Research and Innovation Careers Observatory 2026

Annex A. Data sources used in ReICO

International data sources

Statistical data collected and published by international organisations guarantees, for many ReICO indicators, a minimum level of data reliability and comparability across countries. Table A.1 lists data sources from international organisations used in ReICO, including the OECD. Most of the countries in the ReICO database are covered at least to some extent by OECD databases on education, skills, research and development, and migration. Other international organisations also provide relevant data based on labour market surveys, where data can often be disaggregated by educational attainment.

Table A.1. Data from international organisations

Type	Data source(s)	Data categories covered	Minimum and maximum number of countries covered per indicator
Data from OECD databases	Science, technology and innovation databases Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) Research & Development Statistics (RDS) Scientometric and bibliometric indicators, Science, Technology and Innovation Scoreboard OECD Business Innovation Database	R&D personnel by sector and function	24 to 46 countries
		Expenditure on labour costs	33 to 44 countries
		Mobility of scientific authors	49 to 52 countries
		Business innovation statistics	18 countries
	Education databases UNESCO-OECD-Eurostat joint data collection Indicators of Education Systems Programme (INES) Network for Data Development on Labour Market and Social Outcomes of Education (LSO))	Entrants	33 to 42 countries
		Enrolments	36 to 45 countries
		New graduates	24 to 44 countries
		Employment outcomes	22 to 48 countries
	International skills surveys Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)	Students’ cognitive skills and scientific and technological career aspirations	42 to 47 countries
		Proficiency level of adults in basic skills	28 countries
	Database on Immigrants in OECD and non-OECD Countries (DIOC)	Foreign-born population and doctorate holders	6 to 37 countries
Data from other international organisations	International Labour Organisation Labour Force Statistics International Labour Migration Statistics Education and Mismatch Indicators Wages and Working Time Statistics	Employment outcomes and conditions of highly qualified population and occupation of employed	1 to 45 countries
	EU Labour Force Survey	Employment outcomes and conditions of highly qualified population (typically more detailed breakdowns) and occupation of employed	1 to 32 European countries
	EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)	Earnings of highly qualified population	14 to 32 European countries
		Quality of life for highly qualified population	28 to 30 European countries

National data sources

ReICO complements international sources with a dedicated annual data collection from national statistical agencies and other national data providers. Countries return data based on several national sources, including administrative registers, population censuses and dedicated surveys such as surveys based on the Careers of Doctorate Holders (CDH) model (Auriol, Misu and Freeman, 2013[1]; OECD, 2019[2]). Table A2 provides an overview of national sources used by ReICO National Contact Points to provide data in the 2025-2026 annual national data collection.

Table A.2. National sources used to return data in the ReICO-NCP 2025-2026 data collection

Category	Collection method	Enumeration type	Target population	Example of countries	Note
Compiled administrative database based on population register	Register	Census	Resident population	Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway	Links population register, education attainment data and employment data using individual identifier Has limited or incomplete information on degree holders who acquired their degrees abroad
Compiled administrative database based on graduate register	Register	Census	Graduates from institutions in the country	Brazil, Canada, Hungary, Lithuania	Links graduates register data with employment data using individual identifier Does not cover degree holders who acquired their degrees abroad
Graduate register	Register	Census	Graduates from institutions in the country	Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain	Provides accurate number on recent graduates with demographic breakdowns Cannot identify individuals who moved abroad
Population census	Survey	Sample (and where possible, register for some information)	Resident population	Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czechia, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain	Collects various information in detail for everyone in the household including demographics, highest education attainment and employment characteristics Generally conducted every 5-10 years
Household or population sample survey	Survey	Sample	Resident population	Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, the United States	Collects various information for everyone in the household including demographics, highest education attainment and employment characteristics Conducted every year
Labour force survey	Survey	Sample	Resident population	Colombia, Czechia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States	Focusses on employment-related information, categorised by educational attainment level
Graduate survey	Survey	Sample	Graduates from institutions in the country	the United States	Follows up on the career path of graduates Does not cover degree holders who acquired their degrees abroad
Careers of Doctorate Holders survey	Survey	Sample	Doctorate holders in the country	Chile, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal	Follows up on the career path of doctorate holders Where possible, also covers doctorate holders living in the country who acquired their degrees abroad

Source: 2025 and 2026 ReICO annual data collections.

Country coverage for ReICO key indicators

Figure A.1 shows the extent of country coverage of the 2026 edition of the ReICO key indicator database, which includes 405 indicators. Among 48 countries (OECD Member, accession candidate countries and non-Member EU Member States) included in the database, nearly two-thirds have more than 70% coverage of the key indicators. Nevertheless, the figure shows that no country populates the full set of key ReICO indicators - the highest coverage is found in Portugal at 95%.

Figure A.1. Indicator coverage for countries and economies included in 2026 ReICO database

Percentage out of 405 key indicators

Note: The share refers to the share of indicators with at least one value for the country available between the reference years 2020 and 2024.

Source: OECD, Research and Innovation Career Observatory (ReICO) Database, June 2026.

Statlink

It should be noted that ReICO key indicators themselves are chosen partially based on country coverage, including coverage from international data collections. As a result, Figure A.1 should not be interpreted as a wider assessment of availability of data on R&I careers in general within countries. Beyond the key indicators, nearly 400 additional indicators are available in the thematic ReICO databases (OECD, 2026[3]; OECD, 2026[4]; OECD, 2026[5]). These were not selected as key indicators primarily for one of three reasons: lower country coverage, a high prevalence of unreliable data, or substantial overlap with measures already included among the key indicators. Such overlap arises because ReICO collects and harmonises data from multiple international sources, which may at times draw on the same underlying national source, such as labour force surveys.

References

[1] Auriol, L., M. Misu and L. Freeman (2013), Careers of Doctorate Holders: Analysis of Labour Market and Mobility Indicators, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/5k43nxgs289w-en.

[5] OECD (2026), R&I talent circulation, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4z1 (accessed on  July 2026).

[3] OECD (2026), R&I talent development, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4yy (accessed on  July 2026).

[4] OECD (2026), R&I talent in the labour market, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4yz (accessed on  July 2026).

[2] OECD (2019), Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/be5514d7-en.