Ministries/ Government Departments

The aim of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT) is to provide reliable and up-to-date statistical information. The Statistical Service is the competent authority responsible for the compilation and the publication of most of the official statistical data in Cyprus. CYSTAT, until January 2000 under the name Department of Statistics and Research, was set up in 1950 as a small administrative unit while its real function started after Cyprus became independent, in 1960. The Statistical Service, although functions under the Ministry of Finance, maintains its autonomy in technical matters and has exclusive responsibility for the choice of methodology, technique, definitions and procedures for the realization of the programmes of statistical activities, as well as for the publication of the statistical data produced. Since the accession of Cyprus in the European Union in May 2004, an important part of the basic activities of CYSTAT include the continuous participation to several committees, working groups and educational programs as well as the collaboration with the Statistical Offices of the European Union (EUROSTAT).

CYSTAT is mainly concerned with the initiation, organisation and carrying out of various censuses, surveys and statistical enquiries of an economic, demographic, social or environmental content and the publication of the results∙ with the intention both, of assisting the government in policy-making and planning of the activities and the statistical information of the private sector the general public. At the same time, CYSTAT acts as a co-ordinator in cases where other institutions (such as the Central Bank, other Ministries and Government Departments and semi-Government organisations) pursue work of a statistical nature for the collection of data of direct interest to the area of their activity.