The UK Data Service is the principle UK data service for the social sciences. It is funded by the ESRC. The service provides free, online access to the major databanks produced by the IMF, OECD, UN and IEA.

How does it work? The UK Data Service has negotiated national license agreements with several international governmental organisations. Through these agreements, the UK academic community has free access to the full versions of the databanks covered by the licenses. The databanks are updated regularly with the latest releases. In many cases, this means monthly.

How long for? The current licenses expire in 2017.

Who can use the data? Under the terms of the licensing agreements we have with the data providers, you must be a member of staff or student at a UK academic institution to access the databanks through the UK Data Service. You can only use the data you access through the service for teaching or research purposes. When you first register to use the data you will need to agree to this and the other terms and conditions before you can access the databanks.

We will now look in more details at the content of the international data databases in the UK Data Service portfolio.