#The Netherlands Statistics Bureau aimed to analyze the phenomenon of independent adults aged 30 to 40 moving back in with their parents. Given that living with parents is rare in Western society, the factors behind this intrigued them. The Netherlands Statistics Bureau published an analysis indicating that economic status and employment influence whether adult children live with their parents, based on statistics obtained from past household surveys.
The Netherlands Statistics Bureau was able to reuse past statistics without additional surveys thanks to a system that links statistical surveys to administrative data, such as household composition (statistical registration). Recently, the Bureau took its first step in transitioning its statistical production system based on statistical registration. Amid declining survey response rates, the aim is to recycle previously used survey statistical data for longitudinal statistical analysis.
According to the government on the 28th, the Statistics Bureau recently ordered a service to conduct 'basic research on the transition of the statistical production system based on the statistical registration and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.'
Statistical registration refers to statistical data that compiles and integrates information obtained from public institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the four major social insurances, including data from population censuses. It is used for planning policies and analyzing their effectiveness or as foundational data when compiling national statistics, such as the census of population and housing.
Currently, the domestic statistical production system is based on 'survey statistics' and uses the statistical registration system as a supplement. Face-to-face surveys incur high expenses for each implementation, but in most cases, they have been utilized solely for producing a single statistic.
Another issue is that survey response rates are continuously declining due to the increase in single-person households and heightened awareness of privacy protection. According to the Statistics Bureau, the non-response rate for the household trend survey rose from 30.6% in 2021 to 34.8% in 2022, 42.1% in 2023, and 44.4% in 2024, climbing from the 30% range to the 40% range in recent years.
Low response rates complicate statistical production and are a factor that decreases the reliability of statistics. This is because it prohibits a diverse set of subjects from being surveyed, and estimations have to be employed to replace responses.
However, it is expected that strengthening the connection between survey statistics and statistical registration will enable the production of quality statistics even with low response rates. The Statistics Bureau is focusing on the advantage of being able to recycle statistics that were previously surveyed and apply them for longitudinal analysis.
The Statistics Bureau has been investigating overseas cases that compile statistics based on statistical registration, similar to the Netherlands. According to the Bureau, the Netherlands utilizes statistical registration from the planning stage of statistical surveys. They design samples based on statistical registration (paneling) and obtain consent for the use of statistical registration from survey subjects before linking and analyzing survey data with statistical registration.
The Statistics Bureau aims to establish a plan to utilize statistical registration throughout the entire process of domestic statistical production through this research. Additionally, they plan to seek ways to build systems or infrastructure that safely and diversely utilize the compiled statistics in the future.
A representative from the Statistics Bureau noted, 'This marks the start of modernizing the national statistical production system,' adding, 'We will also examine the potential for using AI in statistical production processes such as sample design, survey design, analysis, and services.'