Foreword

For over 10 years now, the OECD Factbook has been one of the most comprehensive OECD publications on statistics. The 2015-2016 edition continues this tradition. The OECD Factbook now contains close to 100 internationally comparable indicators, allowing users to assess and compare the performance of countries over time in a wide range of topics that match the interests of policy-makers and citizens alike.

To give just a few examples, the 2015-2016 OECD Factbook shows that: CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion in the OECD as whole during 2014 were below the levels seen between 2003 and 2008; that the contribution of renewables to the energy supply remains just under 10% on average in the OECD; that expenditure on health has risen steadily, accounting for more than 9% of GDP on average; and, that the elderly population as a percentage of the total population continues to increase in most OECD countries, with an average ratio of 16% across the OECD in 2014. This latest edition of the Factbook also includes new indicators in the fields of education on the connection between students, computers and learning, as well as early childhood education and care, and for regional statistics on GDP by metropolitan area.

Written in a non-technical language, the OECD Factbook provides data and indicators for all 34 OECD member countries and, when available and considered internationally comparable, for Brazil, India, Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, Russia and South Africa.

As part of an on-going effort to make OECD data more readily available, virtually all the indicators presented in the OECD Factbook 2015-2016 are also available online through OECD.Stat, the OECD platform for data dissemination, and through the new OECD Data portal.

I trust that the OECD Factbook, in its various formats, will continue to be a first-stop, easy tool for all those who are looking for reliable, trustworthy and internationally comparable statistics, providing the evidence which ultimately helps to deliver better policies for better lives.

Martine Durand

OECD Chief Statistician and Director of Statistics