About & Methodology

Purpose

Europe in Numbers is a non-commercial, open civic-data platform whose purpose is to give every citizen direct access to authoritative figures about the European Union, with each figure linked to its primary source — whether that source is European, international, national or academic.

The site is intended as a resource for media literacy and civic engagement: a place to check a claim, not a place to be told what to think.

Non-partisan and non-proselytising

The platform does not endorse any political party, candidate, government or movement, in the European Union or elsewhere. It does not campaign for or against any policy decision.

Where commentary appears alongside a figure, it is limited to describing the source, the unit of measurement, and any caveats reported by the data provider. The reader is the one who draws conclusions.

Methodology

Each chart and indicator on the site follows the same five rules:

• Every figure must come from a primary, authoritative source. In practice this includes EU institutions and agencies (Eurostat, ECB, ENTSO-E, EEAS, EDA), international bodies (OECD, IMF, World Bank, WHO, UN, SIPRI), US federal agencies (BLS, CDC, Census Bureau), peer-reviewed scientific publications, and national or sub-national statistics offices.
• The primary source is linked next to the figure; the reader can open it and verify the value independently.
• Comparisons across countries use harmonised definitions where these exist (Eurostat, OECD, World Bank, IMF, WHO).
• Where two equally credible sources disagree, the discrepancy is shown rather than hidden.
• Updates and corrections are tracked publicly; if a figure changes, the source link is updated.

Sources used

Primary sources used across the site include Eurostat, the European Central Bank, ENTSO-E, the European Defence Agency, EEAS, ENISA, EU DisinfoLab, Eurobarometer, the OECD, World Bank, IMF, WHO, SIPRI, US federal agencies (BLS, CDC, Census Bureau), Reporters Without Borders, the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom, and peer-reviewed academic research. Each chart shows the specific source(s) used.

Citizen empowerment

The platform is designed around the assumption that informed citizens reach better decisions when they have direct, low-friction access to the data their public institutions already publish.

Readers are encouraged to open the source links, read the underlying methodology, and form their own opinion. A sourced figure shared in good faith is more useful than an unsourced opinion.

Corrections and feedback

If you spot a figure that looks wrong, an out-of-date source, or a missing caveat, please write to aurelian.john-herpin@pm.me. Corrections are applied as soon as they are confirmed against the primary source.