Working internationally

The demand for internationally comparative data is unprecedented and shows no sign of slowing down. These data inform critical decision making about society and the economy – impacting a wide range of issues, from healthcare to taxes.

No country or statistical system can address all the challenges it faces alone. As these challenges increasingly become global ones, it is imperative that we work together in partnership, sharing expertise and resources, and leading the way in shaping statistics for the global good.

The UK Statistics Authority, Office for National Statistics and wider Government Statistical Service does this by:

  • representing the UK with a unified voice on the global stage, shaping best practice, and striving towards harmonisation and modernisation of international statistics 
  • supporting capacity building, by sharing skills and experience in the UK Government’s priority countries, whilst enhancing domestic learning and resilience 
  • participating actively in international statistical organisations to develop standards and methodologies, and to drive innovation in emerging statistical areas 
  • supporting the UK and others to respond to global challenges including climate change, health emergencies and the creation of more equal societies  

We develop and maintain effective bilateral relationships with other national statistical organisations and build the capacity of statistical systems in developing countries as part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). Find out more about this work on our FCDO Development Tracker page.

We are also delivering some externally funded priority projects delivering tools, frameworks and capabilities that strengthen resilience, capacity and capability in the UK and partner countries.  

Some of our current projects include: 

  • Analysis for Action (AfA) 
  • SOSCHI 

Contact

Organisations in ODA-eligible countries wishing to find out about UK statistical support can email: international.development@ons.gov.uk  

For more information about other collaborative opportunities, email: international@statistics.gov.uk  

Strategy and governance 

The GSS International Strategy highlights the two main parts of our mission: 

  • to lead in the modernisation and harmonisation of international statistics and shape the development of internationally comparable standards to support international and UK policy objectives 
  • to be at the forefront of the data revolution and use our knowledge and skills to help others respond to global challenges, and the UK to deliver its global priorities 

We have been enacting these through three main strategic objectives. 

  1. The first is to influence others by developing and maintaining sustainable and effective relationships and partnerships – this will enable us to shape the statistical agenda and deliver shared action on pressing statistical challenges through radical and innovative methods 
  2. Our second objective is to lead by seeking leadership positions in international statistical forums and multilateral organisations, promoting the UK’s priorities on a global stage 
  3. Thirdly, we will build and strengthen existing relationships at all levels, including across the Government Statistical Service, making our own and others’ statistical systems stronger and more resilient 

A new GSS International Strategy is currently in development. 

GSS International Committee (GSSIC): 

The GSS International Committee is a sub-committee of the National Statistics Executive Group. It is responsible for harnessing the collective power of the GSS to respond to developments in global statistical systems and to represent the UK on the global stage.  

The committee meets quarterly and has responsibility for coordination and strategic leadership of the UK’s international relations in the realm of official statistics. Its core role is to lead the GSS delivering on its vision of a global statistical system where the UK works together with other nations to achieve significant progress towards high-quality, internationally comparable statistics. It also ensures coordination of GSS engagement in international statistical fora in support of UK government priorities.  

Multilateral engagement 

The global statistical system presents the UK with a range of important obligations and opportunities. It is essential for: 

  • the development of international standards in official statistics, facilitating international comparability of UK official statistics 
  • sharing good practice with and learning from our international peers 
  • sharing resources in developing statistical architecture and methodologies, the challenges face by UK statistics are rarely unique 
  • a network of personal and institutional support from organisations that share our ethos, perspectives and challenges; NSIs have no domestic comparators in this space, so we must look internationally for this support 
  • promoting the use of statistics as part of the policy dialogue with national governments 
  • the coordination of statistical capacity building activities in developing countries 

The system consists of international bodies, other national statistical organisations, non-government organisations and professional bodies. Some of the main bodies which we work with include:  

The UK Statistics Authority also signed an arrangement on statistical cooperation with Eurostat, the Statistical Authority of the European Union, in October 2024. This recognises that both the UKSA and Eurostat will benefit by cooperating with data in areas such as GDP, national accounts, trade and foreign investment.   

Bilateral partnerships 

Collaboration and partnerships are at the core of our international work. We strive to build strong relationships with national statistical offices around the world in order to share best practice and improve harmonisation and modernisation of statistics.  

We have close working partnerships with a range of national statistical offices, where we have joint interests, for example, collaboration with South Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics has enabled productive discussions on data science and data governance. 

We also have several partnerships with key statistical organisations in the developing world, funded through Official Development Assistance and externally-funded projects.  For example, the National Statistics Office of Malawi is one of the partners of [the AfA project]. We have also worked with the National Institute of Statistics in Rwanda for the past 10 years, supporting their role as a data science leader in Africa.   

Resources

Finished workstreams 

Leadership training

The ONS is proud that after seven years of delivering training directly, its international statistical leadership training programme has been handed over to the Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre (EASTC). 

The programme was developed by the ONS in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) African Centre for Statistics (ACS) with funding from the UK Government’s International Development budget. 

The ONS and ACS delivered 32 training courses, benefitting more than 650 attendees across Africa and beyond since the course began in 2019. Around another 30 students from 20 countries were enrolled onto the e-learning programme hosted by the UN’s African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP). 

EASTC, which has more than 60 years’ experience in statistical training, will now offer the Statistical Leadership Training and Women into Leadership courses alongside its other courses following an extensive handover in 2026. The short courses are available on the Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre website.