Central Bureau of Statistics of Namibia

Prior to independence, no statistical organization existed in Namibia. A local section of the South African Statistical Services (SASS) was responsible for the collection of statistics as required by the Office in Pretoria. After independence, the Central Statistical Office (CSO), now the Central Statistics Bureau, was formerly established within the National Planning Commission, charged with the responsibility of Official Statistics in Namibia. Legal Framework The CBS currently operates under an inherited Statistics Act, No 66 of 1976. The legislation is however outdated and requires amendments in order to bring it in line with the current form of the constitution, other laws and regulations. To this end, a Statistics Policy, to serve as a basis for the amendment of the Act has been drafted and is currently with the NPC Statistics Advisory Committee for scrutiny before onward submission to the commission for approval. Mission Statement As the producer and coordinator of official statistics in Namibia, the CBS's mission is to: - produce and make publicly available objective, relevant, comparable, reliable, timely and easily accessible official statistics in all subject-matter areas of national interest and relevance; - co-ordinate and oversee the production of all official statistics in Namibia. Organizational Structure The CBS, headed by a Government Statistician assisted by a Director, as an establishment of 57. Since the establishment is not completely filled, the CBS relies, on some of its work, on causal employees. The CBS is divided into two divisions: the Demographic, Social, Surveys and Cartography; and the Economic Statistics.