GlobalStat originated in an initial collaboration with the Portuguese Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos that acted as the founding financier. Since its launch, GlobalStat has become an important resource and cooperation partner for academics and public officials alike and has diversified its data and data visualisation portfolio as well as tools. It has established and intensified collaboration with the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) on various thematic topics offering tailored infographic products and the best available gateway to statistical data also to Members of European Parliament, their staff, and the staff of EP Committees. GlobalStat and the EPRS are working closely together to enhance access to statistical information on the European Union (EU) and its global partners inter alia through the EPRS-GlobalStat data visualisation series At a Glance or thematic analysis and systematic comparisons of the EU and its Member States with other countries and communities all over the world.
Since 2015, GlobalStat is one of the knowledge providers and supporting partners of the EUI’s annual State of the Union (SoU) conference providing data dossiers and data visualisation videos on the thematic topics of the SOU in order to inform the discussion. Starting in 2016, GlobalStat also partners with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the development of new data management and visualisation software and online tools. Its new ‘GlobalStat 2.0’ web platform is the first outcome of this cooperation based on the OECD’s extensive experience with its own Compare your Country project. Since 2018, GlobalStat organises Executive Training Seminars (ETS) on evidence-based policy-making for the Academy of Global Governance (AGG) and in collaboration with the School of Transnational Governance (STG).
In terms of its contents, GlobalStat’s website provides users with a comprehensive collection of data in which indicators are disaggregated as far as possible. Whenever possible, country level data is presented for 193 UN countries and for the longest period available, starting in 1960. Apart from statistical data, data on global trends is collected to highlight potential future paths. GlobalStat indicators are grouped in 12 thematic and three horizontal areas. Each thematic area is divided into sub-themes that include a number of statistical data series. Horizontal areas offer insight into data on sustainable livelihood, national wealth, human well-being and quality of life.