Office for National Statistics

Inclusive Income: How COVID-19 affected our new measures

Categories: Data, Economy, Office for National Statistics, ONS, Research
Image of grandparents playing with a baby

Our headline measure of the size of the economy, Gross Domestic Product, is produced rapidly and relied on widely. So it’s no surprise that when the pandemic hit in 2020 we saw a focus on the rapid fall in output it revealed. But how does our understanding change if we take a wider perspective on the economy and account for the sustainability of economic activity? Here Cliodhna Taylor looks at some wider metrics that we have just published for that period.

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How the ONS is working towards measuring depletion of UK natural capital

Categories: Economy, Environment, Office for National Statistics, ONS

As well as its more traditional social and economic statistics, the Office for National Statistics has been further improving its measurement of what the natural world provides to us through ‘ecosystem services’. This work is part of the wider ‘Wellbeing and Beyond GDP’ agenda to provide a complementary and more holistic view of national prosperity and well-being. In this post Ellen Clowser looks at how we’ve been extending our measurement of natural capital to estimate for the first time how these resources are being depleted.

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Bringing together UK health statistics

Categories: Data, Health, Office for National Statistics, Public Policy, Wellbeing
Hospital corridor

Making government statistics accessible to everyone and coherent across data sets maximises the value they bring to important topics. The ONS has been working with the devolved administrations and health bodies to bring together and improve the statistical coherence of UK health data. Becky Tinsley shares an update on this work and explains how it will help create a deeper and wider understanding of health.

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Understanding our future population: Why projections are not predictions

Categories: Census, International, migration, Office for National Statistics, ONS, Population
Image of people

There are many reasons for wanting to know the size of the future population of the UK. How many school places will we need? How many hospitals? How many people will claim a State Pension? But looking into the future is challenging. As James Robards explains, our population projections take into account current and past trends, and as those patterns change, we adjust our projections accordingly.

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