Substantial step forward in availability of official statistics in Hungary, 26/05/2025

Open Data Inventory (ODIN) is a survey covering nearly 200 countries in the world, which evaluates the availability and openness of official statistics. Hungary managed to step forward from position 43 to 32 in terms of coverage, from position 55 to 23 in terms of openness and from position 49 to 21 overall in 2024 compared to 2022.

Open Data Inventory (ODIN) is a survey covering nearly 200 countries in the world, which evaluates the availability and openness of official statistics.

Open Data Watch (ODW), an international non-profit organisation consisting of data specialists and supported by the UN, has made the survey since 2015.

The goal of ODW – and so ODIN, too – is to improve on access to open statistical data, explore deficiencies and encourage dialogue between national statistical offices and data users.

In the surveys conducted every two years since 2018, ODW staff choose many different indicators (51 indicators in 21 themes in 2016, compared with no less than 77 in 23 themes in 2024), and then try to find these on the website of the statistical offices of the different countries (they examined 197 countries in 2024) or other institutions publishing statistical data (for Hungary, for example the National Bank of Hungary (NBH)).

For the different indicators, they examine:

• their level of detail,
• the period(s) for which these are available,
• the territorial levels for which these are accessible,
• the related methodological data,
• the terms of use of the data,
• the format(s) in which the data can be downloaded,
• the machine readability of downloadable files.

These are scored one by one, and the scores of between 0 and 100 of the coverage and openness of themes, as well as the overall national ODIN score are made up of these.

ODIN score, coverage and openness

Compared to earlier surveys, we managed to make a significant step forward in this area. Hungary was given 60 scores for coverage and 67 scores for openness, and it reached 64 scores overall in 2022. By contrast, Hungary’s coverage score was no less than 68 and its openness score 87, and the country reached 78 scores overall in 2024.

Compared to scores – the annual comparability of which is strongly reduced by the group of selected indicators and by various changes in the methodology of the survey –, however, looking at Hungary’s position even better shows progress: the country managed to step forward from position 43 to 32 in terms of coverage, from position 55 to 23 in terms of openness and from position 49 to 21 overall (the same positions in Europe: 23. → 16., 27. → 13., 26. → 14.; in Central Europe: 7. → 3., 7. → 3. and 8. → 4.).

One of the main elements of this significant progress was the website’s copyright page, renewed in February 2023, which made data and other content in databases, tables and publications freely copiable, photocopiable and distributable. However, the guidelines necessary for further progress are well reflected by the ODIN country report: a higher level of detail of data, ensuring the availability of mostly territorial breakdowns and much more detailed metadata.

Table 1: Scores of countries in Europe according to 2024 ODIN report

Source: ODIN report, 2024.
Note: values of scores between 0 and 100 scores.

Figure 1: Overall national ODIN score in many different countries

Source: ODIN report.

Hungarian Central Statistical Office

H-1024 Budapest, Keleti Károly u. 5-7. Tel./Phone: (+36-1) 345-6000
Postacím/Postal address: P.O.Box 51 Budapest H-1525
http://www.ksh.hu