From 1841 onwards the Commission centrale de Statistique gave directionto the Belgian official statistics. Unlike in other European countries this officialstatistical institution not only consisted of civil servants. Nearly half of themembers were (early) social scientists, philanthropists, journalists and geographers.In this article we analyse the composition of the statistical commissionbetween 1841 and 1870. We explore how the unique composition of theCommission centrale de Statistique contributed to its success during the firstdecade of its existence and how the conflicts between the civil servants andthe other members - together with external criticism - led to the decline ofthe commission from the late 1850's onwards.
