The National Statistics Office (NSO) was first called the Bureau of Census and Statistics (BCS) under Commonwealth Act No. 591 approved on August 19, 1940.

The BCS was created to consolidate statistical activities of the government under the executive direction of the President of the Philippines. Transferred to the BCS were the powers, functions and duties of the Statistics Division of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce; Civil Registry Division of the National Library; and Statistics Division of the Bureau of Census.

Also transferred to the BCS were the personnel, equipment, unexpended appropriations, records, documents, supplies and other property upon or prior to the completion of the census taken in accordance with the provision of C.A. 170, the act creating the Commission of the Census.

On January 1, 1941, the BCS was transferred (under Executive Order No. 391) to the then Department of Trade. Presidential Decree No. 418 issued on March 20, 1974 reconstituted the BCS into a new agency known as the National Census and Statistics Office (NCSO) under the administrative supervision of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

     In 1987, by virtue of Executive Order No. 121 entitled "Reorganizing and Strengthening the Philippine Statistical System and for Other Purposes", the NCSO was renamed National Statistics Office (NSO).
Executive Order No. 149 dated December 28, 1993 was issued by the Office of the President entitled "Streamlining of the Office of the President". By virtue of this order, the NSO was placed again under the administrative supervision of the NEDA for effective policy and program coordination and integration.

Specific Mandate

     More specifically, NSO is tasked to:

Prepare for and undertake all censuses on population, agriculture, commerce and industry (Section 2, C.A. 591; Section 1, Batas Pambansa Blg. 72);

Conduct statistical surveys by enumeration, sampling and other methods (Section 2, Batas Pambansa Blg. 72);

Compile and classify other statistical data and information (Section 2, C.A. 591);

Conduct social and economic studies and make projections of population, agricultural production, income and the number of livestock (Section 2, C.A. 591)

Publish and disseminate all information related to the above functions (Section 2, C.A. 591);

Assist the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB), formerly Statistical Advisory Board of the NEDA, in the formulation of a continuing comprehensive statistical program for the government (Section 5, P.D. 418);

Provide technical assistance and support to projects of other statistical agencies and institutions (Section 5, P.D. 418)

Carryout and administer the provisions of Act No. 3753, entitled "An Act to Establish a Civil Register" (Section 2, C.A. 591) and other laws in civil registration; and

Issue authorization to solemnizing officers in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the Family Code of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 209 effective August 3, 1988).

General Mandate
     The National Statistics Office is the major statistical agency responsible in collecting, compiling, classifying, producing, publishing and disseminating general-purpose statistics as provided for in Commonwealth Act No. 591.

     NSO has also the responsibility of carrying out and administering the provision of the Civil Registry Law as provided for in Act No. 3753 dated February 1931.