Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

Statistical inaccuracy estimates do not exist.

Sampling error

Not relevant for these statistics.

Non-sampling error

For a description of non-sampling errors, please see the documentation of these statistics primary sources.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

When the national accounts were based on the definitions in ESA2010, Denmark's national accounts underwent a major revision in September 2014. This involved a thorough examination and quality evaluation of all levels.

A reasonable accuracy of the national accounts figures is maintained by balancing the national accounts at a very detailed level.

The inaccuracy of the national accounts figures relates to the inaccuracy of the various sources used. In relation to employment, compensation of employees and hours worked, the combination of primary sources consisting of official statistics based on register data and the use of a coherent framework facilitating cross checks help maintain a reasonably accuracy of the figures. In addition, the conceptual consistency and, over time, the uniform adaptation of the sources contribute to reduce the inaccuracy of the national accounts figures. In particular, the combination of the primary sources into a coherent system in many cases uncovers errors, which therefore are not reflected in the final national accounts.

Quarterly figures for employment, compensation of employees and hours worked are primarily based on quarterly trends of the working time accounts (WTA). The WTA-basis underlying the first quarter edition is a preliminary, unpublished version, the revised quarter editions are based on preliminary, published WTA-versions. Inaccuracy of preliminary versions of WTA as well as the adjustment of the statistics to conform to the national account framework will affect the reliability. However, the juxtaposition in the framework of the national accounts contributes to reduce the inaccuracy.

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

The final statistics are published 3 years after the reference year. At the same time preliminary statistics are published for the two subsequent years.

The quarterly series are revised on a continuous basis. As a principal rule only quarters in the current year are revised. When new annual data is published the quarterly data is revised to ensure consistency with annual data. At the same time quarters of the current year are revised.