Adopted at the 3rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People’s Congress on December 8, 1983; amended for the first time at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on May 15, 1996; and revised at the 9th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on June 27, 2009
Effective as revised: January 1, 2010
Table of Contents
Chapter I — General Provisions
Article 1 — This Law is enacted for the purposes of organizing statistical work in a scientific and effective manner, safeguarding the authenticity, accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of statistical data, and enabling statistics to play their role in understanding the state of the nation, guiding national economic and social development, and promoting the development of the socialist modernization.
Article 2 — The fundamental task of statistical work is to conduct statistical surveys and analysis of economic and social development, provide statistical data and advisory opinions, and exercise statistical supervision.
Article 3 — State organs, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations, as well as self-employed industrial and commercial households and individuals, shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and relevant state regulations, provide truthful, accurate, complete, and timely data required for statistical surveys and shall not provide false or incomplete statistical data or refuse to submit or delay the submission of statistical data.
Article 4 — The state shall establish a centralized and unified statistical system, implementing a unified leadership and a management system with responsibilities divided at different levels.
Article 5 — The state shall strengthen the construction of statistical informatization, and incorporate statistical informatization into national informatization development plans, to ensure that statistical data are scientifically and effectively controlled and preserved.
Article 6 — Statistical institutions and statisticians shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, independently exercise their functions and powers of statistical survey, statistical reporting, and statistical supervision and shall not be subject to unlawful interference. No entity or individual may retaliate against statisticians who perform their duties in accordance with the law or refuse to participate in or report statistical fraud.
Article 7 — The people’s governments at all levels, statistical institutions, and relevant departments, as well as the persons in charge of each entity, shall not: (1) modify statistical data on their own authority; (2) instigate or coerce statistical institutions, statisticians, or other institutions or personnel to falsify or tamper with statistical data; or (3) retaliate against statisticians who perform their duties in accordance with the law or refuse to participate in or report statistical fraud.
Chapter II — Administration of Statistical Surveys
Article 8 — Statistical surveys shall be conducted in accordance with plans approved and filed for record. Statistical survey items include national statistical survey items, departmental statistical survey items, and local statistical survey items.
Article 9 — National statistical survey items shall be formulated and issued by the National Bureau of Statistics or jointly with the relevant departments under the State Council. Major national statistical survey items shall be submitted to the State Council for approval and issued for implementation.
Article 10 — Departmental statistical survey items shall be formulated by the relevant departments under the State Council and submitted to the National Bureau of Statistics for record-filing or approval in accordance with the relevant state provisions.
Article 11 — Local statistical survey items shall be formulated by the statistical institutions under the local people’s governments at or above the county level or jointly with relevant departments. Local statistical survey items shall be submitted to the statistical institution at the next higher level for approval and issued for implementation.
Article 12 — Statistical survey items shall specify the purpose, content, methodology, scope, organizational approach, survey form, and data submission schedule. Major statistical surveys shall be conducted in the form of general surveys or sample surveys, and repeated surveys shall be reduced.
Article 13 — The state shall implement a unified national economic accounting system. The National Bureau of Statistics shall be responsible for organizing, leading, and coordinating national economic accounting work.
Article 14 — The state shall establish a cyclical census system. Major national conditions and national strength censuses such as population, agriculture, and economic censuses shall be organized by the State Council and led by the National Bureau of Statistics and the relevant departments under the State Council.
Chapter III — Submission and Publication of Data
Article 15 — Statistical data shall be submitted in accordance with the statistical survey system. Statistical data shall be reviewed and signed by the statistical personnel and the person-in-charge of the statistical institution or relevant department of the submitting entity, and shall be submitted with the seal of the submitting entity.
Article 16 — State organs, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall, within the statutory time limits, truthfully submit statistical data to the statistical institutions or relevant departments. No entity may omit or refuse to submit statistical data required by the state or submit false statistical data.
Article 17 — The people’s governments at or above the county level shall establish mechanisms for sharing statistical data between statistical institutions and relevant departments. Statistical data obtained through surveys by one department shall be shared with other departments through information-sharing mechanisms.
Article 18 — The statistical data of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall be published by the statistical institutions of the people’s governments at the corresponding level. Relevant departments may publish statistical data within their respective scope of functions. Matters relating to state secrets shall be kept confidential; the confidentiality provisions shall apply.
Article 19 — Statistical institutions and statisticians shall, in accordance with the law, maintain the confidentiality of state secrets, trade secrets, and personal information obtained in statistical work, and shall not divulge them.
Chapter IV — Statistical Institutions and Personnel
Article 20 — The people’s governments at or above the county level shall establish independent statistical institutions. The statistical institutions shall supervise and inspect statistical work within their respective administrative regions.
Article 21 — State organs, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall, in accordance with the relevant state provisions, designate statistical personnel and statistical institutions to be responsible for organizing and coordinating the statistical work of their respective entities.
Article 22 — Statistical personnel shall adhere to the principles of seeking truth from facts, abide by professional ethics, and possess the professional knowledge and skills necessary for the performance of statistical work. Statistical institutions shall strengthen professional training and professional ethics education for statistical personnel.
Article 23 — When performing their duties, statistical personnel shall have the right to: (1) require relevant entities and individuals to truthfully provide statistical data in accordance with the provisions of the state; (2) inspect and verify the accuracy of statistical data and request corrections to inaccurate statistical data; and (3) report statistical violations.
Chapter V — Legal Liability
Article 24 — Where a local people’s government, a statistical institution under a government, or a relevant department or the person in charge thereof commits any of the following acts, the appointment and removal authority or the supervisory authority shall impose sanctions in accordance with the law, and the statistical institution under the people’s government at or above the county level shall circulate a notice of criticism: (1) modifying statistical data on its own authority; (2) instigating or coercing statistical institutions, statisticians, or other institutions or personnel to falsify statistical data; (3) retaliating against statisticians who perform their duties in accordance with the law or refuse to participate in or report statistical fraud; or (4) refusing to correct false statistical data.
Article 25 — Where a state organ, enterprise, public institution, or other organization, in violation of the provisions of this Law, commits any of the following acts, the statistical institution under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections and impose a warning, and may circulate a notice of criticism; where serious consequences result, sanctions shall be imposed on the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible persons: (1) refusing to submit statistical data, or delaying the submission of statistical data without justifiable reasons; (2) providing false or incomplete statistical data; (3) refusing to answer or truthfully answer inquiries during statistical inspection; or (4) refusing to accept or hindering statistical law enforcement inspections.
Article 26 — Where an enterprise, public institution, or other organization, in violation of this Law, provides false or incomplete statistical data, the statistical institution under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections and impose a warning, and may impose a fine of not more than 200,000 yuan.
Article 27 — Where self-employed industrial and commercial households violate this Law by providing false or incomplete statistical data, the statistical institution under the people’s government at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections, impose a warning, and may impose a fine of not more than 10,000 yuan.
Article 28 — Where a violation of this Law constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Chapter VI — Supplementary Provisions
Article 29 — For the purposes of this Law: “statistical data” means data produced through statistical surveys and statistical analysis and used for describing and analyzing economic and social phenomena. “Statistical surveys” means activities of collecting statistical data in accordance with unified statistical standards, methods, and procedures.
Article 30 — This Law shall apply to civil affairs statistics, educational statistics, public health statistics, sports statistics, and other social statistics activities, unless otherwise provided for by laws and administrative regulations.
Article 31 — This Law shall come into force on January 1, 2010.
Disclaimer: This English translation is provided for reference purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, only the official Chinese text published by the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China carries legal force. Dan Young Business Consultancy makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of this translation and accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on it. For legal proceedings or official matters, please consult the authentic Chinese version and seek professional legal advice.
