
ESO News



14.10.2022
Joint ESO-UNECE Workshop for Human Resources Professionals: The Future of Work, Working for the Future
Has COVID-19 changed the way we work? What will the future workplace look like? And how can employers ensure they stay competitive after the pandemic?

06.10.2022
High-level Seminar in Georgia

16.08.2022
IT sector review Namibia



04.05.2022
Norwegian ambassador visits ESO

15.03.2022
Pandemic crisis and economic trends: the tourism sector in European and EFTA countries
The ongoing Covid crisis has had and still continues to have a considerable impact on different sectors of the European economy. Hope for a fast recovery has been repeatedly contradicted by new waves of infections leading to renewed measures that slowed down the pace of recovery in national economies. This publication presents empirical data from Eurostat’s database with a focus on some figures from the tourism sector for the EU 27 complemented by additional figures from EFTA Member States.

02.02.2022
Trainee Day in Luxembourg

17.11.2021
Ambassador of Andorra visits ESO

25.09.2020
EFTA organises a special session for EECCA countries on HR and Training
In response to the current COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) together with the EFTA Statistical Office (ESO) organised this year’s Human Resources (HR) Management Training as an online course.

25.06.2020
Publication of papers from the joint EFTA / UNECE session at the ISI World Congress in Kuala Lumpur
In the aftermath of the 2019 International Statistical Institute’s (ISI) World Statistics Congress, several of the presentations of the joint session organised by the EFTA Statistical Office (ESO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) were published in the Statistical Journal of the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS).

25.06.2020
Transaction data in the consumer price index
06.03.2020
EFTA attends the fifty-first session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
Volker Täube, Director of ESO, represented EFTA at the fifty-first session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in New York from the 3rd to 6th of March 2020.

03.02.2020
EFTA Statistical Office conducts 2020 global statistical assessment in Kyrgyzstan
The EFTA Statistical Office in cooperation with Eurostat and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have conducted the first mission of the 2020 Global Assessment to the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (NSC).

02.12.2019
Fifth EU/Switzerland Statistical meeting takes place
The fifth meeting of the European Union/Switzerland Statistical Committee took place at Eurostat's premises in Luxembourg on 2 December 2019.

15.10.2019
Statistical cooperation event on vital statistics for north and central Asian countries
Reliable, responsive and complete vital statistics provide essential information on populations that is critical for sustainable and inclusive development. Particularly for the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, vital statistics are required to measure and monitor all population-based targets and indicators.

25.07.2018
Trade in Goods and Trading Partners of EFTA Member States 2017
The EFTA Statistical Office (ESO) has published an article on the foreign trade relations of the four EFTA States Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland with its partner countries in the EU and the rest of the world.
The article points to the importance of the EU as the most important trading partner of the EFTA States and underlines the sensitivity of the EFTA States to the planned withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. See the explanatory notes in the bottom for methodological details.

19.09.2016
Eurostat regional yearbook 2016 includes data on EFTA countries
The Eurostat regional yearbook 2016 provides data on a broad range of statistical topics across the regions of the EU Member States, the EFTA States and EU candidate countries.

27.05.2016
The 2015 Annual Report of the European Statistical System released
The European Statistical System (ESS) is a partnership among Eurostat, the national statistical institutes and other national authorities providing high-quality, official statistics for Europe. The EFTA States are, together with the EU Member States, part of this "statistical production factory" which employs around 50 000 people in 32 different countries.

04.05.2016
One third of all asylum applicants under 18 are unaccompanied
In 2015, over 7 700 asylum seekers were considered as unaccompanied minors in the EFTA States, according to data published by Eurostat. The vast majority of these were male, with Afghanistan representing the most common country of origin, followed by Eritrea and Syria.

04.03.2016
New app with regional data for EFTA and EU
Eurostat recently released a mobile app which provides access to the main statistical data on regions within the member states of the EU and EFTA.

20.10.2015
Better data. Better lives.
Today is the second annual World Statistics Day. This year’s theme underlines the "critical role of high-quality official statistical information in analysis and informed policy decision-making in support of sustainable development".

25.06.2015
Switzerland has the highest prices in Europe
Data published recently by Eurostat show that the overall price levels in the EFTA countries were higher than the average price level in the European Union (EU) in 2014. Switzerland had the highest overall price level, followed by Norway. Iceland was closer to the EU average, but some products, like consumer electronics, were relatively more expensive in Iceland than in the other EFTA countries.

21.05.2015
Iceland has highest employment rate in Europe
According to data published recently by Eurostat, Iceland had the highest share of employment among people aged 20 to 64 years in 2014, at 83.5%.The employment rates among the EFTA countries were generally high compared to the countries of the European Union (EU), particularly among women aged 55 to 64 years (see map).

04.05.2015
High share of underemployed women in Norway and Switzerland
A part-time worker who wishes to work more, and is available to do so, is defined as underemployed. Eurostat recently published data on underemployment in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries based on the European Labour Force Survey of 2014.

27.04.2015
Low unemployment rates in EFTA countries
Unemployment rates in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were low in 2014 compared to those in European Union (EU) countries, according to data published recently by Eurostat.
30.03.2015
Increasing number of asylum seekers in EFTA countries
37 000 people applied for asylum in one of the EFTA countries in 2014. This represents an increase of 11% from 2013, according to new data released by Eurostat.

25.03.2015
High life satisfaction in EFTA countries
Residents of the EFTA countries are generally very satisfied with their lives. Their life satisfaction is among the highest in Europe, according to new Eurostat data released on the occasion of the International Day of Happiness, 20 March 2015.

11.02.2015
EFTA one of the EU’s largest trading partners in international trade in services
The European Union had a surplus in international trade in services of almost EUR 180 billion in 2013, of which one third came from trade with EFTA.

19.12.2014
Record number of air passengers in EFTA countries in 2013
More than 84 million passengers travelled by air in the EFTA countries in 2013, of which 74.4 million to and from EU countries.
The largest growth was in Iceland, with 3.2 million passengers, an increase of 16.7% compared to 2012.

18.07.2014
EFTA countries show decrease in income inequality
Income inequality, measured by the Gini coefficient, varies across Europe. Newly published data from Eurostat show that Norway and Slovenia had the lowest inequality among the EU and EFTA countries in 2012, whereas the highest inequality was found in Spain and Latvia. In both Iceland and Switzerland income inequality was below the EU28 average.

31.03.2014
Visualising European regional statistics
European statistics are frequently presented at national level, but the Eurostat website also provides data at regional level. Although regional breakdowns are often also available from the national statistical institutions, the Eurostat website features an application that enables you to make comparisons between regions in different European countries, and visualise the results through interactive graphics.

20.12.2013
US and EFTA States are the EU’s main partners in trade in services in 2012
The European Union’s international trade in services with the rest of the world increased in 2012, with EU exports of services to the EFTA countries rising by 2.4%, from EUR 103.2 billion in 2011 to EUR 105.7 billion in 2012; and EU imports rising by 6.6%, from EUR 69.7 billion to EUR 74.3 bn.

14.11.2013
EFTA Secretariat renews Administrative Arrangement with Eurostat on Technical Cooperation in Statistics
The triennial administrative arrangement which has governed technical cooperation between the EFTA Secretariat and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) since 2005 has just been renewed for the period 2014 to 2016.

12.11.2013
Tourism statistics released for EU and EFTA countries
A recent Eurostat report shows that the average expenditure per trip was highest for visitors to Iceland (EUR 1 217 per trip in 2010), followed by Norway (EUR 638 per trip in 2007) and Spain (EUR 529 per trip in 2008).

24.10.2013
Quality of life in 79 European cities
Four cities from the EFTA countries have been included in a recent survey on the quality of life in 79 European cities. Three of these have been ranked in the top ten, while the fourth, Geneva, has been ranked 57th in terms of overall satisfaction on living in the city.

01.10.2013
Country statistics at your fingertips
Never be at a loss for numbers again! The Eurostat app for iPhone/iPad and Android gives mobile access to the main statistical data on the EFTA States, the European Union and its Member States, the euro area, the EU candidate countries and other selected countries.

19.07.2013
Joint EFTA/Eurostat/UNECE Seminar on “Global Assessments of National Statistical Systems”
EFTA, in cooperation with the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) organised a high-level seminar for South-East Europe, Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and non-EU Mediterranean countries on global assessments of their national statistical systems.

08.05.2013
Increasing Number of Asylum Applications in EFTA States
The total number of asylum applicants in the four EFTA countries reached almost 39’000 in 2012. This represents an increase of roughly 17% compared to one year before. In 34% of all cases a positive decision was granted in first instance.

04.04.2013
Sharp Drop in Living Standards in Iceland
According to a recent Eurostat publication, living standards in most countries of the EEA area dropped in 2010 compared with a year earlier.

22.01.2013
EFTA countries among the safest in the world
According to Control Risks, an independent British risk consultancy, the four EFTA countries, together with Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Sweden, are the safest countries in the world.

21.12.2012
Eurostat update: Norway and Iceland confirmed as biggest fishery nations in Europe
In 2010, Norwegian and Icelandic vessels caught 2 563 and 1 063 tonnes of fish respectively. As a comparison, the two countries' combined catches were the equivalent of 73.3 % of total EU catches (4 944 tonnes). The largest fishery nations in the European Union were Denmark (828 tonnes) and Spain (739 tonnes).

05.12.2012
Eurostat update: Who are our new fellow citizens?
Have you ever listened to or taken part in a discussion about citizenship granted in your country? Statistics is frequently used in these discussions, often without a proper reference. Next time you have the chance to be prepared. In a recent publication Eurostat provides the answers to the questions you might have on the subject.

30.10.2012
Eurostat takes the pulse on the debt level
The deficit (net lending/borrowing) of the general government sector in Iceland was -4.4 % of GDP in year 2011 and the gross consolidated debt was 98.8 % of GDP. The Norwegian general government had a surplus of 13.6% in 2011, and a gross consolidated debt of 29.0% of GDP.

03.10.2012
EFTA Performance in Light of the Europe 2020 Strategy
The EFTA States have the highest employment rate in Europe and the lowest share of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The EFTA countries are also among the countries in Europe with the highest level of tertiary educational attainment.

21.06.2012
20 years of sustainable development in Europe - a guide for citizens
In connection with the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development, Eurostat has published a statistical guide. The publication also includes figures for the EFTA countries.

11.06.2012
Course on Price Statistics in Kiev
On 21-23 of May 2012, EFTA's Statistical Office (ESO) organised a training course on price statistics in Kiev hosted by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.

23.04.2012
At the age of 65, both women and men in EFTA countries are expected to live longer than women and men in the EU27 average.
A Eurostat news release shows the expected remaining years in a healthy condition at the age of 65 in 2010.

23.04.2012
Part-time work and underemployment in EFTA countries
A Eurostat news release shows that the percentage of part-time workers aged 15 to 74 of the total employment in 2011 was 28.1 % for Norway and 35% for Switzerland.

16.02.2012
Spring 2012 edition of Eurostat’s quarterly leaflet
Eurostat recently published the spring 2012 edition of its quarterly leaflet “Basic figures on the EU”. This publication also provides a selection of the freshest data for economic and social domains of EFTA States.

14.12.2011
EFTA countries' GDP per capita higher than EU27 average
According to a Eurostat press release of 13 December 2011, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Norway, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was 181% of the EU27 average. This represented a growth of five percentage points from 2009.

08.12.2011
The Inflation Dashboard - a new tool for comparing inflation across Europe
Eurostat recently published a new inflation visualisation tool on its website.

16.11.2011
EFTA Statistical Office Celebrates 20th Anniversary
The 20th Anniversary of the EFTA Statistical Office represents 20 years of close cooperation between EFTA and the EU. To mark this occasion ESO is publishing a new edition of the EFTA/EU Statistical Cooperation Handbook.

17.10.2011
Iceland has the highest inflation rate in the EEA
A recent Eurostat publication on inflation shows that Iceland’s annual inflation rate in September 2011 was the highest in the European Economic Area (EEA) at 5.5%. Switzerland's annual inflation rate in September was the lowest in the EEA at 0.2%, increasing from -0.3% in August.

21.09.2011
EFTA States among EU's most important trading partners
Recent figures from Eurostat show that the EFTA States were among the main trading partners of the European Union in the first half of the year. For the period January to June 2011, Switzerland was the third main importer of EU products after the United States and China.

21.06.2011
Key figures on Europe – 2011 edition
Eurostat - the statistical service of the European Community - has released a pocketbook, Key figures on Europe – 2011 edition. The pocketbook provides users of official statistics with an overview of the wealth of information that is available on the Eurostat website. The publication provides a balanced set of indicators, with a broad cross-section of information on the Member States of the European Union, as well as the EFTA States.

02.05.2011
EFTA Member States rank highly in Eurostat renewable energy usage comparison
According to a Eurostat news release of April 2011, EFTA Member States rank highly in the use of renewable energy, with Norway at the top. These figures were published in connection with the EU Sustainable Energy Week from 11 to 15 April 2011, which promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy.

14.04.2011
Asylum applicants in EFTA countries in 2010
On 29 March 2011, figures concerning asylum applications were published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. Overall, figures show a decrease in asylum applicants in 2010 compared to 2009 in EFTA countries.

04.04.2011
Inflation rates for EFTA countries published by Eurostat
Inflation rates for Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and 27 EU countries were presented in a Eurostat news release on 16 March 2011.

30.11.2010
Deficit in EFTA service trade with EU27
In 2009, the EU27 recorded that external trade in services slowed down compared to 2007 and 2008. The figures show, however, that the EFTA block is a main trading partner in services for the EU27. According to Eurostat, EU27 imports of services from EFTA fell from EUR 63.3 billion in 2008 to EUR 59.7 billion in 2009, while the exports of services fell from EUR 87 billion to EUR 82.8 billion in the same period. The deficit for the EFTA block in trade in services with EU27 therefore amounted to EUR 23.1 billion in 2009.

19.11.2010
Inflation rates for EFTA countries published by Eurostat
Inflation rates for Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the 27 EU Member States were presented in a Eurostat news release on 16 November 2010.

22.09.2010
EFTA countries are important trading partners for EU 27
According to a Eurostat news release on 16 September 2010 Norway and Switzerland are amongst the main trading partners for the Member States of the European Union. Measuring the extent of trade as the sum of the values of imports and exports, the news release indicates that only the United States and China had traded more with the EU 27 than Norway and Switzerland combined, in the first half of 2010.

05.08.2010
Employment rates in EFTA countries amongst highest in Europe in 2009
In a recent news release published by Eurostat, the total employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 in EU27 is 64.6%. The figures for the EFTA countries are substantially higher, with Switzerland yielding the highest employment rate of the 33 countries included in the Eurostat news release with 79.2%.

25.06.2010
Seminar for Turkish statisticians
From 21 to 23 June the EFTA Statistical Office (ESO) organised a course on the European Statistical System (ESS) for statisticians involved in the production of official statistics in Turkey.

26.03.2010
Annual and monthly inflation rates for EFTA countries
February 2010 annual and monthly inflation rates for the 27 EU Member States and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were presented in a Eurostat news release on 17 March 2010.

10.03.2010
ESO visits Statistics Norway
Representatives from the EFTA Statistical Office visited Statistics Norway last week.

23.02.2010
Downward trend in 2009 for nights spent at hotels and similar establishments in EFTA countries
The number of nights spent in hotels and similar establishments in the EFTA countries fell in each quarter in 2009 compared with 2008.

10.02.2010
Asylum applicants in EFTA countries in Q3 2009
Asylum applicants figures have been published for the third quarter of 2009. Overall, figures show an increase in asylum applicants in Q3 2009 compared to Q3 2008 for Norway and Liechtenstein and a decrease for Switzerland.

03.02.2010
Iceland and Norway - living conditions 2008
In 2008, Iceland and Norway had an at-risk-of-poverty rate of 10% and 11% respectively, while 17% of the EU27 population was living below the poverty threshold.

19.01.2010
EFTA countries' annual inflation rates 2009
The latest Eurostat publication on inflation shows a continuous decrease in the annualized inflation rate for Iceland through year 2009 whilst for other EFTA countries the annual rates were rather stable. Switzerland showed negative price growth for several months in 2009, but the annual rate for December was slightly positive.

11.01.2010