Kathmandu, May 22

The Asia-Pacific Economic Statistics Week opened in Bangkok today, with a three-day seminar organised 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 organisations, 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, as per a media release.

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, the release adds, with a focus on mobilising 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.