Table 2 General characteristics of linked datasets in European countries in 2019
| S/No | General characteristics of linked datasets | European countries | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced N = 24 | In progress N = 2 | |||
| 1 | Level of data linkage use/implementation | |||
| National level | 17 | AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, EE, ES, FI, HR, LT, MT, NL, NO, SI, SK, SRB, UK (ENG, WL) | IE, LV | |
| Sub-national level | 1 | IT | ||
| Both (National and Sub-national) levels | 3 | FR, PT, UK-SC | ||
| Metropolitan level | 4 | MT, PL, SI, UK-WL | ||
| All of above | 4 | DE, DK, NO, SW | ||
| 2 | Type of linkage | |||
| Deterministic | 12 | AT, CY, HR, FI, LT, MT, NL, NO, SI, SK, SRB, SW | IE, LV | |
| Probabilistic | 1 | UK-SC | ||
| Combination of both (i.e., deterministic and probabilistic) | 11 | BE, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FR, IT, PL, PT, UK (ENG, WL) | ||
| None of the above | 1 | BG | ||
| 3 | Current status of linked data usage | |||
| Available and is used in routine | 16 | AT, BE, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, LT, MT, NL, NO, PL, SI, SW, UK (ENG, SC, WL) | ||
| In progress of development | 4 | BG, ES, HR, PT | IE, LV | |
| Partial in use & partial in progress of development | 2 | DE, SK | ||
| Available but not in use | 2 | IT, SRB | ||
| 4 | Type of approval to access | |||
| By law | 5 | AT, CZ, MT, NO, SW | ||
| By ethical committee | 7 | BE, ES, FR, IT, NO, PT, UK (ENG, SC, WL) | ||
| By register owner | 13 | BG, CY, ES, HR, FI, FR, IT, NO, PL, PT, SI, SK, SRB | ||
| Others (i.e., depend on linkage/data protection inspector/under conditions/not applicable (data linkage in safe environment)/by statistical authority | 7 | CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, LT, NL | LV | |
| 5 | Type of accessibility | |||
| In routine/permanent | 15 | BE, BG, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, NL, NO, PL, PT, SI, SK, SW, UK (ENG, SC, WL) | ||
| Ad-hoc/Intermittent | 13 | BE, CY, DE, EE, ES, HR, IT, FR, MT, NO, PT, SK, SRB | ||
| Under conditions (i.e., restricted to certain projects for a limited period) | 6 | AT, EE, ES, FR, LT, NO | LV | |
| 6 | Operate in real-time | |||
| Yes | 10 | DK, EE, FI, FR, LT, NO, SI, SK, SW, UK-SC | ||
| No | 15 | AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, ES, HR, IT, MT, NL, PL, PT, SRB, UK (ENG, WL) | IE, LV | |
| 7 | Flexible to integrate new variables | |||
| Yes | 19 | AT, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, HR, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, SI, SK, SW, UK (ENG, SC, WL) | ||
| No | 5 | BE, EE, IT, LT, SRB | IE, LV | |