Wysoka cena prawdy w statystyce
High price of the truth in statistics

Summary/Abstract: One can expect that totalitarian and authoritarian regimes will infringe the independence of national statistical institutions. The outcome of the 1937 census in Soviet Russia disappointed Stalin, which led to the statisticians having been faced with repression. Similar cases, although very rare, can also be observed in democratic countries in the 21st century. Argentinian president’s ineffective pressure to lower the inflation rate resulted in criminal charges against the person responsible for estimating the inflation rate in the Argentinian National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). In 2018, the head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) was prosecuted for sending true macroeconomic data that revealed the causes of the crisis in Greece to the Eurostat. The article shows what price statisticians have to pay sometimes for their diligent work which accurately reflects the economic and social reality. It has to be remembered that the work of statisticians is a civil service, where ethical attitude plays an important role. The aim of the article is thus to present instances of repression of statisticians by certain countries’ state authorities for showing the real picture of the social or economic situation of a given country.

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