LibGuides@Southampton: Data and Statistics: Key Data Sources

UK Census

The UK Census is conducted and made available by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Census data is also made available to academic institutions via the UK Data Service. If you require data for use with GIS software you should use the UK Data Service.

Histpop makes historical census reports available from 1801-1937.

International Data

Inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) including the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, World Health Organization, International Labour Organisation, OECD and EU are major providers of statistical data. They all make data freely available on their websites but may charge for some datasets.

Passport provides IGO data in a form that allows you to compare countries. The UK Data Service also provides access to some IGO data which is not freely available.

Most national governments have statistical agencies and many government departments also collect and publish statistics. Browse the University of Auckland’s OFFSTATS 'By Country' to find national statistical agencies. To find government departments, select a country and then click on ‘Government’ in WorldLII.

Be aware of potential sampling bias

It can be helpful to be aware of potential sampling bias in data. If you wish to explore this topic further, the following research can be a good starting point:

Ilic N, Prescott A, Erolin C, Peter M. (2022) Representation in medical illustration: the impact of model bias in a dermatology pilot study. J Vis Commun Med. 2022 Oct;45(4):253-262. doi: 10.1080/17453054.2022.2086455. Epub 2022 Aug 1. PMID: 35913131.
Clarkin, C., Cardo, V., Sharma, A. (2022) Bias in Bones: Integrating sex into skeletal health and research policy to improve public health outcomes, Policy Brief, University of Southampton, DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/PP0004
- Which promotes the integration of sex as a variable into skeletal health and research policy to improve gendered health inequalities.
Heinrich, Heine and Norenzayan (2010) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20550733/
- Discusses sampling bias in psychological studies, often drawn entirely from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies, consider how the data used in examples for teaching might also be 'WEIRD'.

Key Resources

UK Data Service This link opens in a new window
A national data service launched in April 2013 to integrate four former services: the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS), the Secure Data Service, the Survey Question Bank and census.ac.uk. Provides access to and support for a wide range of economic and social data. Includes UK surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, business microdata,worldwide country-level data, qualitative data and UK census data. You can search the site using 'Discover'.
You must register and login with your Institutional (SUSSED) login before you can access data .
Census Support (UK Data Service) This link opens in a new window
Census Support provides access to and support for the resources of the population censuses from 1971 to 2011. Further information
Office for National Statistics (ONS) This link opens in a new window
A UK Government body responsible for producing of a wide range of economic and social data and statistics for the UK. They also provide access to statistics from other UK government departments. Statistics for the regions and local areas are available in a separate section . If you require UK census data for use with GIS software this is available from the UK Data Service.
Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937, including census reports.

Passport (Euromonitor International)
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Provides statistics and in depth reports on companies, industries and countries worldwide. Includes consumer trends, demographic data, socioeconomic data, macroeconomic data and global reports.

China Data Online This link opens in a new window
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Economic and social statistics for China. Provides comprehensive information on China’s economic development at national, provincial, city, county and industrial levels. Also provides a unique collection of various Census data at province, city, county and township levels of Mainland China. VPN is required off campus.
Digimap Ordnance Survey This link opens in a new window
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Digimap Ordnance Survey is part of the most comprehensive maps and geospatial data service in UK Higher and Further Education. It allows you to view, annotate and print current OS maps; download OS mapping data for use in GIS and CAD; find information about postcodes and place names.
Registration is required and includes an end user license. Note: This service is only available to UK based staff and students.
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
The OECD iLibrary offers insightful content across 17 thematic collections. The content includes thousands of e-books, chapters, tables and graphs, papers, articles, summaries, indicators and databases - discoverable by theme, country or content type. Every year around 500 new titles are published via OECD iLibrary.
The collection now includes over 70 podcasts, available to stream online, or download as an MP3. New episodes appear regularly, each accompanied by a complete transcript in PDF.