The members called themselves "statists" and the original aim was "...procuring, arranging and publishing facts to illustrate the condition and prospects of society" and the idea of interpreting data, or having opinions, was explicitly excluded.

Other notable RSS presidents have included William Beveridge, Ronald Fisher, Harold Wilson, and David Cox.

As of 2019, the society claims more than 10,000 members around the world, of whom some 1,500 are professionally qualified, with the status of Chartered Statistician (CStat).

Since February 2009 the society has awarded Chartered Scientist status to suitably qualified members.

After the merger these requirements were dropped and all the previous members of the Institute of Statisticians became Fellows as well.

Since then, use by new members of their unearned post-nominal FSS qualification was viewed as inappropriate[9] and strongly discouraged, and it became less common.

The RSS has premises (including offices and meeting rooms) in Errol Street, EC1, in the London Borough of Islington close to the boundary with the City of London, between Old Street and Barbican stations.

In September 2013, the society established StatsLife, an online magazine website that featured news, interviews and opinion from the world of statistics and data, though this appears to have been discontinued.