Eurostat

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The statistical agency of the European Union, which collects and publishes economic and social data for member countries
2. The European Union body responsible for compiling official statistics on trade, population and the economy across its member states
3. An EU organisation that gathers, analyses and releases comparable figures about European economies and societies

Etymology: Eurostat is the name of the statistical office of the European Union, and the word is a plain compound: "Euro" (from the currency name) combined with "statistics." It was not coined as a whimsical brand but as a functional label for the agency that collects and publishes official statistics for the member states. The office was set up in its current form under the European Communities, and its name has long been used in English as a proper noun for that body. Because the agency works on data supplied by national statistical institutes, its name is often used loosely to refer to the official figures themselves, as in "according to Eurostat."