An increasing consciousness of the value of data, and pressures in many public sectors around the world do however mean that charging for online data, either through flat rate subscriptions or as data is accessed, is increasingly common. There is however considerable variation in practice, for example between national statistical offices. Considerable parts of, e.g., the US Statistical Abstract are freely available as PDF documents. The data from a number of UN reports on population issues can be accessed on line and some downloaded as spreadsheets. Free access to UK and EU data online is relatively limited, though this is mitigated in some respects by arrangements with the national Data Archives such as Essex and Manchester.
Some organisations also provide data on favourable terms for educational use.
From the perspective of those working in the sector it must be hoped that free or privileged access can continue, in order to make teaching and learning statistics more lively. Links have been updated to reflect known changes.