The National Statistics Institute

The National Statistics Institute, or INE for short, is a collective person in public law, endowed with legal status, and technical, administrative and financial autonomy. It was set up by Presidential Decree nº 9/96, of 28 August, which was published in the official gazette, Boletim da República, 1st Series, nº 35, of 28 August 1996 - Supplement. The Council of Ministers supervises the INE, and has delegated this task to the Minister of Planning and Finance.

The INE is the central executive body of the National Statistics System ,or SEN, as defined in Law nº 7/96, of 5 July, which has the task of producing and publicising official statistical information of general interest to the country.

In terms of the provisions of article 3, paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree nº 9/96 of 28 August, the INE is entrusted with the following attributes:

Notation, ascertaining, publicising and coordinating the statistical data that may be requested by the government in terms of its annual plan of activities, approved by the supervising Ministry, taking into account the general lines of national statistical activity and the respective priorities laid down by the Higher Council of Statistics;

Without prejudice to the pursuit of the attributes mentioned in the previous paragraph, to carry out statistical operations that make it possible to satisfy, under economically viable conditions, the specific needs of public and private users of statistics: such users shall specifically request these operations and cover their costs.

To pursue its attributes, the INE shall, in particular:

• Undertake surveys, censuses and other statistical operations;
• Create, centralise and manage the files considered necessary, namely of statistical units;
• Have access, for exclusively statistical purposes, to individualised data concerning public and private companies, cooperatives, credit institutions, traders and other economic agents, including individual entrepreneurs, gathered in the framework of their mission by the central, provincial and local public administration, or by private institutions that hold leases on public services;
• Undertake studies in pure and applied statistics, and carry out socio-economic analyses, based on the statistical data produced under the SEN.
• Promote the training of staff for the national statistical system, together with appropriate education institutions;
• Cooperate with foreign and international organisations.

INE Organisational Chart