Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland
Encyclopedia
The "Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland" (German/French) published by the Federal Statistical Office
has been the standard reference book for Swiss statistics since 1891. It summarises the most important statistical findings on Switzerland's population, society, government, economy and environment. It serves not only as a reference book, but also provides in a series of overview articles a comprehensive picture of the social and economic situation of Switzerland.
were available so they could be included in it (which subsequently proved to be only partially possible).
Two years later, on 22 July 1889, the Director of the Statistical Bureau, Dr. Guillaume, presented a yearbook proposal divided into six theses to the Conference of Swiss statisticians in Aarau, which was adopted after a short discussion. The first thesis described the purpose of the publication: the Yearbook was supposed to inform the general public about the main results of Swiss statistics in easy-to-understand tables and comparable time series. Guillaume indicated that he had modelled the Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland on the Statistical Yearbook of Finland (a thin bilingual booklet) and the Statistical Yearbook of the German Reich (a more comprehensive volume with coloured maps).
On 18 October 1890, Guillaume presented an outline of the Yearbook's chapters as well as a draft chapter to the Conference of Swiss statisticians for consultation.
The first Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland, weighing in at 270 pages, was published on 8 April 1891. Apparently the response was mostly positive and the first edition seemed to live up to the expectations that might be made upon such a publication
.
; and the 1897 edition was a graphic
volume. By 1892, the "text
" element also featured more prominently in the Yearbook.
But not all editions of the Yearbook were modern in the sense described above: for several decades, volumes consisting purely of tables were published; text and graphs were dispensed with, not least for cost considerations. It was only for the 96th edition in 1989 that clear steps were taken to make the Yearbook more easily comprehensible and user-friendly again. As Federal Councillor Cotti put it in the foreword, the new design aimed "to bring statistics closer to the citizen". In 2001, the Statistical Yearbook was redesigned again: the current edition is a 900-page four-colour volume with an integrated CD-ROM
which includes not only data, but (since 2003), an interactive atlas as well.
A full description and instructions on how to use all applications can be found on the CD-ROM.
The files are in PDF
format and show the original typography, but electronic search options make it possible to consult the texts as easily as in a modern electronic publication. The files are quite large (between 16 and 50 MB!), but with a high-speed internet connection downloading them should not cause any problems.
This 50-page free publication in A5 format fits in a coat pocket and includes the most important information on Switzerland's geography, population, employment and income, economy, transport, social security, education and science.
The "Statistical Data on Switzerland" is published in five languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh and English.
Federal Statistical Office (Switzerland)
The Federal Statistical Office is a Federal authority of the Swiss Confederation. It is the Statistics Office of Switzerland, situated in Neuchâtel and attached to the Federal Department of Home Affairs ....
has been the standard reference book for Swiss statistics since 1891. It summarises the most important statistical findings on Switzerland's population, society, government, economy and environment. It serves not only as a reference book, but also provides in a series of overview articles a comprehensive picture of the social and economic situation of Switzerland.
The history of the Yearbook
The desirability of having a statistical yearbook was expressed for the first time on 29 June 1887. The Federal Council agreed to consider implementing this proposal, but before publishing the Yearbook it wanted to wait until the results of the 1888 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
were available so they could be included in it (which subsequently proved to be only partially possible).
Two years later, on 22 July 1889, the Director of the Statistical Bureau, Dr. Guillaume, presented a yearbook proposal divided into six theses to the Conference of Swiss statisticians in Aarau, which was adopted after a short discussion. The first thesis described the purpose of the publication: the Yearbook was supposed to inform the general public about the main results of Swiss statistics in easy-to-understand tables and comparable time series. Guillaume indicated that he had modelled the Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland on the Statistical Yearbook of Finland (a thin bilingual booklet) and the Statistical Yearbook of the German Reich (a more comprehensive volume with coloured maps).
On 18 October 1890, Guillaume presented an outline of the Yearbook's chapters as well as a draft chapter to the Conference of Swiss statisticians for consultation.
The first Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland, weighing in at 270 pages, was published on 8 April 1891. Apparently the response was mostly positive and the first edition seemed to live up to the expectations that might be made upon such a publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
.
Development over 100 years
The concept adopted in the early days of the Statistical Yearbook, which aimed to make information available not just to specialists but to the public at large, corresponds to modern principles of statistical dissemination. This explains a certain similarity in the way information has been presented for more than 100 years: for example, the first edition already contained a visualisation of statistics in a series of thematic mapsThematic map
A thematic map is a type of map or chart especially designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area. These maps "can portray physical, social, political, cultural, economic, sociological, agricultural, or any other aspects of a city, state, region,nation , or...
; and the 1897 edition was a graphic
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
volume. By 1892, the "text
Written language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
" element also featured more prominently in the Yearbook.
But not all editions of the Yearbook were modern in the sense described above: for several decades, volumes consisting purely of tables were published; text and graphs were dispensed with, not least for cost considerations. It was only for the 96th edition in 1989 that clear steps were taken to make the Yearbook more easily comprehensible and user-friendly again. As Federal Councillor Cotti put it in the foreword, the new design aimed "to bring statistics closer to the citizen". In 2001, the Statistical Yearbook was redesigned again: the current edition is a 900-page four-colour volume with an integrated CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
which includes not only data, but (since 2003), an interactive atlas as well.
Current Yearbook concept
The chapters of today's Yearbook, which correspond to the topics covered by official statistics, are divided into four parts:- "Overview". Each overview text presents a summary of key findings, analyses long-term trends and explains links between various indicators. This section, which also contains numerous graphics, is aimed at a wide audience, but is also intended to provide a useful overview for more specialised groups such as media people and politicians.
- The "SurveysStatistical surveySurvey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....
, Sources" section briefly describes the most important data sources. - The "GlossaryGlossaryA glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
" defines key terms. - Finally, the "Data" section corresponds to a classical statistical yearbook and remains the largest section. It mainly contains tables as well as some graphics and thematic maps.
The CD-ROM of the Statistical Yearbook
The Statistical Yearbook CD-ROM (which is not sold separately) contains:- The "digital Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland" – an interactive application that allows easy navigation and searching of the electronic versions of all texts, tables, graphs and maps of the printed yearbook. These are complemented by a considerable number of tables - notably with cantonal and communal-level data.
- Two interactive atlasesAtlasAn atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
: the "Statistical Atlas of Switzerland" and ("as of the 2011 edition") the "Statistical Atlas of Europe"
A full description and instructions on how to use all applications can be found on the CD-ROM.
Yearbook Archive
Thanks to close cooperation with the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT), the FSO also makes available an "electronic version of all editions of the Yearbook from 1891 to 1957" - a useful and interesting source for historians, students and all other interested persons.The files are in PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
format and show the original typography, but electronic search options make it possible to consult the texts as easily as in a modern electronic publication. The files are quite large (between 16 and 50 MB!), but with a high-speed internet connection downloading them should not cause any problems.
Statistical Data on Switzerland
"Statistical Data on Switzerland" is a clearly presented booklet which is updated every year and is intended to provide an "iron ration" of the most important key figures for Switzerland.This 50-page free publication in A5 format fits in a coat pocket and includes the most important information on Switzerland's geography, population, employment and income, economy, transport, social security, education and science.
The "Statistical Data on Switzerland" is published in five languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh and English.