The Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) announced on October 1 that registration is open for the European Statistics Competition for the 2026/27 school year. Students in grades 8 through 13 can participate in teams; registration closes on November 16, 2026.
- The competition is open to students in grades 8 to 13 across all German secondary school types.
- Teams consist of two to three students; registration is completed by a supervising teacher.
- Two national qualifying rounds provide an opportunity to advance to the European finals.
Eligibility and Participation
According to Destatis, the competition is being held in Germany for the fifth time in partnership with Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Participants compete across two age brackets. A teacher serves as team tutor, assisting with organisational matters and submitting the formal registration.
Schools may enter multiple teams, and teams may be composed of students from different classes. Participation is not tied to a specific academic subject. Details on registration, guidelines, and timelines are available directly on the Destatis website.
Competition Structure
Destatis notes that this year’s competition focuses not only on core data literacy, but also on news verification: checking facts, identifying reliable statistical sources, and recognising misleading content.
In the first national round, teams complete an online multiple-choice quiz covering statistical concepts, media information literacy, and European official statistics. In the second round, teams analyse official statistical datasets and compile a presentation of their findings. The top two teams in each age track are invited to an awards ceremony at the Destatis headquarters in Wiesbaden.
Teams that qualify through both national stages advance to the European final alongside participants from 22 nations. The final task entails creating a short video exploring a defined theme supported by official statistics. According to Destatis, nearly 29,000 students from 22 EU member states took part in the previous 2025/26 edition.