ESCAP opens Asia-Pacific Economic Statistics Week

The Asia-Pacific Economic Statistics Week opened in
Bangkok today, with a three-day seminar organized by the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), to
strengthen economic statistics for monitoring the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) in the region.

Economic statistics are required for almost half of the indicators in the
global SDG monitoring framework, yet many developing countries in the
region are unable to deliver basic statistics on population and economy.

To address this challenge, ESCAP established the Asia-Pacific Economic
Statistics Week in 2016 as a regular forum where normative and analytical
products affecting economic statistics production and dissemination are
presented and discussed by member States and development partners.

Held under the theme Advancing Economic Statistics for the SDGs, this
year’s seminar will bring together participants from over 35 countries as
well as international organizations, for sessions on: legal and
institutional frameworks, quality assurance frameworks, environment and
natural resources, national accounts, statistical business register,
dissemination and communication of statistical products, and big data.

Over 40 papers will be presented at the seminar showcasing national studies
and expert research on economic statistics in the region.
A side event on screening for economic statistics capacity will be held
today, with a focus on mobilizing resources and partner support for
capacity strengthening at the national and regional levels.

Tomorrow, a side event on economic loss from disasters will examine the
development of guidance to help countries respond to the growing demands
for better statistics on disasters.

The Steering Group meeting on 26 May will discuss regional collaboration on
statistics quality assurance, statistical business registers, regional
capacity screening on economic statistics, and training.

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