The statistical parton distributions: status and prospects

New experimental results on polarized structure functions, cross sections for e±p neutral and charge current reactions and ν(anti ν) charge current on isoscalar targets are compared with predictions using the statistical parton distributions, which were previously determined. New data on cross sections for Drell-Yan processes, single-jet data in p anti p collisions and inclusive π0 production data in pp collisions are also compared with predictions from this theoretical approach. The good agreement which we find with all these tests against experiment strengthens our opinion on the relevance of the role of quantum statistics for parton distributions. We will also discuss the prospects of this physical framework. (orig.)