Subject to strict conditions and for research purposes only, third parties may use microdata, i.e. data on individual institutions, after we have anonymised them. CBS Microdata Services then makes them available over a remote access internet connection, allowing researchers to analyse the data and view the results of calculations on their screens. It is not possible to download the data, but the results tables are made available after the confidentiality level of the data has been checked.
Custom data sets
Researchers can also use the data we collect for our macroeconomic statistics, such as balance of payments and monetary statistics. Data from DNB and Statistics Netherlands (CBS) can also be linked. Subject to certain conditions, researchers can request a custom data set. This is provided as a system file in one of the commonly used statistics packages (SPSS, Stata or SAS).
Conditions for microdata requests
As a rule, our microdata are available to researchers affiliated with:
- Dutch universities and other scientific research institutes;
- government agencies such as the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP);
- the European Union's statistics office (Eurostat) and other statistics offices in EU Member States; and
- the ECB and the central banks of the ESCB.
If you are affiliated with another institution, you can request permission to use our data from the Central Commission for Statistics (CCS).
We will decide on a case-by-case basis.
Request procedure
Every request starts with an intake interview at our offices. At the interview, you can present your research proposal to us. If we reach agreement, we will ask you to sign a contract and confidentiality statement. The contract specifies the data files to which you will have access. Please note that you will be charged a fee for using Statistics Netherlands's remote access facilities.
More information
Do you have any questions about the use of microdata, or do you need more information? Please send an email to microdataonderzoek@dnb.nl.
For questions about remote access, please send an email to microdata@cbs.nl
Telephone: +31 88 570 70 70
Website Statistics Netherlands: microdata