Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland

The Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland (German/French) published by the Federal Statistical Office has been the standard reference book for Swiss statistics since 1891. It summarises the most important statistical findings on Switzerland's population, society, government, economy and environment. It serves not only as a reference book, but also provides in a series of overview articles a comprehensive picture of the social and economic situation of Switzerland.

The desirability of having a statistical yearbook was expressed for the first time on 29 June 1887. The Federal Council agreed to consider implementing this proposal, but before publishing the Yearbook it wanted to wait until the results of the 1888 census were available so they could be included in it (which subsequently proved to be only partially possible).

Two years later, on 22 July 1889, the Director of the Statistical Bureau, Dr. Guillaume, presented a yearbook proposal divided into six theses to the Conference of Swiss statisticians in Aarau, which was adopted after a short discussion. The first thesis described the purpose of the publication: the Yearbook was supposed to inform the general public about the main results of Swiss statistics in easy-to-understand tables and comparable time series. Guillaume indicated that he had modelled the Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland on the Statistical Yearbook of Finland (a thin bilingual booklet) and the Statistical Yearbook of the German Reich (a more comprehensive volume with coloured maps).

On 18 October 1890, Guillaume presented an outline of the Yearbook's chapters as well as a draft chapter to the Conference of Swiss statisticians for consultation.

The first Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland, weighing in at 270 pages, was published on 8 April 1891. Apparently the response was mostly positive and the first edition seemed to live up to the expectations that might be made upon such a publication.

The concept adopted in the early days of the Statistical Yearbook, which aimed to make information available not just to specialists but to the public at large, corresponds to modern principles of statistical dissemination. This explains a certain similarity in the way information has been presented for more than 100 years: for example, the first edition already contained a visualisation of statistics in a series of thematic maps; and the 1897 edition was a graphic volume. By 1892, the "text" element also featured more prominently in the Yearbook.

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