CIMES - Greece

Access to microdata for scientific purposes
in European countries

Access to microdata for scientific purposes in Greece

flag of greece

Contact

Name of the microdata access service

Hellenic Statistical Authority – ELSTAT

Postal address

Statistical Data Dissemination Section 
46 Pireos & Eponiton
18510 Piraeus (Greece)

Email

data.dissem@statistics.gr

Website

https://www.statistics.gr/en/home/

Access conditions

General conditions

ELSTAT provides users with access to anonymized microdata of statistical surveys it conducts, in the form of Public Use Files (PUFs) and Scientific Use Files (SUFs). The PUFs are posted on ELSTAT’s website and are accessible by any interested user. The microdata of the said files have been anonymised with anonymisation criteria predefined by ELSTAT, which are also posted on its website. 

Access to SUFs, both standardised SUFs with predefined by ELSTAT anonymisation criteria and tailor-made SUFs, is granted to researchers belonging to research entities, as well as to individual researchers, provided the following conditions are met:

  • an appropriate request together with a detailed research proposal in conformity with current scientific standards have been submitted to ELSTAT by the researcher; 
  • the research proposal should indicate in sufficient detail the legitimate purpose of the research, the set of data to be accessed, the methods of analysing them, the persons, other than the requesting researcher, who will have access to the files in the framework of the research and the time needed for the completion of the research;
  • a contract specifying the conditions for access, the obligations of the researcher (and of the other persons who will have access to the files, in accordance with the research proposal), the measures for respecting the confidentiality of statistical data and the sanctions in case of breach of these obligations has been signed by the individual researcher, or by his/her research entity, or by the entity commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.

Conditions for non-resident researchers

Τhe conditions for non-resident researchers to access the SUFs are exactly the same as those that apply to national researchers.

Conditions for students

There are no special conditions for students.

Legal framework

The issues concerning the observance of statistical confidentiality by ELSTAT are arranged by Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Greek Statistical Law 3832/2010 as in force (https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/300673/Stat_Law3832_EN.pdf/de…), by Articles 8, 10 and 11(2) of the Regulation on the Statistical Obligations of the Agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS) (https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/300673/Regulation_on_Statisti…) and by Articles 10 and 15 of the Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT (https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/301069/ELSTAT_REGULATION_%CE%…).

How much does it cost?

The access to PUFs and to standardised SUFs is free of charge. The access to tailor-made SUFs is in general charged. The relevant cost is determined on the basis of the time needed for the production of the file and the cost per hour for the provision of tailor-made statistical data, which, in accordance with the Pricing Policy of ELSTAT, amounts to 12.28€.

How long does it take to obtain data?

  • The access to PUFs is immediate, provided the interested user has been registered and logged in on ELSTAT's website.
  • The time needed for the provision of access to standardised SUFs mainly depends on the time needed for the preparation and signing of the contract by the individual researcher, or by his/her research entity, or by the entity commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.
  • The procedure for providing access to tailor-made SUFs is more time consuming, since it includes the following stages:
    a)    submission of the request accompanied by a recommendation of the organisational unit that conducts the relevant survey to the Statistical Confidentiality Committee¹  and examination of the request by it;
    b)    submission to the President of ELSTAT of the recommendation of the Committee regarding the satisfaction of the request and the conditions for its satisfaction; 
    c)    preparation and signing of the contract by the researcher and by ELSTAT, in case the President of ELSTAT approves the satisfaction of the request;
    d)    preparation of the tailor-made SUF by the competent organisational unit of ELSTAT.

¹ The Statistical Confidentiality Committee has been established in ELSTAT and consists of ELSTAT’s employees with specialisation in the areas of statistical methodology, statistical surveys, informatics, and dissemination of statistical information. The Committee makes recommendations to the President of ELSTAT on:
a)    granting researchers access to confidential data for scientific purposes,
b)    the analysis level at which statistical data can be released, in order to avoid the direct or indirect identification of surveyed units,
c)    the anonymisation criteria for the microdata which are provided to the users,
d)    other issues on statistical confidentiality that are submitted by the President of ELSTAT to the Committee for opinion.

Information on access

ELSTAT website: https://www.statistics.gr/en/scientific_provision_data

Other

Data request (in English): https://www.statistics.gr/en/public-use-files
Statistical Law 3832/2010: https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/300673/Stat_Law3832_EN.pdf/de31bfc8-c4d4-4d39-aa5f-d4592d1c8330
Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the ELSS Agencies: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/64157/4392716/ESS-QAF-V1-2final…
Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT: https://www.statistics.gr/en/legal-framework

Types of microdata available in Greece

Public Use Files (PUFs)

Information on the available PUFs and the procedure for granting access to them is contained at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/public-use-files.

Scientific Use Files (SUFs)

Information on the procedure for granting access to SUFs is contained at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/scientific_provision_data. The standardised SUFs, as well as their anonymisation criteria, will soon be posted on ELSTAT’s website, from where the researchers will be able to download the files they are interested in, provided they meet the conditions mentioned above.

Secure Use Files (SecUFs)

N/A

Access to microdata by type of person

 

Public Use Files

Scientific Use Files

Secure Use Files

Public

Yes

No

N/A

Students

Yes

Yes

N/A

PhD students

Yes

Yes

N/A

Researchers

Yes

Yes

N/A

Foreign researchers

Yes

Yes

N/A

Modes of access by microdata type

 

Public Use Files

Scientific Use Files

Secure Use Files

Online access

No

No

N/A

For download

Yes

Yes

N/A

Onsite access

No

No

N/A

Remote access

No

No

N/A

Remote execution

No

No

N/A

 

Microdatasets available for Greece

Other access points in Europe

Disclaimer

The pages above provide information on microdata disseminated at the national level by the statistical institutes in the European countries and on microdata disseminated by Eurostat.  The pages describe the data and the procedures for requesting access as well as the available types of microdata files (Public Use Files, Scientific Use Files, and Secure Use Files).

This information was initially collected by CASD/GENES for the CIMES database developed for Data without Boundaries project (funded by the 7th Framework Programme, the EU's research funding programme between 2007 and 2013). CIMES stands for Centralising and Integrating Metadata from European Statistics. Various organisations (ADP, CED, CNRS-Réseau Quetelet, FORS, GESIS, RODA, ONS, and UL) contributed to the creation of CIMES by collecting and structuring the metadata for the period of the Data without Boundaries project (2011-2015). In 2021, Eurostat moved the CIMES database to the CROS platform to facilitate updates of countries' information. Eurostat would like to thank all CIMES developers, especially CASD, for sharing the CIMES database and for all efficient collaboration.