official statistics. Six of these histories were – Arosenius, First Actuary of the Central Statistical unsigned [8,12,17,22,37,40] and the rest were signed Bureau (Sweden); by academics, government statisticians, “gentlemen- – Baines, Ex-President of the Royal Statistical So- statisticians” [35] and individuals often in formal posi- ciety (India and, Great Britain and Ireland); tions as both directors of the bureaus and as professors: – Buday, Ministerial-Sektionsrat (Hungary); – Beaujon [6], Professor at the University of Ams- – Cummings, Statistician at the Bureau of the Cen- terdam (Netherlands); sus (United States: Federal statistics); – Becker [7], Director of the Royal Prussian Statis- – Faure, Professor of Law at the University of Paris, tical Bureau (Germany); Member of the Central Statistical Commission – Böckh [10], Professor at the University of Berlin (France); and Director of the Statistical Department of State – Gettemy, Director of the Massachusetts Bureau of (Berlin); Statistics (United States: State statistics); – Bodio [11], Professor at the University of Rome – Godfrey, Editor at the Census and Statistics Office and Director General of the Statistical Depart- (Canada); ment (Italy); – Jensen, Chief of the Statistical Department (Den- – Gad [18], Head of the Statistical Bureau (Den- mark); mark); – Julin, Director-General of the Labour Bureau – Ignatius [23], Director of the Central Statistical (Belgium); Bureau (Finland); – Kaufmann, Professor of Statistics at Petrograd – Inama-Sternegg [24], President of the Imperial (Russia); and Royal Central Statistical Commission (Aus- – Kiaer, Director of the Statistical Bureau, 1867– tria); 1913 (Norway); – Kummer [28], Director of the Federal Statistical – Knibbs, Honorary Member of the American Sta- Bureau (Switzerland); tistical Association (Australia); – Levasseur [29], Professor at the College of France – Meyer, late President of the Imperial and Royal (France: Part I); Central Statistical Commission (Austria); – Sidenbladh [43], Chief of the Central Statistical – Stuart, Professor of Statistics and Economics at Bureau (Sweden). [36] the University of Croningen, Chairman of the In 1886, Meitzen [30], Professor at the University of Central Statistical Commission (Netherlands); Berlin, in his History, Theory and Technique of Statis- – Würzburger, Director of the Royal Statistical tics, presented a brief account of the “rise of national State Office in Dresden (Germany) [27]. statistics in the various civilized countries”, i.e. sev- Desrosières [15] pointed out that works like Ko- enteen European countries and the United States. In 1895, Bertillon [9], Director of the Bureau de Statis- ren’s [27] book “devoted large sections to historical ac- tique Municipale in Paris presented briefly the history counts of statistical activities in different countries. of official statistics in thirty-three countries. He related presented in factual, chronological, and institutional the history of statistical publications and activities, and form. listing the establishment of offices, adminis- mainly the census-taking, the establishment of the first trative ties, censuses and other administrative compila- statistical bureaus as well as the most prominent statis- tions”. This representation of statistical international- ticians that worked for the development of statistics ism would in time become standard form in published in each country (e.g. Farr and Engels) based on infor- discussions on the history and the theory of Statistics mation probably collected while attending the Inter- during the 1930s. One of the earliest prominent exam- national Statistical Congresses. In 1918, Koren [27]– ples of such a publication is Westergaard’s [57] Con-