About CSO

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is the central Government organization responsible for the collection and dissemination of official statistics, as with most government agencies and institutions in Afghanistan. The CSO was established in 1973; prior to that point in time there was a small Statistics Department in the Ministry of Interior.

The CSO was assigned the responsibility for the collection, analysis and publication of secondary data – largely administrative data provided by the main sectoral Ministries. At a later stage it took on the task of compiling key statistical series such as National Accounts, Consumer Price Indices and Population and demographic data. It took on the role of coordinating statistical activities across all agencies of the Government. The CSO benefited from donor support by way of advice and training. The CSO also undertook some limited surveys on health and education as well as some sample surveys within Kabul; and was also involved in the preparation of various National Plans drawn up by the Ministry of Planning.

The CSO is governed by the current Statistics Act, enacted in 2000 under the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. That Act superceded earlier legislation drawn up in 1975 and revised versions enacted in 1981 and 1989

The CSO presently has more than 500 staff members nationwide with 166 in the provinces and the rest at the head office in Kabul. Provincial statistical offices were also established in 1973 in each Province. The work of the CSO staff in these offices was to collect data from the various Ministry provincial offices as well as the Provincial Government. These collections covered all economic and social data, particularly in areas such as customs data, agriculture, transport and industry. Communications with Head Office and vice versa were through the telephone or by radio at the offices of the Ministry of Communications.

CSO Organizational English Chart PDF File (Size 75.5KB) Download

CSO Organizational Dari Chart PDF File (Size oKB) Download

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