COMMUNIST CHINA'S STATISTICAL SYSTEM.

The article deals with the statistical system of Communist China. It will not concern itself with statistical definitions and concepts, nor will it enter into an examination of official statistics. Rather, it will attempt to appraise the quality of official statistics through a study of the development and the inner working of the system. This will involve an investigation and going through a mass of significant details without which conclusions cannot be justifiably drawn. Because of the length of the study, it is necessary to divide it into two parts. It covers the period from 1949 to 1957 and the other from 1958 to 1960. This study relies heavily on the information given in the complete set of official journals of the State Statistical Bureau of Peiping, published between April 1954 and February 1959. Designed primarily for communicational and training purposes within the national statistical services, they were not made available to the public until after the free discussion period in late 1957, when current issues were allowed to be exported. Since February 1959, they have again been withdrawn completely from public circulation.