Gottfried Achenwall

Achenwall, Gottfried (gôtˈfrēt äkhˈənväl) [key], 1719–72, German statistician and political scientist. He used the term Statistik for the first time in his Staatsverfassung der heutigen vornehmsten europäischen Reiche und Völker im Grundrisse [the political constitution of the present principal European countries and peoples] (1749). By the term he meant a comprehensive description of the social, political, and economic features of a state.

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