Eurostat Data for Calc

A LibreOffice Calc add-in that adds a spreadsheet function, EUROSTATDATA, for pulling data straight from the Eurostat REST API (JSON-stat 2.0 format) into a sheet.

=EUROSTATDATA("nama_10_gdp"; "geo=DE;time=2023;unit=CP_MEUR")

returns a table that spills into the sheet: a header row (one column per dimension, plus value), followed by one row per observation.

On failure (unknown dataset code, rate limiting, network error) the function returns a single cell containing a readable #ERROR: ... message instead of a cryptic Err:5xx.

Requirements

• A LibreOffice install with Java enabled (Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice ▸ Advanced ▸ Use a Java runtime environment).
• A JDK to build from source (JDK 8+ is enough — the code is deliberately Java 8-compatible and has no external dependencies: no Jackson, no Maven, nothing to download).
• The LibreOffice SDK matching your LibreOffice install (ships with LibreOffice, or install the libreoffice-sdk package). build.sh expects it at <LibreOffice install>/sdk.

Building

./build.sh

This runs the LibreOffice SDK's own toolchain end to end — unoidl-write (compiles the custom UNO interface), javamaker (generates its Java stub), javac, jar, then zips everything into build/EurostatAddin.oxt. No Maven, no network access needed to build.

Edit the LO_HOME and JDK variables at the top of build.sh if your LibreOffice or JDK live somewhere other than /home/davidj/libreoffice26.2 and /home/davidj/jdks/jdk8u492-b09.

Installing

Prebuilt: grab EurostatAddin.oxt from the latest release — no build step needed.

From source: build it yourself with ./build.sh (see above), which produces the same file at build/EurostatAddin.oxt.

Either way, install it by double-clicking the .oxt to open it in the Extension Manager, or from a terminal:

/path/to/libreoffice/program/unopkg add EurostatAddin.oxt

Restart Calc if it was already open. The function then appears under the Eurostat category in the Function Wizard.

Demo

demo/Eurostat-Demo.ods (also attached to the release) is a real spreadsheet with several EUROSTATDATA(...) formulas already entered and computed against live Eurostat data — open it to see the function working without typing anything (it needs the add-in installed first, see above, or the formulas show #NAME?). It also demonstrates the error path with an unknown dataset code.

It was generated with tools/BuildDemoSheet.java, which drives a headless Calc instance over the UNO API to enter the formulas, recalculate, and save the file — useful as a worked example of scripting Calc from Java, and to regenerate the demo after changing the add-in.

Usage

=EUROSTATDATA(datasetCode; filters)

• datasetCode — a Eurostat dataset code, e.g. nama_10_gdp.
• filters — optional dimension filters as key=value pairs separated by ;, e.g. "geo=DE;time=2023;unit=CP_MEUR". Pass "" for no filtering. See the filters cheatsheet for syntax, gotchas, reserved parameters, and common dimension keys.

Enter it as an array formula so the whole table spills out: select a range large enough for the result, type the formula, and confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter (recent LibreOffice versions with dynamic array support will spill automatically from a single cell).

Examples

=EUROSTATDATA("nama_10_gdp"; "geo=DE;time=2023;unit=CP_MEUR")
=EUROSTATDATA("une_rt_a"; "geo=FR;time=2023")
=EUROSTATDATA("tec00118"; "geo=DE;sinceTimePeriod=2015")

The last example uses sinceTimePeriod, one of Eurostat's own reserved query parameters (not a dimension) — useful for pulling a whole year range back in one call. lastTimePeriod works the same way. Any filter key you pass goes straight into the API query string.

Common dataset codes

Code	Description
nama_10_gdp	GDP and main components
une_rt_a	Unemployment rate (annual)
demo_pjan	Population on 1 January
prc_hicp_manr	HICP inflation (annual rate, monthly)
tec00114	Real GDP growth rate
tec00118	HICP inflation (annual rate, yearly)

Browse the full catalogue at the Eurostat Data Browser.

Project layout

idl/org/libreoffice/eurostat/addin/XEurostatAddin.idl   custom UNO interface for the function
src/main/java/org/libreoffice/eurostat/addin/           the UNO add-in component
src/main/java/com/eurostat/fetcher/client/               HTTP client (HttpURLConnection) with retry/backoff
src/main/java/com/eurostat/fetcher/json/                 hand-rolled JSON parser (no external deps)
src/main/java/com/eurostat/fetcher/parser/                JSON-stat 2.0 -> flat observation list
src/main/java/com/eurostat/fetcher/model/                 Observation POJO
packaging/                                                 .oxt manifest/description sources
build.sh                                                   builds build/EurostatAddin.oxt
test/SmokeTest.java                                        calls the add-in logic directly (no soffice needed)
test/LiveCalcTest.java                                     end-to-end check against a real headless Calc instance

Notes

• The Eurostat API is free and requires no API key.
• Retries (429/5xx) use exponential backoff capped at a few seconds, since a Calc formula recalculating blocks the UI while it runs — this isn't tunable from the sheet, only in EurostatClient.
• Large datasets may need additional dimension filters to stay within response size limits.

License

MIT