In response to the process of European integration and the extension of the Commission’s competence in social affairs, Eurostat now regularly produce data on the social situation in European Union member states. The European Commission and other European agencies, such as the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, monitor sociodemographic trends, enabling comparisons to be undertaken between member states. For many years, Council of Europe and United Nations publications have provided data on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and some of the European Commission and Eurostat publications now routinely include information on selected indicators for the applicant states (for example, the annual publication, Demographic Statistics). Even within the EU, the supply of comparable data does not, however, satisfy the demand, and the homogeneous presentation of data conceals very disparate local situations. The need for information about EU applicant states can be seen as a further complicating factor, since these transition countries have all undergone a process of very rapid political, economic and socio-demographic change in a period of little more than a decade.