Our organisation
At CBS, we work with a staff of around 2000 based at our offices in The Hague, Heerlen and Bonaire. Through statistics, CBS provides information on the major issues affecting society, such as climate change and poverty. Our contribution to society centres on publishing the facts. We work on approximately 600 surveys a year, which means we provide a statistical finding with a corresponding news item almost daily. The survey results end up in approximately 75 thousand articles in daily newspapers and on news sites. Our information can be found on the CBS website and in the StatLine database, which contains over 4 thousand tables containing approximately 14 billion figures. All of this information is available to everyone.
Facts
- Founded on 9 January 1899
- Offices in The Hague, Heerlen and Bonaire
- 600 statistical surveys per year
- 2,000 employees, the vast majority highly educated
- 75,000 mentions in the media
- 14 billion figures in StatLine
Director General
Angelique Berg (b. 1969) has been Director General (DG) of CBS since 1 September 2020. One of her main tasks is to set out an approach that delivers on the 2024-2028 multi-annual programme (MAP). With this programme, the focus of statistical production is placed on societal challenges such as climate change, sustainability, the housing challenge and poverty.
In addition, CBS aims to increase access to data, both open data and microdata. This is and will remain the focus of our policy. ‘The quality of our work must continue to meet the same high standards.'
‘I see societal relevance as essential to my work. At CBS, we work tirelessly to provide statistics that reflect the major challenges facing society. Now more than ever, providing facts that underpin public debate is of major importance.’
Previously, Ms Berg held the positions of DG of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and DG of Fiscal Affairs at the Ministry of Finance. She graduated in Public Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Legal basis for CBS autonomy
The legislative basis for CBS is the Statistics Netherlands Act.
This exists alongside board regulations and statutory regulations and decisions on data delivery:
What can and cannot be done with your personal data is stated in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act.
Autonomous administrative body
As an autonomous administrative body, CBS performs government tasks but is not directly subject to ministerial authority. The Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy bears political responsibility for the relevant legislation and the conditions set out in the financial and organisational framework. CBS is funded from the state budget. The working relationship between the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Director General of CBS is set out in a protocol of working agreements.