Landshagir - 01.11.2014, Page 6

LANDSHAGIR 2018 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF ICELAND 20186
Preface
Ólafur Hjálmarsson, Director-General
This is the 24th publication of the Statistical
Yearbook of Iceland. This year’s publication
is divided into 24 chapters and comprises
300 tables, 50 graphs, several diagrams as
well as photographs. There is an alphabeti-
cal index in the back which allows topical
browsing and facilitates table searching.
In recent years, an emphasis has been put
on figurative presentation of data as well
as written texts. The material is published
both in Icelandic and English.
Statistics are of great importance in
national discourse, in government policy
making, in social and economic matters
and for measuring progress in society.
Statistics are used to compare processes
in various fields between nations of the
world and sound statistics are fundamental
for complex welfare societies and modern
market economies.
100th anniversary of Statistics Iceland
This year marks the 100th anniversary of
Statistics Iceland. There have been great
changes in Iceland during the last century
just as elsewhere in the world and official
statistics is no exception. In 1916, Statistics
Iceland’s General Director, Mr Thorsteinn
Thorsteinsson, wrote in the first statisti-
cal publication that users were complain-
ing over slow dissemination of statistical
results which he admitted was true but
that there were things delaying the process
which Statistics Iceland had no effect on
and that is was Statistics Iceland’s main
responsibility to write reliable, correct
and accessible statistical reports. Correct
reports keep their value no matter how old
they are while incorrect reports are unreli-
able and of little value even though they
are brand new. These words are just as
valid today as they were a century ago even
though changes in technology have had
great impact on statistics, especially with
the arrival of the computer and the inter-
net, but as the world evolves expectations
change also.
The importance of statistics
There is a general understanding of the
importance of official statistics. However,
the increased speed and the information
load in modern societies do not always
leave room for facts and reliable infor-
mation in social, economic and political
discourse, even though reliable statistical
information has never been as accessible,
both in Iceland and abroad. And in spite of
a prevalent understanding of the necessity
of official statistics, there has sometimes
been a lack of understanding regarding the