The Federal Statistical System

Where do all these numbers come from? 

- Click here for the Wikipedia entry. 

In the United States, the federal statistical system (FSS) refers to a decentralized network of federal agencies which produce data and official statistics about the people, economy, natural resources, and infrastructure of the country. It is led by the Chief Statistician of the United States (CSOTUS) and the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, and is composed of 13 principal statistical agencies and 3 recognized statistical units, 24 Statistical Officials (across 24 major cabinet agencies), approximately 100 additional Federal statistical programs engaged in statistical activities, and several cross system interagency and advisory bodies.

- Meet Karin Orvis, the Chief Statistician of the United States.

Orvis earned a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from George Mason University, and a college degree in psychology from Michigan State University. She was an assistant professor at Old Dominion University. She held several Department of Defense positions including the Directorship of the Transition to Veterans Program Office, which supports military service members as they become veterans, and return to civilian life. She was appointed to be the Director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office in 2019. In April 2022 she was appointed to be Chief Statistician of the U.S.

During her tenure, she oversaw the revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity that was published in March 2024 after an inter-governmental and public commenting process that started in 2022.