World Statistics Day 2025: Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone
World Statistics Day is observed on 20 October, and this year’s slogan is: “Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone”, underscoring that quality and accessibility of statistics are a right of every citizen.
This day serves as an opportunity to emphasise the crucial role of statistics in making evidence-based decisions for the common good, strengthening democratic values, and ensuring the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Reliable statistics not only allow us to measure progress but also help create it. They serve as the foundation for policy-making, scientific development, and technological innovation.
The State Data Agency Actively Contributes to the Global Initiative
The State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania) contributed to the celebration of the World Statistics Day 2025 by organizing events aimed at strengthening statistical literacy and fostering data culture.
Statistical Literacy Seminar for Teachers
On 17 October, the Agency held an online statistical literacy seminar for teachers titled “How to Inspire Students to Explore Data?”. The event gathered more than 150 educators from all over Lithuania.
The goal of the seminar was to encourage teachers to integrate statistical data into the educational process, demonstrating that statistics is a tool that can be used creatively and practically: helping students develop critical thinking and the ability to analyze information.
The opening remarks were delivered by Sandra Karnilavičiūtė, Advisor at the Public Relations Division of the State Data Agency. She presented the European Statistics Competition 2026, its format, and the opportunities it offers for Lithuanian schools. Teacher Laura Girlevičienė shared her experience: she spoke about the victory of the Lithuanian team in the European Statistics Competition 2025 final. Kostas Gružas, Programmer at the State Data Governance Group, introduced practical data analysis tools: the Official Statistics Portal, the Database of Indicators, and GIS visualizations. Creative student engagement was discussed by Justinas Brazaitis, teacher at the Northern Lyceum, who emphasized that curiosity and motivation are driven by activities that turn data into discovery.
The seminar recording is available here.
Start of the European Statistics Competition 2026 – on the World Statistics Day
During the seminar, the launch of the European Statistics Competition 2026 was announced.
Registration opened on October 20, coinciding with the celebration of the World Statistics Day.
The competition is held in two stages:
- The national stage is organized by the State Data Agency: student teams complete theoretical and practical tasks using official statistical sources.
- In the European stage, the winners of national competitions compete for the title of the best in the international final.
More detailed information is available here.
“Vilnius Is a School”: Data Literacy Lessons for Students
To mark the World Statistics Day, the State Data Agency joined the “Vilnius Is a School” initiative: ten data literacy lessons were held, attended by more than 250 students.
The lessons were conducted by experts from various fields:
- Prof. Dr Jurgita Markevičiūtė, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Vilnius University, member of the Lithuanian Statistical Society (topic: “Statistics, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence”);
- Prof. Dr Audronė Jakaitienė, Professor at Vilnius University (topic: “Biostatistics – Friendly and Understandable”);
- Saulė Greičienė, Programmer–Data Analyst at the State Data Agency (topic: “Data Saves Lives – How Health Records Become Numbers”);
- Kostas Gružas, Programmer at the State Data Governance Group (topic: “Spatial Geographic Data and Its Analysis Using GIS”);
- Monika Pociūtė, Public Relations Specialist at the State Data Agency (topic: “The History of Gediminas Avenue: From Noble Villas to Cobbler Shops”).
Prof. Dr. Jurgita Markevičiūtė emphasized:
“Today, statistical literacy is especially important. We live in the age of data, we are developing artificial intelligence methods, and we generate large amounts of data every day. Therefore, the ability to understand data and the information based on it has become an essential skill in daily life.”
24-hour global online seminar marathon
To celebrate the World Statistics Day, the United Nations (UN) Statistics Division, together with regional UN commissions, organized a 24-hour online webinar marathon: a global event that brought together national statistical offices, international organizations, and the academic community.
The event covered the following topics:
- innovations and new technologies in statistics
- the application of artificial intelligence in data analysis
- the role of statistics in achieving sustainable development goals
- data quality, accessibility, and ethics
The State Data Agency also contributed to the marathon activities by presenting Lithuania’s experience in developing statistical literacy and promoting open data.
More information and recordings are available here.
Initiatives of Eurostat and the Statistical Institute of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the European Communities) also joined the celebration of World Statistics Day, emphasizing the importance of official statistics for society.
Eurostat activities included:
- A seminar on the application of artificial intelligence in the production of statistics
- A new episode of the podcast series “Stats in a Wrap”
On October 22–23, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation organized virtual workshops “Data Protection in Times of Crisis”, focusing on data security.
Developing Statistical Literacy – A Long-term Strategy
Strengthening statistical literacy is one of the strategic priorities of the State Data Agency.
The Agency aims to ensure that both teachers and students are able to responsibly use and interpret data, while society as a whole can make decisions based on data and evidence.
Regularly organized seminars, competitions, and educational activities help shape an open and informed society.
The State Data Agency invites all teachers and students to take part in the European Statistics Competition 2026 and to continue improving statistical literacy, an essential component of today’s knowledge-based society.