Eurostat Microdata

Eurostat microdata provides the underlying individual-level records from which Eurostat's published aggregate statistics are derived. The data comes from harmonised surveys conducted across EU member states, candidate countries, and EFTA nations, with comparable definitions and methodologies across countries.

The microdata catalogue covers a wide range of socioeconomic domains. Key surveys include the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) on employment and working conditions, the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) on poverty, inequality, and social exclusion, the Household Budget Survey (HBS) on consumption and expenditure, the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) on firm-level innovation, the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) on wages and labour costs, and the Adult Education Survey (AES) on lifelong learning. Additional surveys cover ICT usage, farm structure, tourism, and time use.

Unlike pre-tabulated statistics, microdata allows researchers to define their own variables, subpopulations, and statistical models at the person, household, or firm level. The longitudinal component of EU-SILC also enables panel analysis of income dynamics and social mobility.

Data is delivered as flat files (CSV or fixed-width) with accompanying documentation on variable definitions, classification schemes (NACE, ISCO, NUTS, ISCED), sampling design, and weighting procedures. 

Aalto University has been granted access to Eurostat's scientific-use files for research purposes. Thus individual researchers at Aalto can apply for access to the data for conducting their research projects. 

You can find more details on available datasets and documentation on the Eurostat microdata overview page. 

Detailed instructions on how to apply for access can be found here. 

The identification number and Aalto's contact person required in the application are: 

- Research entity identification number: 2014/100/FI
- Name of the contact person in the research entity: Ilkka Niemelä

President Ilkka Niemelä’s signature is needed in the application after successful evaluation by Eurostat has been received by email. Please then contact your school’s research liaison officer (Contact information of Research and Innovation Services) for asking the approval and signature.