An Overview of OECD Economic Statistics

How can we compare the economic structure of OECD countries? Are small and medium enterprises more efficient than the large ones? How can we measure innovation or globalisation? Are the official measures of inflation reliable? This chapter shows how economic statistics published by the OECD can help in answering these and other questions relevant both for analytical and policy purposes. In particular, for each topic (statistics on agriculture, energy, industry and services, national accounts, etc.) the key definitions used to compile internationally comparable statistics are presented, together with the sources. The chapter also describes some of the activities already underway or planned to improve the quality of OECD statistics. Finally, charts and tables are used to highlight just a subset of data available in OECD databases and publications.