Statistics News

  • The 2015 Annual Report of the European Statistical System released   27.05.2016

    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.

  • One third of all asylum applicants under 18 are unaccompanied   04.05.2016

    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.

  • New app with regional data for EFTA and EU   04.03.2016

    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.

  • Substantial increase in asylum applications   29.10.2015

    The number of asylum applicants in the EFTA countries more than doubled in the third quarter of 2015, compared to the previous quarter.

  • Better data. Better lives.   20.10.2015

    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".

  • Urban Iceland, suburban Switzerland and rural Norway   12.10.2015
    Reykjavik

    The number of people living in urban, rural and intermediate areas varies a lot between European countries, as shown by data from 2014 published by Eurostat.

  • Many “silver surfers” in the EFTA countries   06.10.2015
    © iStock. By Getty Images

    On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, celebrated each year on 1 October, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), publishes demographic indicators on elderly people living in the EU and EFTA countries.

  • Switzerland has the highest prices in Europe   25.06.2015
    © European Union, 2015

    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.

  • Iceland has highest employment rate in Europe   21.05.2015
    Employment rate (percentage) for women aged 55-64 years in 2014. Source: Eurostat

    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).

  • EFTA countries score highly on Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015   08.05.2015

    On 7 May 2015, the Annual Innovation Union Scoreboard was published by the European Commission. The report gives information on innovation performance in Europe, including three of the EFTA countries.