Research

Better understanding the strengths and limitations of gender identity statistics

We are today sharing plans for our work to continuously improve the information available on gender identity statistics. This follows our request to reclassify our Census 2021 gender identity estimates to official statistics in development, which better reflects our developing understanding of measuring this complex and important topic. Here, Mary Gregory outlines what we are doing to support use of the existing gender identity data and our plans to review the standards for future data collection.   

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Inclusive Income: How COVID-19 affected our new measures

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Our headline measure of the size of the economy, Gross Domestic Product, is produced rapidly and relied on widely. So it’s no surprise that when the pandemic hit in 2020 we saw a focus on the rapid fall in output it revealed. But how does our understanding change if we take a wider perspective on the economy and account for the sustainability of economic activity? Here Cliodhna Taylor looks at some wider metrics that we have just published for that period.

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Working together to improve health and social care statistics

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The COVID-19 pandemic placed health and social care statistics into the headlines, encompassing a wide range of vital topics such as mortality, vaccine uptake, mental health and other health impacts. Nearly four years on from the first news reports of the ‘coronavirus’, the interest in health data and statistics has continued to grow. Julie Stanborough explains how we are working collaboratively with other data producers to improve health and social care statistics, and how you can have your say.

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Sociodemographic inequalities of dying by suicide

Reducing the number of people who die by suicide is of paramount importance. Every death from suicide is a tragedy, and behind every statistic is an individual, a family, and a community devastated by their loss. Today we have produced analysis estimating the rates of suicide by sociodemographic characteristics to understand which groups of people are at the highest risk. Here, Isobel Ward explains the research and why it is so important.

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