EU-SILC is the main source for the compilation of comparable indicators on social cohesion used for policy monitoring at EU level in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination. It is collecting on an annual basis timely and comparable multidimensional micro-data on income, poverty, social exclusion and living conditions. Every year, both cross-sectional data (pertaining to a given time or a certain time period) and longitudinal data (pertaining to individual-level changes over time, observed periodically over, typically, a four year period) are collected.

The EU-SILC was launched under a gentleman's agreement with six EU-15 countries plus Norway in 2003 and re-launched under a Regulation with twelve EU-15 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Sweden) and in Estonia, Norway and Iceland in 2004. In 2005 the rest of the EU-25 countries joined the EU-SILC. Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Switzerland have launched SILC in 2006.

EU-SILC is a multi-purpose instrument. It mainly focuses on income and detailed income components are collected mainly at personal level although a few components are included in the household part. In addition, information on social exclusion, housing condition, labour, education and health information is obtained.

EU-SILC is based on the idea of a common “framework” and no longer a common “survey” as was the case for its' predecessor, the ECHP. The common framework defines the harmonised lists of target primary (annual) and secondary (every four years or less frequently) variables to be transmitted to Eurostat; common guidelines and procedures; common concepts (household and income) and classifications aimed at maximising comparability of the information produced.