Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

The statistic aims at describing the total social expenditures connected to social protection in Denmark, including specific benefits for Danish old age pensioners living outside of Denmark.

Possible risks related to the description of the statistics include: - The possibility of a benefit being misplaced in one of the primary sources (central and local accounts, etc.) or in the classification system of the statistic, e.g. if a benefit is placed under the function of old age instead of housing. - The possibility for minor quarterly or yearly changes in the primary sources, which can be overlooked and thus not incorporated into the statistics, e.g. if a benefit is moved or merged with another benefit, which leads to structural changes in the source. - A risk for unknown or inaccessible private, collective, social schemes, as is the actual case with private employers’ sickness benefits.

These mentioned risks are rare and are typically picked up in the validation processes.

Considering these risks might lead the level of the total social expenditures to be slightly underestimated.

Sampling error

Not relevant for these statistics.

Non-sampling error

The statistics are coded anew every year, leaving a natural risk of erroneous coding, e.g. that a benefit can be classified in a wrong function (Old age instead of Housing, for instance).

Other non-sampling errors can be linked to the possibility of a benefit being misplaced in one of the primary sources (central and local accounts, etc.). There is also a possibility for minor quarterly or yearly changes in the primary sources, which can be overlooked and thus not incorporated into the statistics. Furthermore there can be social expenditures not known or without available data.

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

This statistic is based on the statistic for General Government Finances, and is relevant for users interested in expenditures connected to social protection. The statistics’ outcome reflects the social expenditures in Denmark (except the expenditures linked to education), including some social benefits for Danish persons living abroad, on a relative accurate level. The statistic is published on a yearly basis and is revised two years back in time in every production, which ensures consistency and transparency in the data.

The statistics is comparable from 2007 and onwards. It is a part of the internationally comparable ESSPROS system (European System of integrated Social PROtection Statistics) within Eurostat.

The statistics are available in StatBank and relevant metadata-classifications.

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 statistics follows the revision rhythm of the National Accounts where the three most recent years are revised every year. For this specific statistic, possible revisions typically concern small changes in expenditures, not visible to the user.

In 2018 and 2019, coherent revisions were implemented for the whole time series from 2007 and onward. The revisions resulted in changes in some benefits’ placement in the classification system, e.g. a movement from the function of Sickness/Health care to Disability, or other internal changes, which typically are not visible for the users of the statistics. Thus, the implemented revisions did not have great impact on the total social expenditures.