European Statistical System ESS
Reliable and comparable statistics are an important basis for the European Union policies. The European Statistical System ESS has been built up gradually with the objective of providing comparable statistics at EU level. It consists of Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, and the EU Member States' national statistical institutes. The Member States of the European Economic Area EEA and the European Free Trade Association EFTA also belong to the ESS.
The Member States are responsible for data collection and compiling of statistics for national and EU needs. Eurostat is in charge of international comparability of statistics in close cooperation with the national statistical institutes.
The points of emphasis of the activities of the ESS are linked to the EU's central policy objectives. Because the activity in the European Union has constantly expanded, the cooperation now covers nearly all statistical areas.
The ESS cooperates with the statistical institutes of the EU's candidate Member States, other bodies of the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Other cooperation partners include international organisations like the OECD, UN, IMF and World Bank.
Read more about the structures and activities of the European Statistical System on ESS' web pages.
Last updated 12 Apr 2023