The Directorate of Statistics, Punjab (DoS) acts as the data bank of the State Government. It is the Nodal Agency for effective coordination of statistical activities of all the departments in the State. Various State Government and non government departments, the planners, research scholars, social thinkers and administrators are the major stakeholders of the statistical information available with DoS.
After independence with the advent of the era of economic planning, the State Government created a statistical office headed by the Economic & Statistical Adviser in 1949 to cater to the statistical needs of the state. The Board of Economic Inquiry/Bureau of Economic and Statistics also became a part and parcel of this office in 1953 which was created in 1949/1950 in erstwhile PEPSU State. With the merger of Punjab and PEPSU in 1956, Economic & Statistical Organisation (ESO) came into existence. The present Government of Punjab vide notification no. PLAN-PLAN09(MSCL)/40/2023-SP/1/515182/2023 dated 22-02-2023 changed the name of Economic and Statistical Organisation, Punjab (ESO) to Directorate of Statistics, Punjab (DoS).