Public microdata for EU-SILC have moved
The public microdata (Public Use Files) for EU-SILC have now moved here from the project environment to the Eurostat production environment.
Gradually more data will become available (more countries and more years). Access no longer requires registration.
Background information for EU-SILC
The EU-SILC (EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) Public Use Files (PUFs) were created to enable interested parties to become familiar with using EU-SILC microdata while protecting the privacy of data providers (Principle 5 of the European Statistics Code of Practice). The Public Use Files consist of fully synthetic data simulated using statistical modelling and statistical distributions in the original data. They have specifically been produced for testing purposes and education. The data structure of the EU-SILC PUFs is the same as for the EU-SILC Scientific Use Files (SUFs) although not all variables have been simulated (like Flag variables) and are hence empty in the PUFs. They provide researchers and trainers the opportunity to develop programs using identical formats and variable names to those that appear in the actual EU-SILC SUFs.
The PUFs are tailored to the following purposes:
- To enable accredited researchers to develop and write a code that may eventually be applied to the actual EU-SILC SUFs after the access is granted,
- To train accredited researchers on the use and complexity of conducting analyses with the EU-SILC PUFs prior to initiating the process to obtain access to the actual EU-SILC SUFs,
- For statistical training.
The data cannot be used for any statistical inference to a wider population. With these data, it is not possible to make generalised statements about individual characteristics or relationships between different personal or household characteristics. These files have limited research value; only the EU-SILC SUFs provide a basis for valid analysis. Any calculations based on PUFs or the conclusions drawn from them are to be produced at the sole risk and responsibility of the user with no warranty for accuracy or reliability given by the NSI that produced these EU-SILC PUFs or by Eurostat. Furthermore, neither the NSI that produced these EU-SILC PUFs nor Eurostat can be held responsible for any improper use of this data.
The Public Use Files are developed in agreement with Article 19 of Regulation 223/2009 on European statistics.
For each country and year, the data are grouped into 4 files: household register (D), personal register (R), household data (H) and personal data (P). A detailed description of the variables is available in the annual guidelines.
In a previous phase, Public Use Files were published only for the seven countries that participated in the Centre of Excellence on Statistical Disclosure Control (AT, DE, FI, FR, HU, NL, SI) and only for the years 2012 and 2013.
In a later phase, Public Use Files of the other EU countries and for other years were added.