Statistics Finland’s Shared Geospatial Services for Statistical production

Geospatial information has been identified as one entity in Statistics Finland’s Enterprise Architecture. In order to understand its content, connections and needs for development, a geospatial reference architecture has been designed. It describes the desired state for the processing of the geospatial information utilised and produced in Statistics Finland’s statistical production. Previously, the processing of geospatial information has been implemented with overlapping statistics-specific solutions that may have led to mutually non-uniform results and overlapping work. Statistics Finland’s reference architecture for geospatial information presents how geospatial data can be processed with shared services. These services are technology independent micro services that can be combined with any statistical production process. The aim is that all treatment of geospatial data in Statistic Finland will, in future, be carried out with these shared services. In accordance with the geospatial reference architecture Statistics Finland implemented a geospatial data warehouse that acts as the source for all geospatial information in the statistical production processes. The geospatial data warehouse was adopted in June 2019 replacing former multiple geospatial data storages. At the same time, the first shared services for the treatment of geospatial data were released. The following activities of the statistical production processes can be carried out with these services: geocoding, distance calculation, coordinate conversions, standardisation of address data, editing of address data, and deriving regional classifications for buildings. This presentation showcases these Services and explains how they are utilised as part of Statistics Finland’s statistical production processes.