Statistics

UK Data Service 

The UK’s largest collection of social, economic and population data. Also contains major UK government-sponsored surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, UK census data, international aggregate, business data and qualitative data. 

Office for National Statistics 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collect, analyse and publish statistics on the United Kingdom economy, population and society. 

UK Data Archive 

The UK’s largest collection of digital research data in the social sciences and humanities. 

The National Archives 

The National Archives is home to millions of historical documents, known as records, created and collected by UK central government departments and major courts of law. UK population and census data is available online, as well as other government records.

National Records of Scotland 

Data and statistics covering a wide range of information about Scotland, including Scottish census and other government data. 

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 

The principal source of official statistics and social research on Northern Ireland. Statistics and research are used to inform public policy. 

Welsh Government Statistics 

Statistics and research from the Welsh government. 

UK Government statistics 

Official government statistics and datasets, categorised by department and policy area. 

data.gov.uk 

Find data published by government departments and agencies, public bodies and local authorities. 

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) statistics 

Government statistics on deprivation, housing and homelessness, local government finance, planning performance and land use. 

Judicial statistics 

Statistics showing the diversity breakdown of the courts and tribunals judiciary. 

Legislation.gov.uk 

Acts of Parliament published here can contain statistics on a range of social and public issues. 

Ministry of Justice statistics 

Covers a wide range of statistics, such as prisons and probation, re-offending, youth justice, criminal justice statistics, equality statistics.

NOMIS - Official Labour Market Statistics 

View a range of UK labour market statistics, local area reports down to ward and parish level, and data sets which can be searched in depth via the ‘Query data’ tool.

Census Support (UK Data Service) 

Access to data from the last six UK population censuses (1961-2011).

Census Support: Flow Data 

Support for the use of flow data from the Census. Census flow data shows the movement of people between places. 

CIPFA Information Services 

Statistics on performance in public services.

Crime Survey for England and Wales 

Annual survey measures crime by asking survey respondents if they have experienced crime in the past year. Includes recorded and unrecorded crime figures. 

NatCen 

Research including statistics into people’s opinions upon children and young people, crime, health care, housing, education, equality and diversity and transport amongst other topics. 

NHS Digital 

Indicators, official statistics, reports, audits, surveys, systems and services relating to the NHS and social care system. 

NHS Nice (NHS Evidence) 

Policies, guidance, statistics and strategies to inform best practice for those working in the NHS and within health and social care settings. 

Understanding Society 

Longitudinal study, asking people living in 40,000 UK households about changes to their social and economic circumstances and attitudes. It began in 2009, and participants are interviewed annually. 

EU Commission 

Economic statistics from the EU Commission, including economic forecasts, statistical indicates and reports. 

Passport  

Includes market and consumer reports, statistics, country reports, company profiles and data, insight into industries, economics and consumers worldwide. 

European Banking Federation 

Statistics on the European banking sector.

Eurostat 

Statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat publishes statistics at a European level to enable comparisons between countries and regions. 

Data USA

Data about the USA.

FedStats 

Official statistical information produced by the U.S. Federal Government. 

US Department of labor 

Federal Government economic and employment data. 

United Status Census Bureau  

Statistical tables of demographic and socio-economic data for the US and over 200 countries and areas of the world. 

American Economic Association (AEA) 

US economic data. 

American Psychological Association 

Shared data spanning a wide variety of American topics.  Registration is required to access some information. 

Pew Research Center 

Independent organisation providing data on issues, attitudes and trends shaping American.

National Statistics Offices 

Links to National Statistics Offices by country.

United Nations (UN) Data 

Single entry point for UN statistical databases, covering economic and social topics. 

UN Statistics Division 

Part of the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, this site provides details of publications and statistical products, including a selection of statistical tables on a variety of subjects. 

United Nations Social Indicators 

Statistical tables covering a wide range of social issues broken down by country.

UNESCO 

UNESCO produce statistics primarily on aspects of education & literacy worldwide.

World Health Organization 

Health-related statistics for 194 member states, covering around 1000 indicators.

AidData: Open Data for International Development 

Provides data, reports and working papers on development finance and projects, aiming to provide better evidence to support sustainable development investments. 

CIA World Factbook 

Maintained by the CIA, this website provides information on the economy, government, economy, military and transnational issues for 267 world entities. 

Gapminder World 

Independent organisation providing facts and statistics on global development. 

Gender Data Portal 

Data portal for statistics and indicators on gender provided by the World Bank. 

Google Public Data Explorer 

The Google Public Data Explorer allows access to large datasets from a range of international organisations and academic institutions. Visualises through maps and charts that animate over time. 

Human Development Reports 

Published by the United Nations Development Programme, annual reports containing international human development data. 

Our World in Data 

Statistical reports on a range of subjects, including politics, war & peace, health and the public sector, showing how living conditions have changed over long periods of time. 

Population Reference Bureau 

The Washington-based PBR produces reports and statistics on world population, health, and the environment.

Global Data: Retail and Apparel

Company information, market analysis, trend analysis and news for the retail and apparel industries. 

Music ID

Music industry data: Music ID Data, Music ID Revenue, and Music ID Impact. Incorporating 5,452 different charts spanning 74 countries.

Journal of Open Psychology Data 

Features peer reviewed data papers describing psychology datasets with high reuse potential. 

Nasdaq Data Link 

Open access resource for financial, economic and alternative datasets. 

re3data.org 

Global registry of research data repositories that covers research data repositories from different academic disciplines. 

Statista  

Market and consumer reports and statistics across 170 industries and 150+ countries, covering retail, sport, tourism, technology and transportation amongst others. 

Apparently it was Benjamin Disraeli we have to thank for the famous quote ’There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics’, and it is certainly true that statistics can be used and abused, manipulated or simply misunderstood and misportrayed when it comes to backing up the point you are trying to make. Here are some sources to help you. 

House of Commons Statistical Literacy guide 

Guide produced by the House of Commons Library and designed to help MPs and their staff better understand statistics that are used in press stories, research, debates, news releases, reports, books etc. Although published a few years ago, it is an excellent introduction. 

More or Less 

BBC Radio 4 series which discusses the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life, showing how statistics are used and abused to shape public policy. 

Royal Statistical Society 

Professional body for statisticians and data analysts. They advocate the key role of statistics and data in society, and work to ensure that policy formulation and decision making are informed by evidence for the public good. 

Significance - American Statistical Association/Royal Statistical Society/Statistical Society of Australia magazine 

Significance is a bimonthly magazine for anyone interested in statistics and the analysis and interpretation of data. Its aim is to communicate and demonstrate in an entertaining, thought-provoking and non-technical way the practical use of statistics in all walks of life and to show informatively and authoritatively how statistics benefit society. 

Sense about Science 

Guide to making sense of statistics, designed in collaboration with the Royal Statistical Society. 

UK Statistics Authority 

Independent body that monitors official statistics in the UK. Contains information about what national and official statistics are and how they’re evaluated. 

The art of statistics: learning from data by David Spiegelhalter 

Spiegelhalter guides the reader through the principles needed to derive knowledge from data. 

Numbers: data and statistics for the non-specialist by Louis Rogers and Dawn Willoughby 

‘Numbers’ gives you the skills to make sense of data and numbers, and the confidence to use them effectively in your work. Learn how to: interpret statistics and data; conduct surveys; evaluate and question results; present numerical information clearly. 

Manchester Met students and staff can download the statistical software programmes: SPSS, NVivo, Minitab, R, Stata and more via the software download centre.  

We do not run workshops on how to use this software but offer video tutorials via the following and hold ebooks about the software via Library Search: 

LinkedIn Learning  

Over 100,000 online courses on all aspects of business, technology and creativity. 

O’Reilly for Higher Education 

Ebooks, videos and case studies on many aspects of computing and programming, engineering, chemistry, mathematics and physics. 

Sage Research Methods  

Resources to answer your research methods and statistics questions.