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BFS gives you the open data of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS, Bundesamt für Statistik) in R. You get tidy data frames, in German, French, Italian or English.

On this page, you learn:

Which API for which data

The BFS publishes its data with four APIs. The package has functions for each of them:

You want Use API
Statistics of the Swiss Stats Explorer bfs_sse_datasets(), bfs_sse_dimensions(), bfs_sse_data() Swiss Stats Explorer (SDMX)
Datasets of the BFS data catalog bfs_get_catalog_data(), bfs_get_metadata(), bfs_get_data() STAT-TAB (PXWeb)
Tables and files (Excel, CSV, PX, …) bfs_get_catalog_tables(), bfs_download_asset() DAM
Maps and geodata bfs_get_base_maps(), bfs_get_catalog_geodata(), bfs_download_geodata() ThemaKart, STAC

From STAT-TAB to the Swiss Stats Explorer

The BFS is replacing STAT-TAB with the Swiss Stats Explorer. It moves its data cubes to the new platform, one statistic at a time. Then it will switch off STAT-TAB. The BFS announcement gives the dates.

What this means for your code:

For new code, use the Swiss Stats Explorer if the statistic is there. Use STAT-TAB only for the data that is not there yet.

A first download

library(BFS)

Swiss Stats Explorer

Let’s get the vacancy rate (the share of empty homes, in %) of the cantons of Geneva, Zurich and Bern. The dataset is DF_LWZ_1, the vacant dwellings. You find this id with bfs_sse_datasets(), or in the URL of the dataset on stats.swiss.

First, see the dimensions of the dataset and the codes of their values:

dimensions <- bfs_sse_dimensions("DF_LWZ_1", language = "en")
dimensions

Then download the data. In filters, give the codes you want for each dimension:

bfs_sse_data(
  "DF_LWZ_1",
  filters = list(
    GR_KT_GDE = c("GE", "ZH", "BE"), # the cantons of Geneva, Zurich and Bern
    WOHN_ANZAHL = "_T",              # all numbers of rooms
    LEERWOHN_TYP = "_T",             # all types of vacant dwellings
    MEASURE_DIMENSION = "RATE"       # the vacancy rate, in %
  ),
  start_period = "2020",
  language = "en"
)

The article Swiss Stats Explorer explains each step of this example.

STAT-TAB

Search the BFS data catalog. Then download a dataset with its BFS number:

bfs_get_catalog_data(language = "en", extended_search = "university students")

bfs_get_data(number_bfs = "px-x-1502040100_131", language = "en")

The article Data catalog and PXWeb datasets shows how to search the catalog and download only a part of a dataset.

Next steps