Statistics and registries – the platform for good decisions

Published 8/8/2024

Updated 8/8/2024

Good and credible statistics, as well as independent national statistics agencies, are necessary pre-requisites to support development-focused policies and measure progress relating to the SDGs. Registries relating to population, business enterprises, properties and addresses are fundamental in social planning. However, most developing countries have limited access to good and relevant statistics and registries. Statistics and registry cooperation contributes to more knowledge-based planning and thereby also improved governance in Norwegian partner countries.

What

Through its statistics and registry programme, Norad works to strengthen national statistics systems’ work to produce public statistics of high quality, while also contributing to greater understanding and use of official statistics in partner countries and within international development cooperation.

The statistics and registry programme promotes SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and 17 Partnership for the Goals. Through improved governance, the programme also contributes to a number of other SDGs, such as 1 No Poverty and 10 Reduced Inequalities. Data is also crucial in measuring progress on all SDGs. Achieving the SDGs will require the collection, preparation, analysis and dissemination of large amounts of data. This must take place at local, national, regional and global level. Good public statistics therefore play an important role in achieving the obligations set out in the 2030 Agenda.

Why

Access to data and statistics is necessary in order to plan, implement and follow up on political decisions. Official statistics used as credible sources of independent information mean that decision-makers can be held accountable as the factual basis is accessible and available to all. Data and statistics are crucial both for an effective tax system to collect taxes and other public fees based on correct data and to optimising tax revenues.

It is important that all countries have good base registries of the population, business enterprises, properties and addresses. These constitute basic infrastructure that can help contribute to social and economic development, transparency and good governance. The base registries can also act as a central source for a country’s statistics system.

The SDGs have increased the focus on the importance of statistics and the role of national statistics agencies and particularly the need for gender-disaggregated data. Many countries lack knowledge and data about women and men and different groups of the population and therefore also how these groups are affected differently by public services and initiatives. The need for statistics and data has never been greater, but the capacity in a number of national statistics systems is far from adequate to deliver what is needed. Most developing countries also lack access to good, relevant statistics. The situation was exacerbated by the Covid pandemic as a large number of developing countries rely on face-to-face interviews to collect data.

How

Statistics and registry cooperation primarily take place through the knowledge programme for statistics and registry cooperation. The knowledge programme is targeted at the entire national statistics system, i.e. all producers and users of official statistics. The main objective of the programme is to strengthen the national statistics systems’ ability to produce and use official statistics of high quality, which is a prerequisite for measuring progress in relation to the 2030 agenda. A holistic approach for all stakeholders involved in the production of statistics and delivery of data is important for underpinning mutual trust and good information flow.

The knowledge programme for statistics and registry cooperation draws on expertise from Norwegian government agencies, especially through institutional cooperation with sister organisations in developing countries. The most important Norwegian partner is Statistics Norway (SSB). Institutional cooperation is the best way in which partner institutions can benefit from the knowledge possessed by SSB and other Norwegian institutions. Cooperation must be long-term and predictable, as well as based on demand, while also emphasising ownership on the part of partner institutions. Specialist cooperation is flexible and adaptable and based on the priorities of the partner institutions.

The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs and Statistics Norway also cooperate to share experiences with authorities in partner countries when it comes to gender equality policy and statistics in different sectors through Equality for Development (Lifu). Uganda, Nepal, Ethiopia and Colombia are some of the countries that have received support through Lifu. Data and statistics also constitute important components in other knowledge programmes.

Who/Where

Statistics Norway (SSB) is the main partner for Norad when it comes to statistical aid. Since 1994, Statistics Norway has cooperated with sister organisations in developing countries, as well as international stakeholders, and has also participated in international forums to promote capacity-building in national statistics agencies and contribute to the development of national statistics systems.

Norad also supports the multilateral system in developing global standards and implementing measures at national level through global programmes. The United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) UNSD – Welcome to UNSD builds capacity for national statistics and UN statistics. The statistical commission is the supreme body in global statistics cooperation and has the responsibility for determining statistical standards and developing methods, as well as for implementing these at an international and national level. United Nations Statistical Commission. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also an important partner working to develop more and better data for political decision-making, especially with regard to macro-economics. Power of Data is an initiative launched by the Secretary General of the UN and involves national data cooperation in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is co-chaired by UNDP, UNFPA, UNDESA, UNICEF, CCS-UN, the World Bank and GPSDD and supported by the United Kingdom.

Contact

For further information, please contact the Section for Governance.