Official statistics provide:
● information for government, government departments, local authorities and businesses to use in making policy decisions
● measures of New Zealand's economic, social and environmental situation for the general public, government, local authorities and businesses.
Official statistics are defined in the Statistics Act 1975 as statistics derived by government departments from:
● statistical surveys administrative and registration records, and other documents from which statistics are, or could be, derived and published.
Further information about official statistics