Everyone relies on data and statistics for making decisions in everyday life, whether at home or at work. Not having data would be like flying blind. But with so much information out there, how can we trust the numbers we read in the media or in official government sources, or for that matter, from the OECD? What are official statistics anyway, who produces them and what makes them so reliable? Do we have enough of the right kind of data for meeting today’s health, climate and other pressing challenges?

This OECD Podcast addresses such questions, and highlights the new technologies that have been transforming the world of statistics and data in recent years, and the digital tools professional statisticians are deploying to improve the quality, timeliness and trustworthiness of the data they provide and on which we all depend.

Host: Rory Clarke

Guest: Paul Schreyer, Head of OECD Statistics and Data Directorate