The Open Data Inventory (ODIN)

Assessing the availability and openness of official statistics worldwide to identify gaps, track progress, and strengthen national data systems.

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About ODIN

Official statistics help us understand people’s lives and make informed decisions. Governments use these data to plan policies and services, while the public uses them to track progress and hold governments accountable. But these data need to be complete, easy to find, and open for anyone to use. Yet gaps in official statistics and barriers to access often prevent people from using them.

Open Data Watch (ODW) developed the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) to help countries identify gaps and improve their official statistics. It offers an independent assessment of data coverage and openness. It shows whether important statistics are available over time for different population groups and geographic areas. It measures how easily people can use them with the right formats, metadata, download options, and licensing. ODIN provides detailed results for each country. Users can compare performance, track progress, and identify strengths and gaps. Each country also receives specific recommendations for improvement.

Since its launch in 2015, ODIN has grown into one of the world’s most comprehensive assessments of official statistics. The 2026/27 assessment includes 198 countries and more than 60 indicators across 23 categories of statistics. Countries use ODIN results to track progress and guide improvements, with some adopting its measures as part of their own national goals. ODW also works directly with national statistical offices through workshops and technical support. ODIN’s reach extends to international monitoring, where its findings inform other indexes. And its Coverage Index is used for Sustainable Development Goal indicator 17.18.1 on statistical capacity.

What We Do

Assessment & Benchmarking

ODW uses ODIN to independently assess the coverage and openness of official statistics using the same standards across countries. The findings help countries understand their strengths and gaps, compare results, and track progress over time. ODW also provides specific recommendations to help countries make their official statistics more complete, accessible, and useful.

Country Support & Engagement

ODW works directly with national statistical offices to help them improve their official statistics. Countries can review preliminary ODIN assessments, provide feedback, and share additional data sources. ODW also offers workshops, training, and technical support to help countries understand their results, set priorities, and put recommendations into practice.

Research & Advocacy

ODW uses findings to track global progress and highlight gaps in official statistics. These findings contribute to international monitoring, including Sustainable Development Goal indicator 17.18.1 on statistical capacity. ODW also produces global reports and research to inform policy decisions and advocate for stronger statistical systems and greater investment in open data.

Governance

Open Data Watch created ODIN and leads its methodology, assessments, quality review, analysis, and publication. ODIN is designed as an independent assessment, while giving national statistical offices an opportunity to review preliminary findings and provide information that can improve the accuracy and completeness of their assessments. Open Data Watch retains responsibility for applying the methodology and determining final results.

ODIN is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.