Israel Central Bureau of Statistics

Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ( , HaLishka HaMerkazit LiStatistika ), abbreviated CBS , is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including population, society, economy, industry, education and physical infrastructure. It is headed by a Government Statistician, who is appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister .¹ The CBS is headquartered in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem , with another branch in Tel Aviv . Government ministries use the data collected by CBS for policymaking, planning and tracking development. The data is also made available to academic research institutions and the general public. The work of the CBS follows internationally accepted standards which enable comparison of statistical information with other countries. It gathers current, monthly, quarterly and annually data on the national economy (production, consumption, capital formation, labour productivity, savings), the balance of payments and foreign trade, the activity of different economic branches (agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transport, commerce and services, etc.), the price of goods and services, the population, family size, employment, education, health, crime, government services and more. The CBS also conducts a Census of Population and Housing every ten years, as well as periodic and one-time surveys on a variety of subjects. The work of CBS is overseen by the Public Commission of Statistics. The data is disseminated in a wide variety of publications, among them the Statistical Abstract of Israel. Current and updated statistical information is brought to the public's knowledge through daily press releases.²