bfs_sse_data: Get data from the Swiss Stats Explorer

In BFS: Get Data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office

Get data from the Swiss Stats Explorer

Description

Download the data of a dataset of the Swiss Stats Explorer (SSE) API (https://stats.swiss/). Select the data you need with filters, built from bfs_sse_dimensions().

Usage

bfs_sse_data(
  dataset,
  ...,
  filters = NULL,
  start_period = NULL,
  end_period = NULL,
  first_n = NULL,
  last_n = NULL,
  language = "de",
  labels = c("both", "code", "label"),
  attributes = FALSE,
  version = NULL
)

Arguments

dataset	The id of a dataset, e.g. "DF_LWZ_1": the column dataset of bfs_sse_datasets(), also shown in the URL of the dataset on https://stats.swiss/.
...	These dots are for future extensions and must be empty: the arguments after dataset must be named. The arguments of bfs_get_sse_data(), such as number_bfs or query, give an error that names their new name.
filters	A named list: the names are dimensions (column dimension of bfs_sse_dimensions()) and the values are value codes (column value), e.g. list(FREQ = "M", COUNTRY_ORIGIN = c("CH", "AUSL")). A dimension not in filters keeps all its values. If NULL (default), the whole dataset is downloaded, which can be large and slow. An unknown dimension is an error, as the data wouldn't be filtered on it.
start_period, end_period	Optional first and last period of the data, e.g. "2020" or "2020-01".
first_n, last_n	Optional number of first or last periods of each series (each combination of the dimensions), e.g. last_n = 1 for the latest value. Sent to the API as the SDMX parameters firstNObservations and lastNObservations. They can be combined with start_period and end_period.
language	Language of the labels: "de" (default), "fr", "it" or "en". A label missing in this language falls back to another language.
labels	The values of the dimensions and attributes: "both" (default) to keep the codes and add a column ⁠<dimension>_label⁠ after each dimension, "code" for the codes only, or "label" for the labels only. Different codes can have the same label (e.g. the canton and the commune of Bern), so use "label" only to display the data.
attributes	If TRUE, add the attributes of the observations after value, e.g. OBS_STATUS (status of the value, e.g. provisional). They can change from one version of a dataset to another.
version	Version of the dataset, e.g. "1.1.0": the column version of bfs_sse_datasets(). If NULL (default), the API uses the latest version. Set it in a data pipeline to keep the same structure when a new version is published.

Details

The data is downloaded in the SDMX-CSV format, with the labels in language given by the API. It is smaller and faster to read than the SDMX-ML format used by bfs_get_sse_data().

The function sends two requests: one for the dimensions of the dataset, to build the query from filters, and one for the data. The values in filters are checked by the API: a value not in the dataset gives no data.

Value

A tibble with one column per dimension, named with the dimension id whatever the language, then TIME_PERIOD as text (e.g. "2024", "2024-Q1", "2024-01"), as given by the API, and the observations in the numeric value column. Returns NULL if there is no internet connection. The errors have a class, to handle them with tryCatch():

bfs_no_records

No data matches the query.

bfs_sse_filter_error

filters wouldn't filter the data, e.g. an unknown dimension.

bfs_sse_argument_error

Another argument is not valid.

bfs_sse_dataset_error

The dataset or the version doesn't exist.

bfs_sse_query_error

The API rejects the query, e.g. a period in a wrong format or a URL too long. The error gives the message of the API.

bfs_http_error

The API is not available.

Author(s)

Felix Luginbuhl

See Also

bfs_sse_datasets(), bfs_sse_dimensions()

Examples

bfs_sse_data(
  "DF_PASTA_552_MONTHLY",
  filters = list(
    FREQ = "M",
    ACCOMMODATION_TYPE = "552001",
    COUNTRY_ORIGIN = c("CH", "AUSL")
  ),
  start_period = "2020",
  end_period = "2023",
  language = "en"
)

# the latest vacancy rate of each canton
bfs_sse_data(
  "DF_LWZ_1",
  filters = list(
    GR_KT_GDE = c("GE", "ZH", "BE"),
    WOHN_ANZAHL = "_T",
    LEERWOHN_TYP = "_T",
    MEASURE_DIMENSION = "RATE"
  ),
  last_n = 1,
  language = "en"
)

BFS documentation built on Oct. 21, 2026, 1:07 a.m.