Bringing together statistics from across the UK

In June 2025 we published UK 2021 census-based statistics on a range of census topics. This was a collaboration between the ONS, National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). 

The publication provides March 2021 statistics for the UK as a whole, and for the four nations of the UK on a range of census topics based on Census 2021 totals for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, added to estimated equivalent values derived from Scotland's Census 2022. It should be noted that the estimates for Scotland in this publication do not replace the NRS's Census 2022 results as the definitive census statistics for Scotland. 

Alongside this we published a Quality and methods guide for census-based statistics UK: 2021 – this guide describes what the statistics cover, how we produced them, their strengths and limitations and potential uses of the data, including guidance on alternative approaches to combining and comparing data from the most recent UK censuses. 

We have also recently published coherence articles on:  

• Private rented sector statistics from across the UK which provides a summary of private rented sector statistics from across the UK to assess their comparability and limitations, and improve statistical coherence 

• Homelessness in the UK which provides a summary of trends in homelessness statistics across the four nations of the UK and the cross-UK comparability of the data 

• Coherence of end-of-life statistics across the UK which explores the coherence and comparability of end-of-life care statistics across the UK -- this article was produced by the UK Health Statistics Steering Group end-of-life care theme group

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) is the community of civil servants working in the collection, production and communication of official statistics. Together, we have published guidance on several specific topic areas to support understanding of the different statistical outputs that are produced about the populations of the UK.

These publications bring together statistics published across the UK on the same topic. We aim to provide information to allow data users to compare UK data, where appropriate, and understand where comparisons cannot be made. We also explore the wider context influencing cross-country comparisons, including the impact of geographical and population differences.

Further work is taking place across different statistical theme topics to improve guidance information available. More information can be found from our coherence of statistics workplan webpage.

Teams across the GSS and devolved governments have produced guidance and explainer articles across several theme topics to help users understand the coherence and comparability of UK statistics and, where appropriate, understand where comparisons cannot be made.

Health

In August 2024 we published a blog on building a better understanding of UK health data which summarised collaborative work between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the devolved governments and other health bodies to bring together different sources of health data from across the UK, to improve statistical coherence and help understanding for users.

Through this partnership, we have published: 

• an article describing the cross-comparability of Waiting times for cancer treatment across the UK, using data for both the 31-day and 62-day waiting times standard (where available)
• an article bringing together NHS planned care waiting time data from across the UK, which includes data from the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey
• an article detailing the cross-UK comparability of NHS experience and satisfaction data, which includes data from the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey
• an article describing official statistics on the healthcare workforce across the UK, and other related data sources, including non-official data, on specific healthcare professionals across the UK
• an article outlining Accident and Emergency (A&E) wait times from across the UK, including data from January 2013 to September 2023
• a summary of ambulance response time data in the UK, explaining how the categories differ between countries in the UK

Housing and homelessness

We have published several guidance articles on housing and homelessness statistics:

• How fuel poverty is measured in the UK
• The comparability and coherence of UK homeless deaths statistics
• Report on the latest trends from rough sleeping statistics across the UK and how existing statistics can be compared
• Assessment of the comparability and coherence of existing UK government data sources on homelessness
• Report on existing UK data sources on the private rented sector to assess comparability, coherence and data limitations

Income and earnings

In April 2024 we published a blog Understanding the new income statistics for local areas: Different measures for better insights which explained how different local income statistics compare and why they offer a complimentary picture of local areas. Alongside this, we also published updated coherence and comparison guidance for local area income statistics across the UK to help users understand the differences between income statistics produced by ONS, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Labour market

The Comparison of labour market data sources guide presents the strengths and weaknesses of the main data sources used to produce labour market figures, including the advantages of new administrative data sources and limitations of some published figures.

Population and migration

Our Population statistics and sources guide provides a comparison of the different types of population estimates that are published across the UK or are planned for future publication.

Trade and investment

We have published a User guide to regional trade which outlines the different measures of trade data and the methods used to produce them, enabling the user to decide which measure is suitable for their purpose. This guide was produced jointly by ONS, HMRC and the devolved governments.

Other

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance on accessing and using UK-wide comparable datasets for UK government officials. While this guidance is aimed primarily for analytical professionals across government, it may also be helpful other users who would like to understand the value and importance of UK-wide data, and the challenges of producing UK-wide statistics.

For some topic areas, such as where policy is devolved, each nation may have several bodies responsible for producing statistics. This can make finding data on a particular topic difficult. We have several resources to help you find data that have been produced in government departments, devolved governments and public bodies across the UK.

Government Statistical Service (GSS) interactive tools

The GSS interactive tools available on the analysis function website allow you to search and filter a database of UK statistics on several topic areas, making these statistics more accessible to users. Additional guidance is also available through our data landscapes, glossaries and comparability tools, allowing you to explore concepts and definitions in each UK country.

Explore local statistics service

Our Explore local statistics service allows you to find, visualise, compare and download local datasets for areas across the UK, with a range of interactive tools. In the area journey, you can see at a glance how a geographical area is doing on a range of indicators, how things have changed over time, and how it compares to other areas or the rest of the country. You can even compare your area of choice to other statistically similar areas, as the service incorporates local authority clustering and nearest neighbour analysis. In the indicator journey, you can explore local statistics by indicator, giving you the option to delve into one topic across multiple areas, rather than focussing only on one area.

If you want to get involved or have questions about the work we are doing, please email gss.coherence@ons.gov.uk.