MetrixMundi

How we work

First the source, then the number – and every number in comparison.

Where our data comes from, how we calculate and compare, what statistical twins are and what the open and the full Online Radar show.

Our sources

First the source, then the number.

We work from the inside out: at the core, official statistics; around them, registers, monitoring networks and Earth observation; on the outside, verified open data. A source only enters the catalogue once its licence has been checked and its use approved.

  1. 01
    Official statisticsFederal Statistical Office (Destatis) and state statistical offices, Eurostat, national statistical offices in Europe
  2. 02
    Public authorities and registersFederal Employment Agency, Federal Network Agency, Federal Motor Transport Authority, Core Energy Market Data Register, electoral authorities
  3. 03
    Monitoring networks and Earth observationDeutscher Wetterdienst, German Environment Agency, Copernicus, water level gauges, seismological services
  4. 04
    International organisationsOECD, World Bank, United Nations, European Environment Agency
  5. 05
    Verified open dataonly with a clear licence and attribution, after case-by-case review
To the source catalogue
261
Sources approved and usable, each with a verified licence
89
of which are continuously updated: live, daily or weekly
401
Districts and around 10,800 municipalities compared
1951
Start of the longest climate series on the 1 km grid
AI illustration: portrait of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin
When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it.
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907)Electrical Units of Measurement, 1883 · abridged · evidence level A

Our analysis

Every number in comparison. Every rank with a verdict.

A number on its own says little. We set every area against all comparable ones, show its trend against the background of all others and say clearly whether a value is favourable, average or unfavourable.

Basic income support (SGB II) since 2006Merzig-Wadern district compared with all 401 districts · example from the Regional Radar

How to read: The gold line is the district. The grey area shows where 80% of all districts lie, the thin line the median. Hover over the chart for each year's values.

Source: Bertelsmann Stiftung, Wegweiser Kommune (CC0); primary source: statistics of the Federal Employment Agency; own calculation.

Compared with all

Every indicator is compared with all comparable areas: municipalities of similar size, all districts, all neighbourhoods of a city, all federal states.

Rank with a verdict

Rank 1 is not always good. Every indicator carries an assessment: most favourable 20%, middle, least favourable 20% or descriptive – green, blue and red on the map.

Ranges instead of single values

Time series show the median and the band in which 80% of all areas lie. This makes visible what is normal.

Twins

Status and trend twins in Germany and Europe, excluding neighbours – so that the comparison reveals something new.

Patterns, breaks, outliers

We look for trends, tipping points and anomalies and explain them, instead of just listing numbers.

Ontology

Eleven topic areas, five levels from the world down to the municipality, linked via official codes.

AI illustration: portrait of Thomas Henry Huxley
The great tragedy of Science – the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)Biogenesis and Abiogenesis, 1870 · evidence level A

The eleven areas of life and how they are ordered

Statistical twins

Who is in the same position as you – just somewhere else?

Neighbours resemble each other; that surprises no one. What is interesting are areas far away that are in the same situation today or have followed the same path. You can learn from them.

Status twin
in the same situation today: age, employment, income, housing, settlement
Trend twin
same development over 15 years, even if the starting point was different
True twin
similar in both – for districts and municipalities at least 100 km away, for neighbourhoods without direct neighbours

For Merzig-Wadern these are, in Germany, the Odenwaldkreis, Lichtenfels, Bad Dürkheim, the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis and Südliche Weinstraße; in Europe, Ancona, Nordburgenland, Udine, Lucca and Massa-Carrara. Twins exist for federal states, districts, municipalities and neighbourhoods – in the report and in the Online Radar. A map of Europe shows European twins for every federal state and every district; there the comparison is based on economic structure, because Eurostat provides it uniformly for all regions.

Everything about statistical twins
Twin compass Merzig-WadernAll 396 comparable districts by similarity today and in development 2008–2023

Sources: Wegweiser Kommune (CC0), Eurostat (CC BY 4.0), statistical offices; own calculation.

Our presentation

Seeing what changes.

Maps down to a 100-metre grid, time series with the band of all comparison areas, profiles of the eleven topic areas at a glance. With every chart, a sentence that says how to read it.

  • Maps: from the world down to the localities, grids down to 100 metres, continuous colour scales that make even small differences visible.
  • Time series: your area against the band of all comparison areas, from 1951 to the 2040 projection.
  • Profiles: the eleven topic areas as a radar chart, strengths and weaknesses at a glance.
  • Plain language: with every chart, a sentence on how to read it, and the source below.
All chart types with reading guide
AI illustration: portrait of Marie Curie
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Marie Curie (1867–1934)recorded by Ève Curie, Madame Curie, 1937 · evidence level A

Mean annual temperature in the Merzig-Wadern districtTen-year means 1951–2025 on the 1 km grid · colour scale based on the Warming Stripes principle

How to read: Blue is colder, red warmer than the 1961–1990 mean. The colours change continuously so that even differences of a few tenths of a degree become visible. Use the slider to choose a decade.

Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst, CDC grids_germany (CC BY 4.0); district boundary © GeoBasis-DE / BKG; own calculation.

How it works

Explore, buy, keep.

  1. 01

    Explore for free

    Every EU member state, every state and every district in the Online Radar: three key indicators per topic area with map, profile, twins and source.

  2. 02

    Buy a report (from launch)

    Municipal, regional or focus report at the appropriate licence level. Your account is created automatically in the process – without a password.

  3. 03

    Choose your area

    Sign in with the link from your purchase confirmation and choose your municipality, district or federal state. The PDF and twelve months of the full Online Radar are then ready for you.

  4. 04

    Stay up to date

    Sign in at any time with a link sent by email. When new data arrives, the update is available on preferential terms.