SDMX Code Lists

SDMX code lists define controlled vocabularies for dimensions, attributes, and classifications in statistical data. These lists are curated by multiple international agencies — such as Eurostat, OECD, the IMF, and others — and published via the SDMX Global Registry.

As part of the Interoperability Basis initiative, we transformed SDMX code lists into a semantic format to improve interoperability and machine-readability. In particular, we worked on semantically enriching, harmonizing and merging similar lists maintained by different agencies — for example, those related to statistical units of measure — while preserving the semantic distinctions originally embedded in each list.

Our key contributions include:

• Consolidating thematically related code lists from different sources
• Establishing precise mappings using skos:exactMatch to the codes developed for RDF Data Cube Vocabulary in the SDMX namespace (sdmx-code)
• Linking code lists to glossary concepts using rdfs:seeAlso
• Retaining provenance by indicating the source agency when lists were merged into a unified model
• Declaring each code list as an rdfs:Class for use in semantic applications

This semantic layer enables code lists to be reused, aligned, and extended across domains, supporting FAIR data practices and integration into Linked Data workflows.