beSTAT FAQ
Table of Contents
be.STAT at large
How to find figures on be.STAT
There are three ways to access data on be.STAT: you can enter a search term, select a category or search through the list of data sources. After your search, click on 'Reset filter' to view the whole list of data sources.
What happens when I click on a data source from the list?
There are two options: Either you click on the title to display the standard view of the data source or you click on the arrow on the right to display all views available. If you have saved views, they will also be displayed. You can see the number of standard views available on the right.
What is a view?
A standard view shows a predefined selection of categories and figures.
Are all figures available on be.STAT?
Most data are available on be.STAT, but some figures are also available in the thematic pages on Statbel.
Does Statbel's search engine also work on be.STAT?
No, Statbel's search function is not available on be.STAT.
Are all data sets from the previous version of be.STAT available on be.STAT V2?
Yes.
How to create tables
Filters
How to use filters
Click on the tab 'Filter' in the left sidebar. There you can see the filters applied to the current view. You can also delete or add filters. Please note that filters are not taken into account in the totals. For example: First you see a table with the total number of centenarians in Belgium by region and the total for Belgium. In the second figure, there is a filter applied to the Flemish Region. Yet, the total for Belgium remains displayed and not the total for the Flemish Region.
How to see the filters applied to the view?
Filters are displayed at the top of the view and can be accessed by clicking on the filter icon.
Data
How to modify the data displayed in the view?
Click on the tab 'Data' in the left sidebar. There you can add categories and data to the columns or rows by using drag and drop. You can also click on the X to delete categories or data.
How to go back to the initial view?
Click on the reset button to cancel the changes and go back to the initial view.
Totals
What does the total displayed include?
The totals displayed do not take into account the filters applied and only include the overall total of the selected data.
Exporting
How to export data?
Open the Export menu by clicking on the icon on the upper right of the screen, to the left of the question mark, and select the desired format.
Which formats are available for exporting data?
There are currently six formats for exporting: Excel (xlsx), csv, pdf, html, json and xml.
My be.STAT – free user account
What is my be.STAT?
My be.STAT is a free user account that gives you acces to extra functionalities of be.STAT. With my be.STAT, you can save and manage customised views. It allows you to share your view with others by disseminating the URL.
Registering and logging in
In order to use my be.STAT and its extra functionalities, you first need to register. The registration menu (image) brings you to the registration form where you can create a my be.STAT account for free. After the registration, you are directly led to the log in screen, where you can log in with your user name/email address and password.
Password forgotten
Open the log in page and click on "Forgot your password?". Enter your email address. You will receive an email with a security token. Copy this security token. Choose a new password and click on log in. You are directed to the log in screen where you can log in with your new password.
API DOCUMENTATION
API
With the API, you can import data in your application, graph, document, etc.
Data is only available for views and not for data sources.
Every data source and every standard or customised view has a unique ID [More info in the section Metadata, data source(s) and view(s)] which allows you to use the data.
IMPORT DATA
With a standard or customised view, you also always have, besides the 6 export files (Link XML, Link JSON, Link CSV, Link XLS, Link HTML, Link PDF), 6 URL.
STRUCTURE
https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/api/views/ID/result/EXPORT
ID [see Metadata, data source(s) and view(s)]
notation:xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
EXPORT
XML
JSON
CSV
XLS
HMTL
PDF
Example
Official price of petroleum products in EURO, last modification
LINK JSON
https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/api/views/c42c9c16-9330-437b-9608-13781b795ec1/result/JSON
Metadata, data source(s) and view(s)
-All data sources
https://bestat.economie.fgov.be/bestat/api/datasources/
-Data source
https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/api/datasources/ID
-All standard views
https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/api/views/
-View
https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/api/views/ID
For a customised view, you can find the ID in the URL