Code lists
What are code lists?
Code lists are predefined, organised sets of items that describe one or more statistical concepts. They are the building blocks for defining statistical indicators. Historically, code lists have been developed without standardization across statistical domains. This explains the on-going harmonisation process (see information below on this page).
What are code lists used for?
Code lists are used to build multi-dimensional tables. Their dimensions can either take all items in a code list or only a subset. Where appropriate, code lists are based on official statistical classifications such as NACE, ISCO, etc.
Which code lists are used?
Eurostat currently uses around 570 code lists.
For example:
- Code list: age
- Concept: age
- Used in the multidimensional table: Population on 1 January by age, sex and legal marital status [demo_pjanmarsta]
Where can I find the codes lists?
Code lists are available in three languages (English, French and German) from the Eurostat bulk download facility.
Standard code lists
What are standard code lists?
These are code lists that have been standardized within Eurostat. This means that unique concepts defined by single identifiers (codes) are used across different statistical domains.
The criteria for transforming code lists into standard code lists include:
- official statistical classifications or widely-used standards
- specific alphanumeric characters and common prefixes applied to codes
- specific codes for aggregates needed for data production and dissemination
Code lists standardisation is an on-going process; not all code lists are yet harmonised.
Where can I find the standard code lists?
Standard code lists are available in RAMON, Eurostat’s metadata server.
They can also be found in the Eurostat bulk download. To note: they only form a subset of the code lists that are available there.
For additional information, please see the page on the "Standard Code Lists" project on the RAMON website.