Census and Statistics Department

Official Government Statisticscenstatd.gov.hk

The Census and Statistics Department is Hong Kong SAR's official statistical authority, producing and disseminating government statistics on population, economy, labor, trade, and prices to policymakers, businesses, researchers, and the public.

Company typePrivate
Founded1967
HeadquartersWan Chai, Hong Kong SAR China
Headcount1,001–5,000
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What Census and Statistics Department does

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) is the official statistical authority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, established in 1967 and operating under the Census and Statistics Ordinance (Chapter 316). It produces and disseminates official statistics across Hong Kong's population, economy, labor market, trade, prices, and other socioeconomic dimensions, serving policymakers, businesses, researchers, academics, and the general public. The department conducts a decennial Population Census — the next scheduled for 2026 — alongside the Annual Survey of Economic Activities covering approximately 20,000 enterprises, and a broad portfolio of recurring statistical surveys.

C&SD operates a digital dissemination stack centered on the Interactive Data Dissemination Services (IDDS) for data access, the Online Questionnaire System (OQS) for survey collection, and a growing suite of interactive dashboards. A statistical chatbot is available on its website, although the capability is provided by an independent contractor rather than developed in-house. The department maintains compliance with the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO), and received Privacy Friendly Awards in 2025.

The department is funded by the Hong Kong SAR Government and provides the great majority of its statistical outputs free of charge. A small fee-based revenue stream exists for specialized services including microdata tapes, certified copies of trade documentation, and importer/exporter listings. C&SD is headquartered in Tseung Kwan O with regional offices in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai, and employs between 1,001 and 5,000 staff.

Census and Statistics Department firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Census and Statistics Department
Legal name: Census and Statistics Department
Website: https://censtatd.gov.hk
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1967
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1,001–5,000 employees
Short description: The Census and Statistics Department is Hong Kong SAR's official statistical authority, producing and disseminating government statistics on population, economy, labor, trade, and prices to policymakers, businesses, researchers, and the public.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Census and Statistics Department industry classification

Industry

Product category: Official Government Statistics
NAICS: Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
SIC: Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYBPAIAAAF
National Statistics & Census Administration
Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Central/Federal Government Administration
SECONDARYBPAIAJAM
Health Data, Vital Statistics & Population Health Informatics
Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Public Health Administration & Regulation
SECONDARYHLAJAJAC
Health Statistics & Reporting (National/State/Local Indicators)
Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Health Statistics, Vital Records & Population Health Analytics
SECONDARYHLAJAJAG
Mortality, Cause-of-Death Coding & Excess Death Analysis
Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Health Statistics, Vital Records & Population Health Analytics

Keywords

Official statistics
Population census
Household surveys
Economic surveys
Statistical data dissemination

Where Census and Statistics Department is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Wan Chai
HQ country: Hong Kong SAR China
HQ region: Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

Census and Statistics Department business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

Government Funding: Funded through Hong Kong Government budget as a statutory department providing essential public statistical services to the community.
Statistical Product Downloads: All press releases, publications and related statistical products on the website are available for free download. This is a public service providing official statistics at no charge.
Microdata Services: Provision of microdata for academic research and microdata teaching files for educational purposes by academic institutions, with applicable charges.
Establishment Listing Services: Application for 20% sample listing from Central Register of Establishments (Form DCS 733) and matching operations for specified establishment lists (Form DCS 734), with associated charges.
Trade Documentation Services: Application for landing certificates ($430 per certificate), certified copies of import/export declarations ($235 per copy), and related trade documentation services.
Material Costs and Photocopying: Standard material costs including gummed labels ($0.5 per sheet), CD-R discs ($3.4 per disc), A4 photocopying ($1.5 per copy), A3 photocopying ($1.6 per copy).

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Pay-as-you-go	Free Statistical Products
Transaction based/ take rate	Pay-as-you-go	Microdata Services
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Trade Documentation - Landing Certificate
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Trade Documentation - Certified Copy
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Material Reproduction

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Census and Statistics Department product offering

Product offering

Core offering

C&SD conducts population censuses and ongoing statistical surveys of households and business establishments in Hong Kong, compiling and publishing official statistics on population, economy, labor, trade, and social conditions. It operates the Online Questionnaire System (OQS), Interactive Data Dissemination Services (IDDS), and Interactive Dashboards to collect and disseminate statistical data, while providing free public access to press releases, publications, and microdata services for academic research.

Product overview

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) operates a comprehensive statistical data platform providing government statistical services for Hong Kong. The core product is the Online Questionnaire System (OQS), a web-based platform enabling respondents to complete surveys electronically. Supporting this are Interactive Data Dissemination Services (IDDS) comprising the Common IDDS for general statistics, Census IDDS for population census data, and Trade IDDS for external trade statistics. Interactive Dashboards provide visual representations of key statistics including district profiles for population, households, establishments and persons engaged. C&SD also conducts major surveys including the Annual Survey of Economic Activities (ASEA), General Household Survey (monthly), Thematic Household Survey, and the upcoming 2026 Population Census. Data services include free statistical product downloads, data enquiry services, and microdata services for academic research. The department issues regular press releases on statistical data adhering to IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Online Questionnaire System (OQS) A secure web-based platform that enables selected survey respondents from households and business establishments to self-complete statistical questionnaires online using notification letters with login credentials. Supports account registration, questionnaire activation, save-and-continue functionality, and iAM Smart single digital identity login.
Common Interactive Data Dissemination Service (Common IDDS) A user-friendly web interface allowing users to produce customized statistical tables and charts from official Hong Kong statistics according to their own needs. All tables and charts can be downloaded in XLSX, CSV, and XML formats for further processing and analysis.
Interactive Data Dissemination Service for 2021 Population Census Dedicated data dissemination service for the 2021 Population Census, providing interactive tools for building tables and analyzing population census data.
Interactive Data Dissemination Service for Trade Statistics Interactive data dissemination service specifically for external trade statistics, allowing users to query and visualize Hong Kong's import, export, and re-export trade data.
Interactive Dashboards Dashboards presenting statistics through simple graphical interfaces, thematic maps, and interactive charts covering district profiles for population, households, establishments, persons engaged, and selected key statistics.
Data Enquiry Service Service allowing users to freely download all press releases, publications, and related statistical products from the C&SD website, and to request more detailed statistics not readily available through standard publications.
Microdata Services Provision of microdata for academic research and microdata teaching files for educational purposes by academic institutions, with applicable charges for accessing detailed individual-level datasets.
Establishment Listing Services Application for 20% sample listing from the Central Register of Establishments (Form DCS 733) and matching operations for specified establishment lists (Form DCS 734), with associated charges.
Trade Documentation Services Application for landing certificates for non-dutiable/non-strategic commodities ($430 per certificate), certified copies of import/export declarations or cargo manifests ($235 per copy), and related trade documentation services.
Statistical Products Comprehensive collection of statistical products including publications, reports, and data tables organized by subject, covering all major economic and social statistics compiled by C&SD and available for free download.
Press Releases and Announcements Regular press releases on statistical data issued to media at 4:30 p.m. Hong Kong time daily, covering all major economic indicators including GDP, CPI, unemployment, trade, and retail sales, with schedules pre-announced each September.
2026 Population Census A comprehensive decennial census of population obtaining particulars of persons dwelling in Hong Kong, premises occupied for dwelling purposes, and households. Conducted under statutory authority to produce definitive population and household statistics for Hong Kong.
Annual Survey of Economic Activities (ASEA) Mandatory annual statistical survey providing statistical information for gauging business performance and operating characteristics of different economic sectors and evaluating their contribution to Hong Kong's GDP. Covers manufacturing, construction, wholesale/retail, transportation, information/communications, and social/personal services sectors.
General Household Survey Monthly household survey collecting information on employment, unemployment situation, and socio-economic characteristics of household members in Hong Kong.
Thematic Household Survey Survey collecting data on various social topics proposed by individual government bureaux/departments, including basic characteristics of households and respective members in Hong Kong.

Companies that use Census and Statistics Department

Customer profile

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Census and Statistics Department technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Census and Statistics Department partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Census and Statistics Department competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Statistics Canada: Canada's national statistical agency conducting quinquennial census and continuous household and business surveys. Comparable to C&SD in statutory data authority, integrated household-establishment survey program, and free online data dissemination.
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australia's national statistical agency running the five-yearly census and ongoing business and household surveys. Comparable to C&SD in its cycle-based population enumeration, mandatory authority, and online dissemination of free official statistics.
US Census Bureau: The official national statistics agency of the United States, conducting the decennial census, household surveys (ACS, CPS), and establishment economic surveys. Highly comparable to C&SD in statutory authority, mandatory survey mandate, decennial census cycle, and free public data dissemination model.
Singapore Department of Statistics: Singapore's national statistics office under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Direct peer given shared city-state Asia context, decennial census, household and business survey program, and statutory data authority analogous to C&SD.
Office for National Statistics (UK): UK's executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, responsible for census, labor market, economic, and population statistics. Comparable to C&SD in statutory independence, decennial census model, household and business survey programs, and free public data platform.
Statistics New Zealand: New Zealand's national statistical agency conducting the five-yearly census and ongoing social/economic surveys. Comparable to C&SD in scale, statutory authority, and free public data access model.

Broad incumbents

Eurostat: Statistical office of the European Union, harmonizing data across member-state NSOs including census, economic, and social statistics. Comparable to C&SD as a peer national-level statistics producer, though operating at supranational scale.
IMF Statistics Department: International body that sets the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) which C&SD complies with. A broader institutional peer that consumes and disseminates C&SD's outputs as part of global economic surveillance.

Others

OECD Statistics Directorate: International organization aggregating official statistics from member countries including Hong Kong. Thematically related as a consumer and disseminator of C&SD-type national statistics, but not a direct producer competing for the same audience.

Regional players

National Bureau of Statistics of China: China's national statistics agency producing population, economic, and trade statistics. A regional peer in the Greater China context, with comparable scope across population censuses, household surveys, and economic activity reporting.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Census and Statistics Department compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance3 records

Census and Statistics Department financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Census and Statistics Department leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Census and Statistics Department funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Census and Statistics Department M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Census and Statistics Department

What does Census and Statistics Department do?

Is Census and Statistics Department a public or private company?

Census and Statistics Department is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was Census and Statistics Department founded?

Census and Statistics Department was founded in 1967. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.

Where is Census and Statistics Department based?

Census and Statistics Department is headquartered in Wan Chai, Hong Kong SAR China, in the Asia region.

How does Census and Statistics Department make money?

Six revenue lines are on record. Government Funding is the primary driver. The others are statistical Product Downloads, microdata Services, establishment Listing Services, trade Documentation Services and material Costs and Photocopying.

Who are Census and Statistics Department's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Statistics Canada, Australian Bureau of Statistics, US Census Bureau, Singapore Department of Statistics, Office for National Statistics (UK) and Statistics New Zealand. Broad incumbents are Eurostat and IMF Statistics Department. OECD Statistics Directorate is listed as an others. National Bureau of Statistics of China is listed as a regional player.

Does Census and Statistics Department have an API?

No public API is recorded for Census and Statistics Department.

What industry is Census and Statistics Department in?

Census and Statistics Department's product category is Official Government Statistics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAAAF, National Statistics & Census Administration, with a secondary code of BPAIAJAM, Health Data, Vital Statistics & Population Health Informatics. Its NAICS code is 518210 and its SIC code is 7374.