The results of the Global Data Barometer (GDB) are now publicly available. Access Info, as the GDB regional hub for the European Union, brings you the results and reports focused on the European region, including a report focused on the implementation of the right of access to information.

European Countries are Global Data Leaders but Still Much Work to be Done

Overall, the European Union is the strongest region in the world on the state of data. Still, it only received half of the potential score, which means there is a long way to go in adopting regulations, making data available, and doing so following open data standards.

When it comes to the type of data which is made public in Europe, we found that there are relatively high levels of health and Covid-19 data, along with public finance and public procurement data. On the contrary, there is a serious lack of data needed to combat corruption and to tackle climate change.

Dive into the results and read the report ‘The State of Data for the Public Good in Europe’ here:

Europe’s Missing Right of Access to Information Data

The GDB study found that over half of European countries surveyed (11) had no rules requiring collection of data on the implementation of the access to information laws, while in practice, in almost half of the surveyed countries (10) no data at all on implementation was available. Furthermore, in the countries where data was available, it was incomplete, with data on response times often missing, and data not detailed by public body.

Dive into the results and read the report ‘Untangling Transparency: Right to Information Data in Europe’ here:

What is the Global Data Barometer?

The Global Data Barometer is a multi-dimensional study that assessed the state of data in 109 countries. It aims to create a new global benchmark that looks at data governance, capability, availability, and the use and impact of data for the public good.

The data collection was coordinated by 12 regional hubs and it was supported by 6 thematic partners: Open Ownership, Open Government Partnership, Transparency International, GIFT, Land Portal, and Open Contracting Partnership.

The detailed data collection covered the governance of data and evaluated the capacity of government officials to manage data, looking at elements such as management systems and training of public officials, as well as looking at the actual availability of data, and at its use and impact.

There were seven thematic modules:

• Company Information
• Land
• Political Integrity
• Public Finance
• Public Procurement
• Climate Action
• Health & Covid-19

You can read more about the GDB Methodology and all of the 39 indicators in the Global Data Barometer Handbook.

All data collected by the GDB study can be downloaded as open data at the Global Data Barometer website and is available for everyone to explore it, analyse it and reuse it.

Which European Countries are included?

Access Info Europe acted as one of the regional hubs and covered a group of 27 countries, comprising the European region – 20 EU Member States plus the UK – and a selection of other developed economies.

The European Union countries included in the study are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden.

Access Info has produced a series of specific Europe region reports, which focus on these countries and the United Kingdom (which left the EU in 2020, shortly after the GDB survey was started).

Globally, Access Info coordinated research in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United States. Data about these countries, and all the 109 included in the study, can be found in the Global Data Barometer website.

Team of Researchers

Access Info recruited an excellent team of researchers, both individuals and civil society organisations, to carry out the research in the 27 selected countries.

Get to know them here:

The pilot edition of the Global Data Barometer receives core funding from Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC.ca) under grant 109517-001 as part of the Data for Development (D4D.net) program of work. For more information about Global Data Barometer partners, please see www.globaldatabarometer.org

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