!!!Statistik

Statistics, numerical description of mass phenomena ("descriptive 
statistics"). Developed in the 18th century as a branch of the 
administration and discipline of political science in the wake of  
Mercantilism and the  Enlightenment. In Austria, its roots are found 
in the administrative reforms initiated by Maria Theresia and 
Joseph II. The earliest objectives were usually  Censuses (held 
in Austria for the first time in 1754) and the collection of data from 
different branches of the administration. In the course of the 19th 
century statistical offices were set up in most developed countries ( 
Central Statistical Office, Austrian) to collect and compile 
administrative data concerning the population and economic activity. 
Soon after 1850 international cooperation was started in the form of 
statistical congresses; nowadays international comparability of data 
is ensured by the statistical activities of the UN, OECD and in 
particular the European Union (regarding its member states). 
Efficiency was greatly enhanced by punched-card technology (first used 
for population censuses in Austria and the USA in 1890) and the use of 
EDP. Universities mostly teach statistics as a science closely linked 
with mathematics and probability calculus ("analytical statistics"). 
The Federal Statistics Act of 2000 is meant to ensure that the public 
has easier access to statistical data (via Internet etc.).

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In Austria the bulk of statistical work is within the purview of the 
federal government and entrusted to  Statistik Oesterreich, which was 
created out of the Austrian Central Statistical Office in 2000. The 
provinces and municipalities also conduct statistical surveys, as do 
the various chamber organisations.

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Chief subjects of statistical surveys are population and housing 
censuses, workshop and office censuses (since 1869, every ten years 
since 1951, last census in 1991), births, deaths and marriages, health 
statistics, school and university statistics, microcensuses (household 
polls, censuses of farming and forestry enterprises, livestock 
censuses, crop statistics, production and service statistics, the 
consumer price index, foreign trade, tourism, national accounts and 
environmental data.


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