SourceScore
Government

ONS (UK)

ons.gov.uk

UK Office for National Statistics — primary source for British economic, demographic, social data.

SourceScore Index
A·87Rank #39 of 130 · top 30%Composite weighted across Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.

A — primary UK statistical authority with strong open-data API.

Should you cite ONS (UK)?

At grade A (87/100), ONS (UK) ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.

Strongest for
tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (92/100).
No major weak spot
Even its lowest dimension, Citation Velocity, scores 80/100.
Bottom line
Cite freely as a primary source.
Compare ONS (UK) with
Citation Discipline
A·92

Methodology + revisions transparent; National Statistics designation provides quality kitemark.

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Modern Reference
A·88

Open-data API; structured datasets; bulk downloads; clear methodology pages.

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Citation Velocity
B·80

Default UK economic + demographic citation; heavy media + academic use.

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Signals behind these scores

Citation Discipline

A·92
  • Code of Practice
    Adheres to UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics.

Modern Reference

A·88
  • Open-data API
    developer.ons.gov.uk provides programmatic access to all releases.

Citation Velocity

B·80
  • UK-press default
    Primary citation for UK GDP, inflation, employment, census data.

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[ONS (UK) — SourceScore Index 87 (A)](https://sourcescore.org/source/ons-uk/)
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<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/ons-uk/">ONS (UK) — SourceScore Index 87 (A)</a>
APA
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). ONS (UK): SourceScore Index 87 (A). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/ons-uk/

2 head-to-head comparisons

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ONS (UK) appears in 2 canonical SourceScore comparisons — each scored on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity with a quote-ready verdict and JSON twin.

5 sources at ONS (UK)'s tier

See peer group →

Auto-computed nearest-neighbor sources by composite SourceScore distance — discover at-tier peers across all categories, with inline dim deltas surfacing who beats ONS (UK) on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.

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Frequently asked questions

Is ONS (UK) a reliable source to cite?

ONS (UK) scores A (87/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade A, ONS (UK) ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research. The grade combines Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference 88/100, and Citation Velocity 80/100 — full breakdown above.

What is ONS (UK)'s SourceScore?

ONS (UK) (ons.gov.uk) scores 87/100 (Grade A) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 88/100, Citation Velocity 80/100. Verified 2026-04-28.

How does SourceScore evaluate ONS (UK)?

ONS (UK) is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.

Why does ONS (UK) score A?

A — primary UK statistical authority with strong open-data API.

What is ONS (UK)?

UK Office for National Statistics — primary source for British economic, demographic, social data. Category: Government. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.