Statistics Netherlands

Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (Central Agency for Statistics), often abbreviated to CBS. It is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is located in The Hague and Heerlen. Since 3 January 2004, Statistics Netherlands has been a self-standing organisation, or quango.

The CBS collects statistical information about, amongst others:

The CBS carries out a program that needs to be ratified by the Central Commission for Statistics. This independent commission must guard the impartiality, independence, quality, relevance, and continuity of the CBS, according to the Law on the CBS of 1996 (Wet op het Centraal bureau en de Centrale commissie voor de statistiek).

Philip Idenburg, who worked at the CBS from 1929-1966, played a key role in salvaging the work of the Mundaneum offices in The Hague, arranging for Gerd Arntz to be involved in setting up the Dutch Foundation for Statistics, which used the Isotypes previously developed by Arntz and Otto Neurath.

The CBS has offices in Den Haag and Heerlen. The main office is located in Den Haag. The office in Heerlen was located there by the government in 1973 to compensate the area for the loss of ten of thousands of jobs because of closing the coalmines. The office in The Hague with the name 'Double U' was designed by Branimir Medić and Pero Puljiz. It has a surface of 33,191 m2 and the total cost was €41,000,000. The office in Heerlen was designed by Meyer en Van Schooten Architects in 2009. The office has a surface of 22,000 m2 and parking spaces for 296 cars. Glass was used everywhere in the building. The main hall has a glass roof and the outside walls are fully glass. The several straight staircases in the main hall have glass balustrades with a RVS handrail and were manufactured by EeStairs. Queen Beatrix from The Netherlands officially opened the building the 30th of September 2009.

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