Office for National Statistics

Inclusive measures of growth – How ONS is moving Beyond GDP

GDP is a well-used metric for measuring changes in the size of economies around the world. However, it has its limitations. Richard Heys writes about the continuing developments at the ONS to go beyond GDP by including measures of the impact of growth on people, the climate and environment.

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Uncertainty and the ‘r’ word: What exactly is a ‘recession’?

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In times when the economy appears to be slowing, commentators will inevitably debate whether or not it is moving into ‘recession’. There is, however, no official definition of a recession and the one most commonly used has the potential to be misleading. In this post Darren Morgan reveals why in official statistics the ONS tends to avoid using the ‘r’ word.    

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The Health Index 2020 – measuring the nation’s health

The ONS’ Health Index is a rich data set that gives us an overall picture of the nation’s health and how it has been declining or improving. We can also see in close-up how health varies from area to area and what local factors are in play. As we publish our findings up to 2020, Greg Ceely explains what our data show and how the Health Index is already proving a useful tool for local health leaders.

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Understanding the impact of crime on society through data

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Just as the nature of crime evolves, so must the data sources we rely on to capture its true nature and extent. If you’ve listened to the media you may have got the impression that overall crime in England and Wales is at record levels, but do the statistics back that up, or has crime actually been falling? Or is it the case that the nature of crime has simply changed over the last few decades, meaning we’re now more likely to be targeted online than in the streets? 

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