Statistics in development cooperation - data availability
This article is part of a set of background articles providing an ‘outline of knowledge’ of international statistical cooperation between the European Union (EU) and developing countries, for non-statisticians needing to deal with statistics in development programmes and projects. The outline serves as an entry point and introduction to the much more detailed Eurostat publication 'Guide to statistics in European Commission development cooperation', downloadable in PDF format in English, French and Spanish (further down referred to as 'the Guide').
Many developing countries have weak statistical systems and mechanisms for measuring results. Good, reliable statistics are essential for measuring progress in reaching development goals and provide essential information about the effectiveness of policies and programmes. They help governments improve their policies and to be transparent and accountable about the delivery of development results. Reliable statistics are a key element towards better measurement, monitoring and management of the results of development assistance.
Availability and reliability of data is an important indication of the condition of the statistical system. Data available through the national statistical system (NSS) should be given priority for any analysis at national level. This is important to assure national ownership in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness principles, and to strengthen the case for using national data in the developing countries’ policy making. Data from international sources have been processed to achieve international comparability, thus they typically do not match the national statistics.
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Official statistics in a nutshell
- Definition
- Official statistics are the statistics that are produced and disseminated by the specialised public organisations that make up the national and international statistical systems.
- International principles
- The United Nations Statistical Commission adopted a set of fundamental principles of official statistics.
- Several regions have adapted these fundamental principles to their specific regional context. These regional adaptations include the European Statistics Code of Practice, the African Charter on Statistics and the Code of Good Practice in Statistics for Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Statistics law
- The legal framework for the competences of government, individuals and private organisations concerning the collection and publication of statistical information, e.g. the Regulation on European Statistics
- Statistical users
- Groups of statistical users: government, general public (incl. media), businesses, other countries and international organisations, other users (NGOs, research centres, etc.)
- Statistical producers
- The national statistical system (NSS) is the key producer of official statistics. It usually encompasses: the national statistical institute (NSI - which is the main body of the NSS; however, its responsibilities may vary), the Central Bank, line ministries and surveys funded by external assistance (which are organised independently of national statistics operations).
- Data sources
- Basic distinction: administrative collection and survey data collection (censuses, sample surveys)
- Elaborated data
- Information based on existing data pools: aggregates, indicators, estimations, models, forecasts and other elaborated information
- Examples of some important statistics and operations
- National accounts (main output: GDP)
- Core censuses and samples surveys: population censuses; price surveys (e.g. consumer price index - CPI); household surveys (e.g. household budget surveys - HBS, living standards surveys)
- Mainly based on administrative data: business registers; external trade; civil registers
- Internationally standardised household surveys: Living standards measurement studies (LSMS) (from the World Bank); Demographic and health surveys (DHS); Multiple indicator cluster surveys (MICS); Education management information systems (EMIS)
- Statistical process for surveys and censuses
- Analysis and design > Data collection > Data checking and correction > Analysis of results > Dissemination of results
Guide examples and practical information
- B.2 How statistics are made
Data on developing countries from international sources
- What?
- Main tasks of international and regional organisations concerning statistics:
- Development and agreement on international standards for statistical activities, including quality standards;
- Harmonisation in a region (methodologies, nomenclatures, comparability);
- Compilation, aggregation, consolidation and dissemination of statistical information;
- Support for countries' efforts to strengthen their NSS through technical and financial means;
- Coordination of international statistics-related activities.
- How?
- International and regional organisations compile and publish data in their fields of competence, based on information they receive from national authorities. These organisations process the data by making adjustments. These organisations may also make forecasts (mainly of economic data, but also for population, resources, etc.)
- Objectives of the adjustments: to ensure comparability across the countries, producing estimations for missing data and disseminating the results through public databases and publications.
- What for?
- Inter alia: to support international and/or regional policies, for high profile development aid allocation, for investment decisions and for regional integration
- Warning:
- Since the data has been processed to achieve comparability, international data publications typically do not match the national statistics publications of developing countries.
- This is the source of a continuing debate between developing countries and international organisations, in particular about:
- data transmission from developing countries to the international organisations,
- the transparency of the data processing and estimation methodologies used by the international organisations to harmonise statistics across countries.
- Where?
- Entry points for EU staff to find data on developing countries:
- BASEXT provides a presentation of the main statistical databases from external sources used by the Commission. It covers all external data negotiated by Eurostat for use within the European Commission.
- Third Countries Database: Eurostat selects international data on the developing countries, based on the "Country at a glance" tables (key macro-economic and poverty indicators). Entry point: Eurostat public website database, login (Commission username and internet password, then click on the left in "statistics database" > database by themes > general and regional statistics > non-EU countries > ACP/ALA/HIC - a demo is available when you open the interface)
Guide examples and practical information
- B.2.4 The role of international and regional organisations with statistical activities
- Box 2.9: Selected publications and databases of international organisations
- Box 2.10: Access to international databases for European Commission staff
- Box 2.11: Activities of international organisations in statistical co-operation
- Box 2.12: Selected regional organisations with statistical activities
Focus on two initiatives coordinated by PARIS21
- The International Household Survey Network (IHSN)
- Objective: the IHSN seeks to improve the availability, quality and use of survey data in developing countries
- Means:
- sharing information and mobilising international support for more efficient household surveys in developing countries;
- developing recommendations for household-based economic and social data;
- maintaining the global information centre containing household survey and metadata and good dissemination practices.
- Website: http://www.ihsn.org/
- The Accelerated Data Program (ADP)
- Objective: the ADP supports developing countries in producing statistical data relevant for policy design, monitoring and evaluation, by making better use of existing data and aligning survey programs and statistical outputs to priority data needs
- Means:
- assistance to countries that do not have a coherent long-term survey program in strategizing their data collection activities;
- building national capacity in microdata preservation, analysis, anonymisation and dissemination;
- working with national data producers and secondary users on the production of updated estimates of key indicators, by further exploiting existing datasets and collecting new data.
- Website: http://adp.ihsn.org/
National data or international data?
Important aspects influencing data availability are:
- Accessibility (dissemination)
- Overall data quality
- Coverage (time, sector, region, country)
Data on developing countries are available through the national statistical system and/or international organisations.
Data available through the NSS should be given priority for any analysis at national level |
Using international sources should only be a temporary solution, if:
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Why ? |
Why should the priority be given to national data?
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Building the capacity of the NSS for good governance |
The quality and availability of data depend on the capacity of the institutions involved in the collection of data. If key data are missing at national level:
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Guide examples and practical information
- B.1.3.3 The statistical implications of Managing for Development Results
- C.5.1 The importance of National Statistical Systems
Finding (national) official data
The key issues when evaluating the national statistical system (NSS) of a developing country:
- Is the NSS capable of producing good statistics in terms of quality and quantity?
- What statistics does the NSS actually produce?
Availability and reliability of the data is a basic indicator of the condition of the statistical system. These data tables should be drawn directly from national sources to ensure that the country analysis is based on the most up-to-date data available and that there is agreement among the development partners on the data sources to be used.
Issue in the analysis process: |
if the answer is NO: | if the answer is YES: |
1 - Overall development strategy:
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if no: there might be a need for advocacy for evidence-based policy-making.
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if yes: is the strategy for statistical development / capacity building of the NSS / particular statistical operations mentioned in the overall development strategy?
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2 - National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): |
if no: elaborating a NSDS might be a good starting point to develop the NSS.
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if yes: is the NSDS under elaboration? Was it adopted? Is it being implemented? Is there a new NSDS being prepared? Was the previous strategy assessed?
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3 - Compatibility of the overall development strategy and the NSDS: |
if no: there might be a need to improve the performance monitoring system. This system should include MDG indicators and it should be agreed by the country and all donors. |
if yes: read on! |
4 - Analysis of data coverage and quality: |
if no: you should analyse a set of core indicators for performance monitoring, look at what data exist and what their status is.
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if yes: you should be able to match the outcome of the analysis with the performance monitoring system and decide whether to rely on the national data.
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5 - Getting to know the NSS better: |
Please refer to the NSS section to get familiar with the key issues when assessing the NSS of a country |
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6 - Key questions for examining national data availability |
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Are data that cover the performance indicators available from national sources?
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National sources: the national statistical institute (NSI), the Central Bank and sometimes line ministries.
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Is the statistical information about the sector sufficiently up to date so that it can be used to evaluate progress against a baseline?
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'Up to date': how frequently, easily and rapidly data can be collected, processed and published. |
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What is the base year for quantity or index calculations? Is the base year more than 10 years old? |
How recent is the data? How was it produced? Who produced it?
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Do the statistics appear to be reliable at first glance? |
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Are there references to international methods and classifications and do they appear to be adhered to? |
Statistical quality: internationally adopted quality frameworks for statistics are used for assessing the quality of the data and the procedures that are used in their production. Statistical quality covers various dimensions:
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Direct access to
- International statistical cooperation (online publication)
- Statistics in development cooperation (online publication to which this article belongs)
- About available data and national versus international sources:
- Accelerated Data Program (ADP)
- IMF: Statistical Annexes
- International Household Survey Network (IHSN)
- UNSD:
- About metadata:
- Eurostat's Metadata Server RAMON
- IMF:
- International Statistical Institute (ISI): Multilingual Glossary of Statistical Terms
- OECD:
- UNSD: Classification Registry