How can we make sure that the data from different European countries is comparable? What does quality in statistics mean? Jonathan Elliott talks to John Verrinder and Lourdes Prado (both Eurostat) about the work of the statisticians and data scientists at Eurostat and how they master and harmonize all the data from 27 EU Member States before they get shared with the public.

They also look at how statisticians ensure reliable data that policymakers, academics and journalists can use for their work. Take a peek behind the scenes and discover why the European statistics Code of Practice has 16 principles, ranging from impartiality to accuracy, timeliness, to confidentiality, all backed up by 84 indicators.

John Verrinder, head of unit at Eurostat’s national accounts methodology, explains the trend and effect of digitization of data over the last few decades and their enormous effect on our society. He discussed why privately held data could be a goldmine for creating statistics.

Lourdes Prado from Eurostat, working with government debt and deficit, explains why and how Eurostat checks and validates data gathered by its member States and why she does not have sleepless nights before publishing government sensitive data.

In a conversation with Jonathan Elliott on this topic, we find out why statisticians are like designers or air traffic controllers and wondering how to measure happiness in Bhutan.