Welcome to the Metadata website

Reliable statistics necessitate good quality documentation of methodologies and statistical production processes. Metadata is the term used to describe other data, and are necessary to understand data and to make better comparisons among different statistical domains, geographically and over time. Metadata are produced and used throughout all processes of the statistical production system. Successful management of metadata implies that metadata are made available and reused as and when needed.

This dedicated website serves as an integrated collection of metadata that brings together individual characteristics of different domains or sources within the NSO, irrespective of their source.

It includes a repository of statistical concepts, metadata reports (including quality reports) for a wide range of surveys and domains in different formats, as well as an extensive list of classifications used at the NSO:

• The ‘Statistical Concepts’ section does not only provide a comprehensive definition of each statistical term, but also gives the different sources these concepts emerge from, together with an exhaustive list of related variables. The relevant links incorporated within each statistical concept make it easy for users to view more detailed information about related sources and methods and to find the relevant source of information quickly.

• The ‘Reports’ section provides a vast selection of metadata files for different domains and in different formats, namely the Euro-SDMX Metadata Standard (ESMS) and the ESS Standard for Quality Reports Structure (ESQRS), the two most important and widely used standards for the reporting of meta-information developed by Eurostat.

• The ‘Classifications’ section includes a list of widely used statistical classifications used by production units within the NSO. A classification is a tool, a language and a model. It is an indispensable instrument for coding and presenting data in an ordered manner. Users of the Metadata Website can get a good overview of the main classifications which are structured hierarchically, and which may be downloaded in different formats.

• The ‘SDDS’ section provides a direct access to the National Summary Data Page of Malta, including a wide range of reports in the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) format, which forms part of the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives for the compilation and dissemination of statistical data.