You may have noticed that, at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), we refer to data as a plural. While it is common for people to say, “data is”, we prefer to use the original form of “data are”.
Data are facts and figures that are collected by individuals and organisations. They can be presented in many forms, such as numbers, words or images. There are two main types of data: quantitative and qualitative data.
Quantitative data can be measured as a number, such as your weight, age or the distance you travel to work.
Qualitative data include information that is descriptive rather than using numbers. This could be an answer to a question in a survey that cannot be answered with a yes or no, such as “why do you do unpaid work?”.
Data need to be interpreted before they can become useful information that we can all use, for example, through statistics.
At the ONS, we collect, store, process and use data to produce official statistics.
Where do we get data from?
We collect data on a wide range of topics, including age, sex, pay and well-being. We also collect information about things such as employment status, as well as important life events such as births, deaths and marriages.
We ask people for the data we need through surveys and the census of England and Wales that has happened every 10 years.
On top of this, we also use existing data that are collected by other organisations. This includes information people have given when they use public services, such as the tax and benefits systems. This is known as "administrative data".
We get data from central government departments, including:
the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
the Home Office
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
We also get data from other public bodies, such as:
NHS England
local authorities
the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA)
We also use some alternative data sources from commercial organisations, such as retailers and transport companies. These include:
Auto Trader
the Rail Delivery Group
point-of-sale scanner data from some of the UK’s largest retailers, including the Co-op
Find out more about the different kinds of data we use on our What are admin data and linked data? page.
How do we use data to create statistics?
We collect, store, process and use data to produce statistics. This involves some specific steps to ensure that the data are reliable, complete and confidential.
For example, we clean the data, looking for any duplications or other errors. We also de-identify or anonymise data at the earliest possible point. This means removing all information that could identify an individual.
Throughout the process, the safety and confidentiality of your information is our top priority.