Chapter XV Statistics - unyearbook.un.org

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Chapter XV

Statistics

In 2015, the United Nations continued its work on various aspects of statistics, mainly through the Statistical Commission and the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In January, the Global Conference on a Transformative Agenda for Official Statistics for-mulated recommendations on the modernization of statistical systems in response to increased demands for more detailed and more timely data to monitor progress on the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by the General Assembly in September. At its forty-sixth session in March, the Statistical Commission en-dorsed the proposed road map for the development and implementation of an indicator framework for the measurement of the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda, including the work programme of the associated Friends of the Chair Group and the formation of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators.

The Statistical Commission endorsed the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes as an international statistical standard under the custodianship of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; agreed to the creation of a technical advisory group to support the maintenance of the International Classification; and endorsed the International Classification implementation plan at the national, regional and international levels. The Commission further endorsed the creation of the Praia group on governance statistics to encourage countries to produce governance statistics based on sound and documented methodologies; and the es-tablishment of an Intersecretariat Working Group on Household Surveys, under the aegis of the Statistics Division, to foster the coordination and harmoniza-tion of household survey activities.

The Commission also adopted the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Cen-suses, Revision 3—in conjunction with the launch of the 2020 World Population and Housing Cen-sus Programme, covering the period from 2015 to 2024—and encouraged countries to begin their implementation. In June, the Economic and Social Council endorsed the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme, which aimed to ensure that Member States conducted at least one population and housing census during the 2015–2024 period. Also in June, the General Assembly decided that World Statistics Day would be celebrated every five

years, and that the second World Statistics Day would be held on 20 October 2015 under the theme “Better data, better lives.” In observance of World Statistics Day 2015, activities took place in more than 110 countries and areas around the world.

Statistical Commission

In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 2014/219 [YUN 2014, p. 1456], the Statistical Commission held its forty-sixth session in New York from 3 to 6 March [E/2015/24]. The Commission rec-ommended to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of a draft resolution on the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme and a draft decision on the report of the Commission on its forty-sixth (2015) session and the provisional agenda and dates for the forty-seventh (2016) session.

The Commission brought to the attention of the Economic and Social Council draft decisions it had adopted on data in support of the post-2015 development agenda; population and housing cen-suses; crime statistics; refugee statistics; household surveys; national accounts; international trade and economic globalization statistics; environmental-economic accounting; the International Comparison Programme; agriculture and rural statistics; gover-nance, peace and security statistics; the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics; and regional statistical development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It took note of 20 reports considered during the session [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], as well as the oral report pre-sented by the Director of the UN Statistics Division concerning the Division’s activities, plans and priorities and the draft programme of work for the Division for the biennium 2016–2017 [dec. 46/114]. The Commission also had before it a note by the Secretary-General on the draft multi-year programme of work for the Statistical Commission (2015–2019) [E/CN.3/2015/39], which it approved on 6 March, along with the draft provisional agenda for its forty-seventh (2016) session.

On 10 June, by decision 2015/216, the Economic and Social Council took note of the report of the Commission on its forty-sixth session; decided that the forty-seventh session would be held in New York from 8 to11 March 2016; and approved the provi-sional agenda and documentation for that session.

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YUN 2015—1st proof—15 July 2021

to innovation, technical progress and the surge of new public and private data providers; and utilize the data revolution for sustainable development.

The Secretary-General reported that the Independent Expert Advisory Group had delineated a comprehensive set of recommendations in four areas—namely, principles and standards; technology, innovation and analysis; capacity and resources; and leadership and governance. Annexed to the report was a summary table of those recommendations, separated into specific and general recommendations. For each of the specific recommendations, the table also in-dicated a proposed entity responsible for follow-up. The Secretary-General noted that while bringing the issue of data to the forefront, the Independent Ex-pert Advisory Group had called for investment in statistical capacity-building to allow all countries to reap the benefits of the data revolution and to provide the data required for the monitoring of the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/101)], the Statistical Commission took note of the report and the rec-ommendations of the Independent Expert Advisory Group, and welcomed the invitation by the Secretary-General to establish a comprehensive programme of work under its auspices. The Commission recognized the challenges posed by the new monitoring require-ments for the sdgs, and recommended that new in-vestments be made to increase statistical capacity, in-cluding for data collection, in particular for countries in special situations, such as the small island devel-oping States, the landlocked developing countries and the fragile States. The Commission also recognized that a “World Forum on Sustainable Development Data” would be a suitable platform for intensifying cooperation with various professional groups, such as information technology, geospatial information man-agers and data scientists, and users, as well as with civil society stakeholders.

Big data

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission the report [E/CN.3/2015/4] of the Global Working Group on Big Data for Official Statistics. The report contained highlights from the International Conference on Big Data for Official Statistics (Beijing, 28–30 October 2014); the out-come of the first meeting of the Global Working Group (Beijing, 31 October 2014); and the results of a survey on big data projects for official statistics that was conducted by the Statistics Division and the Economic Commission for Europe. The report elab-orated on the terms of reference and mandate of the Global Working Group, which would be to provide strategic vision, direction and coordination of a global programme on big data for official statistics, including for indicators of the post-2015 development agenda;

Data in support of the post-2015 development agenda

Broader measures of progress

In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 2014/219 [YUN 2014, p. 1456], the Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/2] by the Friends of the Chair Group on Broader Measures of Progress. The report covered the activities of the Friends of the Chair Group since the previous session of the Statistical Commission and the key activities of other enti-ties relevant for the development and implementa-tion of an indicator and monitoring framework and reporting mechanisms for the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda. It also presented a road map for the development and implementation of that framework and a suggested work programme for the Friends of the Chair Group.

The report discussed the expected data require-ments and gaps—and actions to close those data gaps—based on the results of a survey that had been sent to all countries in order to complete a compen-dium of national practices on broader measures of progress and to obtain information on the availabil-ity of data for indicators to measure the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) and the asso-ciated 107 substantive targets proposed by the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on sdgs. Full results from the survey were presented in back-ground documents.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/101)], the Statistical Commission expressed appreciation to the Friends of the Chair Group for its report and background docu-ments on the results of the survey on data availability. The Commission endorsed the proposed road map for the development and implementation of a post-2015 indicator framework and the work programme of the Friends of the Chair Group, and endorsed the formation of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators. On 25 September, by resolution 70/1 (see p. 000), the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated 17 sdgs and 169 targets.

The data revolution

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/3] submitted by the Secretary-General on the emerging issue of the data revolution. The report highlighted the main recommendations from the November 2014 report of the Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustain-able Development, which was established to advise on how to close the data gaps and strengthen national statistical capacities; assess new opportunities linked

Chapter XV: Statistics 3


Conference regarding the modernization of statistical systems; and suggested that the modernization of statistical production required a new architecture for data collection, processing and dissemination through a standard-based process and the adoption of an integrated statistics approach. The Commission also welcomed the contribution of the High-level Group on the Modernization of Statistical Production and Services of the Economic Commission for Europe in establishing standards for supporting the moderniza-tion programme at the global level, and agreed that the High-level Group would report progress on its work to the Commission.

Demographic and social statisticsPopulation and housing censuses

In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 2014/219 [YUN 2014, p. 1456], the Secretary-General submitted a report [E/CN.3/2015/6] to the Statistical Commission on the 2010 and 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programmes. The report gave an overview of the implementation of the 2010 World Population and Housing Census Programme, including information on national participation in the 2010 census round, successes and challenges and a summary of activities carried out by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in support of the 2010 World Programme. The report also provided information on the preparatory activities for the launch of the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme, covering the period from 2015 to 2024. The report invited the Statistical Commission to provide guid-ance on the proposed activities of the Division for the 2020 World Programme; endorse the draft Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Cen-suses: the 2020 Round, Revision 3; and approve a draft resolution on the 2020 World Programme, which was annexed to the report.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/102)], the Statistical Commission welcomed the report of the Secretary-General and underscored the critical importance of population and housing censuses as a valuable source of data for monitoring the post-2015 sdgs. The Commission endorsed the draft resolution on the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme and its submission to the Economic and Social Council for adoption; and adopted the Princi-ples and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 3 and encouraged countries to be-gin their implementation. The Commission also en-dorsed the programme of work for carrying out the 2020 round of population and housing censuses, as contained in the report of the Secretary-General, and requested the Statistics Division to take a lead role in setting up a microdata repository—in sufficient con-

promote practical use of big data sources, including cross-border data, while building on the existing prec-edents and finding solutions for the many challenges; promote capacity-building, training and sharing of experience; foster communication and advocacy of the use of big data for policy applications, especially for monitoring the post-2015 development agenda; and build public trust in the use of private sector big data for official statistics. The Global Working Group also agreed that its programme of work would be overseen by eight task teams that would provide the concrete deliverables.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/101)], the Statistical Commission congratulated the Global Working Group on its accomplishments so far; agreed with the terms of reference and mandate of the Global Working Group, as well as with the division of the work into various task teams; and requested the Global Working Group to look into the use of other big data sources in addition to mobile phone data, social media data and satellite imagery, such as trans-action data through e-commerce, and also to look into the transboundary aspects and associated challenges of the big data sources.

Transformative agenda for official statistics

The Statistical Commission considered a report [E/CN.3/2015/5] transmitted by the Secretary-General pre-senting information about the Global Conference on a Transformative Agenda for Official Statistics (New York, 15–16 January 2015), organized jointly by the Statistical Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). The Conference was a high-level forum of official statisticians with the objective of seeking a broad consensus on the transformative agenda for official statistics, which should respond to the increased demands for more detailed and more timely data to monitor progress on the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda. Those goals and targets were the concern of all UN Member States, and they were specific in how they were formulated at the subnational, national and regional levels. The new demands required a modernized national statistical system that produced official statistics more efficiently and cost-effectively, and in a sustainable, integrated and internationally coordinated way, based on an inclusive partnership. The Conference aimed to determine the strategic di-rection for the statistical community in measuring progress towards the sdgs. It formulated recommen-dations for official statistics in support of the post-2015 development agenda, which were provided to the Commission in a background document.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/101)], the Statistical Commission welcomed the report on the outcome of the Conference; supported the conclusions of the

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to improve crime statistics, taking into account the information needs derived from the post-2015 agenda, and presented a five-year (2015–2020) workplan for the continued implementation of the road map at the national and international levels.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/103)], the Statistical Commission expressed its appreciation for both reports; confirmed unodc as the custodian of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes; agreed to the creation of a technical advisory group to provide advice and support for the mainte-nance of the International Classification; and endorsed the iccs implementation plan at the national, regional and international levels. The Commission also recon-firmed the road map to improve crime statistics at the national and international levels and welcomed the progress made in its implementation.

Refugee statistics

The Statistical Commission had before it the report [E/CN.3/2015/9] of Statistics Norway and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (unhcr) on statistics on refugees and internally displaced persons. The report provided an overview of international statistics on the three types of forci-bly displaced populations—refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons—and discussed legal frameworks, terminology, data sources and challenges in respect of the collection, compilation and publi-cation of statistics on those populations. The report identified that achievement of the following goals would contribute to overcoming the challenges as-sociated with current statistics on forcibly displaced populations: consistency of terminology; explanations of terminology and definitions, as well as guidance on systematic operationalization of those definitions; comparable internationally published statistics on refugees and other forcibly displaced populations; data collection related to forcibly displaced popula-tions; and improved existing data-collection method-ologies and the development of new ones, applicable in situations of forced displacement.

Statistics Norway and unhcr noted that statistics on refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons needed to be improved and called for a set of recommendations that countries as well as international organizations could use to improve data-collection methods, reporting, data disaggregation and overall quality. Such recommendations could be developed by a group of experts from both international organizations and national statistical offices working in that area. The report also recommended the organization of an international conference or seminar to bring together international organizations, experts from national statistical offices and the research community to fa-cilitate discussion centred around statistics on forcibly displaced populations.

sultation with Member States, and while addressing privacy and other technical concerns and taking into account existing regional repositories—and a web-based forum for countries to exchange experiences and knowledge in census-taking.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ACTION

On 10 June [meeting 35], the Economic and Social Council, on the recommendation of the Statistical Commission [E/2015/24], adopted resolution 2015/10 (2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme) without vote [agenda item 18 (c)].

Health statistics

In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 2014/219 [YUN 2014, p. 1456], the Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission the report of the World Health Organization on health statistics [E/CN.3/2015/20], which described activities in three areas: monitoring levels and trends in health; developing and promoting standards and tools for health information; and strengthening country monitoring and measurement. It also discussed pro-gress made in three areas of priority: civil registration and vital statistics systems; monitoring health under the post-2015 development agenda; and the revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Commis-sion took note of the report.

Crime statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/7] of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (unodc) on the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Pur-poses (iccs). The report described the process followed to develop the International Classification and its main features, and set out the plan for its implementation, including tools and activities to support countries in their gradual adoption of iccs for the production and international reporting of crime statistics. The report noted that the International Classification constituted a major tool to improve consistency and international comparability of statistics on crime and provided a co-herent analytical framework for better understanding crime patterns and trends.

The Commission also had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/8] of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico and unodc that reviewed the implementation of activities included in the road map to improve the quality and availability of crime statistics [YUN 2013, p. 1261], which had been presented to the forty-fourth (2013) session of the Statistical Commission and to the twenty-second (2013) session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The report elaborated on the long-term goals



dorsed the creation of the Praia group on governance statistics and its aim to encourage countries to pro-duce governance statistics based on sound and docu-mented methodologies. It also endorsed the proposed terms of reference in the report and requested Cabo Verde to submit another report at its forty-seventh (2016) session for consideration and discussion.

Gender statistics

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/21] of the Secretary-General on gender statistics that summarized the recent activities of the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics under the umbrella of the Global Gender Statistics Programme. The report noted the organization of the fifth Global Forum on Gender Statistics (Aguascalientes, Mexico, 3–5 No-vember 2014) and the implementation of the Evidence and Data for Gender Equality project (2013–2015), jointly executed by the Statistics Division and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. It also provided an update on the preparation of the publication The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics; the organization of the eighth meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics (Aguascalientes, 2 No-vember 2014); and the results of capacity-building efforts to strengthen programmes of gender statistics in countries, which included two regional work-shops—the workshop on gender statistics for the Pacific region (Nadi, Fiji, 4–6 August 2014) and the workshop for Arabic-speaking countries on integrating a gender perspective into statistics (Amman, Jordan, 1–4 December 2014).The report noted that in 2015, the Statistics Division continued to maintain and up-date the dedicated online portal/platform developed to disseminate the minimum set of gender indicators, which had been agreed upon by the Statistical Com-mission at its forty-fourth (2013) session as a guide for the national production and international compi-lation of gender statistics. Annexed to the report was the minimum set of gender indicators with the latest modifications.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Commis-sion took note of the report.

Household surveys

Pursuant to Statistical Commission decision 45/103 [YUN 2014, p. 1463], the Commission had be-fore it a report [E/CN.3/2015/10] prepared by the World Bank in consultation with multiple organizations on the issue of household surveys and their critical role in providing data for the post-2015 development agenda. The report provided an overview of such issues as the availability, quality, relevance and sustainability

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/104)], the Statistical Commission supported the proposal to organize an international conference on refugee statistics that would explore how best to incorporate the compila-tion of statistics on those populations into national statistical systems and to develop a set of recommen-dations for improving those statistics. The Commis-sion also noted the need for a handbook on statistics on refugees and internally displaced persons as a practical guide for the collection, analysis and dis-semination of those statistics. It requested the organ-izers of the international conference to report back to the forty-seventh (2016) session of the Commission on the outcome of the conference and on the next steps to improve statistics on refugees and internally displaced persons.

Governance, peace and security statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/17] on governance, peace and security statistics, prepared by Cabo Verde with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme. The report provided an overview of the initiatives undertaken in respect of the subfield of governance statistics since 2000. It described how the multilateral interest in governance had led to the inclu-sion of Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) in the outcome document of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals. The report also contained a proposal for the establishment of a new city group, the Praia group on governance statistics, to address the conceptualization, methodology and instruments for producing such statistics, with the aim of supporting the establishment of international recommendations on governance statistics. The report delineated the overall objectives of the proposed Praia group and noted that it would deal with statistics on the major dimensions of governance, including (but not limited to) statistics on effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, rule of law, public services, citizen trust in government institutions, access to justice, equal access to information for all, human rights, local governance, inclusive citizen participation and leadership representation, universal freedom to participate in civil society, citizen perceptions and experiences of public safety, non-discriminatory re-sponsiveness of national security institutions, inclusive participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, interpersonal trust, discrimination and other determi-nants of peace. The Praia group would focus its efforts on the development, by the end of the process, of a handbook on governance statistics for use by national statistical offices.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/111)], the Statistical Commission congratulated Cabo Verde on the report and commended the extensive outreach activities undertaken in its preparation. The Commission en-



meeting was to consider guidance on issues such as accounting for pensions; global production arrange-ments; the valuation of land and other non-financial assets; institutional subsectors and the delineation of head offices, holding companies and special-purpose entities; and the recording of flows and stocks of international organizations. The Advisory Expert Group also considered new statistical and data re-quirements designed to better account for emerging economic trends and activities, including the meas-urement of global value chains in the interconnected global economy; the use of big data to enhance the availability and timeliness of national accounts; the distribution of income, consumption and wealth; the use of indicators on deficit and debt; and practi-cal national accounts issues such as backcasting and the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (sdmx) initiative as related to national accounts.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/106)], the Statistical Commission welcomed the progress in implementing the 2008 sna, yet expressed concern at the relatively low compliance with the minimum required data set and the large number of Member States with outdated benchmark years, and urged Member States to de-velop basic source data for the compilation of national accounts data that are policy-relevant and fit for pur-pose and, in that context, to prioritize their efforts on the implementation of the 2008 sna in terms of scope, detail and quality. The Commission endorsed the programme of work of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts and the Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts, and urged the Working Group to continue to give priority to providing prac-tical guidance on issues that would facilitate the im-plementation of the 2008 sna. The Commission also noted the progress in implementing the sdmx data transmission mechanism and the sharing of national accounts data between international organizations, and urged Member States to implement the sdmx technology to facilitate data transmission and reduce the response burden of Member States submitting data to international organizations.

Agricultural and rural statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/16] of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (fao) on new developments in agricultural and rural statistics. The report included an update from the Global Steering Committee on key activities for the implementation of the Global Strategy to Im-prove Agricultural and Rural Statistics; an update on the work of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Agricultural and Rural Statistics, including a pro-posed work programme on improving the relevance and reliability of food data from surveys on household consumption and expenditure; and an update from

of household survey data and focused on low- and middle-income countries. It also provided recommen-dations for addressing those issues.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/105)], the Commis-sion endorsed the establishment of an Intersecretariat Working Group on Household Surveys, under the aegis of the Statistics Division, in order to foster the coordination and harmonization of household survey activities. The Commission also supported the piloting of international guidelines for household surveys by a task team of the Working Group, stressing the need to give consideration to existing codes of practice at the national and regional levels; supported the proposal of conducting a study on priorities for research on cross-cutting methodological issues, including the issues of disaggregation, and the integration of different types of surveys and other data sources; and requested the Working Group to report back to the Commission.

Civil registration and vital statistics

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/22] of the Secretary-General that dis-cussed the critical importance of civil registration and vital statistics as a development issue; reviewed the emergence of the momentum to improve civil registration and vital statistics systems at national, regional and global levels; outlined the roles of international and regional organizations in support of establishing or improving national civil registration and vital statistics systems; and provided an overview of activities undertaken by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in that area, including the establishment of the Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Group, and promotion of the Principles and Recommendations on a Vital Statistics System, Revision 3, released in 2014.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of the Secretary-General’s report.

Economic statisticsNational accounts

The Statistical Commission had before it the report [E/CN.3/2015/11] of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts, which discussed pro-gress on the implementation of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 sna) [YUN 2008, p. 1380], includ-ing with regard to the 2008 sna research agenda, the reporting of national accounts data, and the coordination of data collection and data exchange activities. The report noted that the Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts held its ninth meeting (Washington, D.C., 8–10 September 2014) to review and discuss the work carried out by various task forces and working groups. The main purpose of the



session [YUN 2013, p. 1263], had been tasked with pre-paring a concept paper on the measurement framework for international trade and economic globalization and with recommending an improved coordination mech-anism for that area of work. In its report, the Friends of the Chair group addressed topics raised by the Com-mission in decision 45/106 [YUN 2014, p. 1461], includ-ing asymmetries in bilateral trade statistics, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, the situation of developing and least developed countries and the burden of additional data sources. The group provided an overview of statistical measurement issues in the area of international trade and economic globalization; a summary of further discussions on those issues in the context of the International Conference on the Measurement of Trade And Economic Globalization (Aguascalientes, 29 September–1 October 2014); information on the outcome of the 2014 meeting of the Friends of the Chair group (Aguascalientes, Mexico, 2 October 2014); and proposals regarding a programme of work for the measurement of international trade and globalization and for the coordination of that programme of work.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/107)], the Statistical Commission agreed with a proposal of the Friends of the Chair group to draft a handbook on a system of extended international and global accounts as the measurement framework for international trade and economic globalization, and endorsed the establish-ment of an expert group tasked with the development of that handbook. The Commission also agreed with the proposed programme of work for the measurement of international trade and globalization, and with the establishment of an intersecretariat working group for international trade and economic globalization statistics with a mandate that included coordination in that field of work.

Service statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission the report of the Voorburg Group on Service Statistics [E/CN.3/2015/24], which presented the progress of the Group since its previous report [YUN 2013, p. 1264] in addressing best practices in service industry output statistics, service industry price statistics and service industry and product clas-sifications. The report provided an update on tangible output of the Group under the content development framework, adopted by the Group in 2006, including on the development of a library of national experience in the development of turnover and price statistics for service industries. Overall, the Group had applied a content development framework to develop best prac-tices in the collection of output and price statistics for 105 services industries defined by the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Revision 4, which represented an increase

fao on the development of new guidelines for the 2020 World Programme for the Census of Agriculture to cover the period 2016–2025.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/110)], the Statistical Commission welcomed the establishment of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Food Security, Agricultural and Rural Statistics as an essential forum for the development of international statistical standards in those domains; commended the con-tinued efforts to prepare guidelines on the improve-ment of food consumption data in household budget surveys; and requested the Inter-Agency and Expert Group to provide guidelines and training on the measurement of food security. The Commission requested the partners of the Global Strategy to Im-prove Agricultural and Rural Statistics to support the short- and long-term sustainable training provided to countries by the regional statistical training centres, and to support countries in raising the financial resources required to undertake the necessary data collection activities. The Commission also encour-aged fao to finalize the guidelines for the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 and the companion handbook for implementation as planned, and invited all countries to participate in the global consultation on Volume 1.

Business registers

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of the report of the Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers [E/CN.3/2015/23] on its twenty-fourth meeting (Vienna, 15–18 September 2014), hosted by Statistics Austria. The meeting was organized into ten sessions covering the following themes: country progress reports; statistical units and profiling; administrative and statistical business regis-ters at the international level; managing the respond-ents’ burden; backbone role of the statistical business register; business registers frame methodology; meas-urement of the quality of statistical business registers; maintenance methods and policy; dissemination and outputs from the statistical business registers; and international guidelines for statistical business regis-ters. The meeting also included a special session on the EuroGroups Register and a round table discussion on current challenges for statistical business registers and how to tackle them. The report summarized the themes addressed by the meeting as discussed in each of the sessions.

International trade statistics

The Secretary-General submitted to the Statistical Commission the report [E/CN.3/2015/12] of the Friends of the Chair group on the measurement of international trade and economic globalization. The group, estab-lished by the Commission at its forty-fourth (2013)



Finance statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/25] of the International Monetary Fund (imf) on the Inter-Agency Task Force on Finance Statistics, which pre-sented the main activities of the Task Force since the 2012 session of the Statistical Commission [YUN 2012, p. 1246]. Imf reported that the Task Force had made important progress in the areas of external debt and public sector debt statistics, including through comple-tion of the work on updating the 2013 External Debt Statistics Guide for Compilers and Users, so as to bring it in line with latest international statistical standards; dissemination of the new Quarterly External Debt Statistics database; reporting of quarterly external debt statistics by all 71 subscribers to the Special Data Dissemination Standard and the euro area; and the preparation of external debt statistics course material that was fully aligned with the updated international statistical standards at imf headquarters and regional courses, workshops and seminars.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of the report.

Natural resources and environment statistics

Environment statistics

The Secretary-General submitted a report [E/CN.3/2015/26] to the Statistical Commission on en-vironmental statistics, in which he summarized de-velopments in the implementation of the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics [YUN 2013, p. 1265]. He covered progress made in the area of methodological work, including the first meeting of the Expert Group on Environment Statistics (New York, 26–28 March 2014), the preparation of meth-odological guidelines for the Core and Basic Sets of Environment Statistics and the finalization of the Environment Statistics Self-Assessment Tool. He pro-vided information about technical cooperation and capacity-building activities as well as advances in the application of the Framework in various countries, and discussed remaining tasks and plans for 2015, including the development of training materials and platforms in support of the further implementation of the Framework by countries.

The Commission took note of the report on 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)].

Environmental-economic accounting

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/13] of the Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting, which described the Committee’s

of about 30 industries since the previous progress report. Annexed to the report was a list of industries addressed and a presentation of the framework.


International comparison programme

The Secretary-General submitted to the Statistical Commission the report [E/CN.3/2015/15] of the World Bank on the International Comparison Programme (icp), which had become the world’s largest international statistical initiative in its coverage of the global economy and the scope of gross domestic product and its aggregates. The report outlined the final stages of implementation of the 2011 round of icp, with emphasis on activities carried out from October 2013 to November 2014; described the con-cluding governance and technical support activities undertaken for the 2011 round; discussed the release of the results and the accompanying documentation; and provided information on media coverage, uses of those results and related outreach activities. The report also discussed the involvement of the World Bank in the evaluation of the 2011 round of icp (see below), which was initiated by the Commission at its forty-fifth (2014) session [YUN 2014, p. 1461].

The Secretary-General also submitted to the Com-mission the first of two reports [E/CN.3/2015/14] of the Friends of the Chair group on the evaluation of the 2011 round of icp. The report contained the scope, activities, findings and lessons learned from part I of the evaluation of the 2011 round. It also described the background and organizational setting against which the 2011 round was being conducted; covered gover-nance issues as well as technical and methodological aspects of the 2011 round; outlined the procedure for completion of part II of the evaluation, the report for which would be submitted to the Commission’s forty-seventh (2016) session; and provided recommenda-tions and discussion points for the Commission.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/109)], the Statistical Commission took note of the first part of the report of the Friends of the Chair group and welcomed the report’s recommendations regarding methodology, capacity-building and funding, which would inform on the possibility of shortening intervals between fu-ture icp rounds. The Commission suggested that the recommendations from part I be combined with those in part II—scheduled for presentation in 2016—into a full set of recommendations in a final report, with a view to transforming the icp exercise into a revolving and more frequent exercise that took into account us-ers’ needs and national statistical capacity.

On the same day [dec. 46/115], the Statistical Com-mission took note of the report of the World Bank on icp.



mittee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities. The report reviewed the work of the Committee in 2014 and summarized the conclusions of its twenty-third (New York, 3 March 2014) and twenty-fourth (Rome, 11–12 September 2014) sessions. Topics dis-cussed included statistical activities related to the post-2015 development agenda and the work of iden-tifying and measuring appropriate indicators; imple-mentation of the principles governing international statistical activities; best practices in policy and methodology on the dissemination of microdata by international organizations; organizational aspects of Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (sdmx) im-plementation; and the presence of the Committee at international conferences.

Coordination of statistical activities in the United Nations

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/30] of the Secretary-General on the coor-dination of statistical programmes in the UN system, in which he summarized the work of the UN chief stat-isticians in 2014 and presented the main conclusions of two meetings, one in New York on 6 March 2014 and one in Rome on 10 September 2014. The meet-ings were held in response to Commission decision 45/112 [YUN 2014, p. 1465], in which it endorsed the proposal that the UN chief statisticians hold regu-lar meetings and follow up on the recommendations of the Friends of the Chair on the coordination of statistical activities in the UN system. Topics covered in the report included the formal establishment of the group, including its working methods; its contri-bution to measuring sustainable development in the context of the post-2015 development agenda; its work in strengthening the implementation of the principles governing international statistical activities; and its work towards a common quality assurance framework for the UN system.

The Statistical Commission took note of the report on 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)].

Fundamental principles of official statistics

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/18] of the Friends of the Chair group on the implementation of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. The report noted some of the group’s earlier work, which led to the adoption of a revised preamble of the Fun-damental Principles, an implementation survey and the development of guidelines for strengthening im-plementation of the Fundamental Principles. It also recalled the endorsement of the Fundamental Prin-ciples by the Economic and Social Council in 2013 [YUN 2013, p. 1266] and by the General Assembly in 2014 [YUN 2014, p. 1464] and presented the final results

progress on the implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (seea) in the post-2015 development agenda; progress in respect of the implementation of the seea Central Framework; and ongoing efforts to advance the research and testing agenda of the seea Experimental Ecosystem Accounting. The report also described progress in the development and implementation of the seea subsys-tems, including those for water and energy, and the status of drafting seea for agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/108)], the Statistical Commission requested the Committee of Experts to closely collaborate with relevant groups to promote and advocate that seea be properly reflected in the formulation of the sdg indicators, and requested follow-up discussions in relation to the measurement of those indicators and the building of capacity in countries to develop seea-based indicators.

Statistics for economies based on natural resources

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/27] of the Ulaanbaatar Group on Statistics for Economies Based on Natural Resources, which was established by the Commission at its forty-third (2012) session [YUN 2012, p. 1242]. The aims of the Ulaanbaatar Group were to make recommendations by establishing best prac-tices on concepts and methods to track mining indus-try activities and investments in mining; to measure the mining industry’s contribution to the economy; to develop practical recommendations on measuring the impacts of mining on the environment; and to assess the impacts of mining on other social and economic sectors within the framework of the System of National Accounts. In collaboration with countries that had economies based on natural resources, the Group aimed to ensure the comprehensiveness, reli-ability, accuracy, timeliness and comparability of rel-evant statistical data. The report noted the activities of the Group in 2013 and 2014, including the second (Moscow, 17–18 September 2013) and third (Vienna, 6–8 August 2014) meetings of its steering committee, and provided updates on its programme of work and workplan for 2015.

The Commission took note of the report on 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)].

Other activitiesCoordination and integration of statistical programmes

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of the report [E/CN.3/2015/29] of the Secretary-General on the work of the Com-



gressed sufficiently to be broadly implemented in statistical domains and, globally, by organizations that used statistics. The sdmx Technical Working Group focused on preparing the sdmx Global Reg-istry and a new draft specification for the sdmx-json (JavaScript Object Notation ) data exchange format. The sdmx Statistical Working Group focused on guidelines for the creation of data-structure defini-tions and standard code lists; enhancement of the sdmx content-oriented guidelines; and the relation-ship of sdmx to other technical standards. The sdmx Global Registry started operating in April 2014. It hosted key sdmx artefacts for three globally coordi-nated statistical domains—national accounts, balance of payments and foreign direct investment—with more artefacts to follow, in line with the Global Reg-istry content policy.

Statistical capacity-building

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/34] of the Secretary-General on statistical capacity-building, which outlined the approach of the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to statistical capacity-building and highlighted the key achievements of its capacity-building programme over the period 2013–2014, including in terms of the Millennium Development Goal (mdg) indicators. The report also discussed the Division’s plans to develop its capacity-building strategy in order to support national efforts to re-spond to the challenges presented by the post-2015 development agenda. It noted that the Division was prepared to play a lead role in the formulation of a statistical capacity development road map to support the post-2015 development agenda, focusing in par-ticular on strategically uniting multiple stakeholder efforts under the guidance of the Statistical Com-mission. The Division would continue to focus its statistical capacity-building efforts in three areas—namely, methodological guidance through training and advice on the implementation of international standards, including on a number of thematic de-mands arising from the post-2015 development agenda; development of institutional arrangements within national statistical systems and assistance to countries in the implementation of the Fundamen-tal Principles of Official Statistics; and adoption of technologies and systems for data collection, pro-cessing and dissemination.

The Statistical Commission also had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/35] of the World Bank and the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the Twenty-first Century (paris21) on efforts to draw attention to the importance of strengthening statistical capacity, especially in support of the post-2015 development agenda. The report highlighted progress in implementing the Busan Action Plan for

of its consideration of the question of how to effec-tively address perceived non-compliance.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/112)], the Statistical Commission requested the Statistics Division to pro-vide technical assistance to countries for the imple-mentation of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. The Committee also requested the Division to report back to the Commission in 2017 on the progress of work in that field in the context of the preparation for the twenty-fifth anniversary, in 2019, of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles. The Commission expressed its appreciation to the Friends of the Chair group for its work since 2011 and noted that the work of the group was concluded.

International economic and social classifications

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/32] of the Expert Group on International Statistical Classi-fications, which had been tasked by the Commission at its thirtieth (1999) session with improving coopera-tion on international classifications and ensuring har-monization and convergence among and within the international family of economic and social classifi-cations [YUN 1999, p. 1197]. The report reviewed the activities of the Expert Group and its six Technical Subgroups since the forty-fourth (2013) session of the Statistical Commission [YUN 2013, p. 1266] and included updated information on its work on international classifications in the fields of agriculture, crime, occupational standards, and employment and labour status.


Standards on data and metadata exchange

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of the report [E/CN.3/2015/33] of the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (sdmx) sponsors, which reviewed progress on the implemen-tation of sdmx standards and related information technology applications, including the sdmx Global Registry, since the previous report to the Commis-sion in 2013 [YUN 2013, p. 1266]. The aim of the sdmx initiative was to create and maintain technical and statistical standards and guidelines, together with an information technology architecture and information technology tools, to be used by the sdmx sponsors and other organizations that used statistical data and exchanged metadata. Combined with mod-ern information technology, sdmx standards and guidelines should result in greater efficiency in the management of statistical business processes. The report noted that after more than ten years of ex-perience, sdmx standards and guidelines had pro-



institutional mechanisms under which many of the statistical activities in the region and its subregions were carried out; achievements and lessons learned from recent regional statistical activities; and the main challenges in strengthening national statistical systems in Latin America and the Caribbean countries and generating the statistical information required by the post-2015 development agenda and for the elaboration of evidence-based development policies.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/113)], the Statistical Commission stressed the importance of high-quality statistics as a tool for the monitoring and account-ability of the post-2015 development agenda and noted, in that context, the recognition by many countries of the need for increased resources for statistical development. The Commission noted the coordina-tion and consultation issues raised by some represent-atives of the countries of the Caribbean Community and requested eclac to enhance its efforts towards greater regional cooperation. It also noted the con-cerns expressed about the report’s neglect of the work undertaken by Caribbean Community countries and requested eclac to include that information in future iterations of the report.

World Statistics Day

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/28] on progress made in the preparations for the observance, on 20 October 2015, of the second World Statistics Day. The report included the latest developments re-garding the adoption of a General Assembly resolution on World Statistics Day; finalization of the slogan for the Day by the Bureau of the Commission; and the development of a logo and a suitable communications platform for the Day by the secretariat of the Com-mission in consultation with the Bureau.


On 3 June (see below), the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Commission, decided to designate 20 October 2015 as the second World Statistics Day under the theme “Better data, better lives”; decided to celebrate World Statistics Day every five years on 20 October; and invited all Member States, UN agencies and organizations, intergovernmental and regional organizations, civil society, research institutions, me-dia and other producers and users of official statistics to observe World Statistics Day.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION

On 3 June [meeting 92], the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/282 (World Statistics Day) [draft: A/69/L.72 & Add.1] without vote [agenda item 13 (a)].

World Statistics Day observance. A subsequent report [E/CN.3/2016/18] of the Secretary-General pro-

Statistics—endorsed by the Fourth High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness [YUN 2011, p. 842]—and its five priority actions for achieving the full integration of statistics in decision-making; promoting open access to statistics; and increasing resources for statistical systems. The report also discussed emerging topics likely to affect national statistical systems, such as the data revolution.

On 6 March [E/2015/24 (dec. 46/115)], the Statistical Commission took note of both reports.

Development indicators

On 6 March (E/2015/24 [dec. 46/115]), the Statistical Commission took note of the report [E/CN.3/2015/36] of the Secretary-General on indicators for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs). The report described the activities carried out in 2014 by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on mdg Indica-tors and the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the following areas: improving methodology for the monitoring of pro-gress towards the mdgs; strengthening statistical capacity-building for national monitoring; preparing for the final evaluation of the progress towards the mdgs; and supporting the intergovernmental discus-sion on the formulation of the sdgs for the post-2015 development agenda.

Follow-up to General Assembly and Economic and Social Council policy decisions

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/38] on policy deci-sions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council adopted in 2014 or earlier that were relevant to the work of the Commission. The policy decisions concerned follow-up to the mdgs; broader measures of progress to complement gross domestic product; global geospatial information management; follow-up to Council resolutions on population and development; improving the collection, reporting and analysis of data on migration and persons with disa-bilities; and the multi-year programme of work for annual ministerial reviews of the Council. For each of those policy decisions, the report indicated the ac-tions that were taken or proposed by the Commission and the Statistics Division in response to the requests made by the Assembly and the Council.


Regional statistical development

The Statistical Commission had before it a report [E/CN.3/2015/19] of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (eclac) on statistical development in that region. The report reviewed the

http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/L.72



development composite indices, including updates of methodology. It also noted that “Rethinking work for human development” was the theme of the 2015 Human Development Report, which revisited the issue of work in its various dimensions and dynamics through a human development lens.


Global geospatial information management

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission a report [E/CN.3/2015/37] of the Expert Group on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information, which provided information on the activities of the Expert Group since the forty-fifth (2014) session of the Statistical Commission. It summarized the major outcomes of the first Global Forum on the Integration of Statistical and Geospa-tial Information (New York, 4–5 August 2014), held in conjunction with the fourth session of the Com-mittee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (New York, 6–8 August 2014), as well as the main findings of the International Workshop on Integrating Geospatial and Statistical Information (Beijing, 9–12 June 2014). The report also presented information on a consultative meeting of the Expert Group (Beijing, 25 October 2014) that reviewed its work programme and addressed the preparation and formulation of plans for future progress.

Both the Global Forum and the International Workshop had noted that the statistical and geospatial communities were major contributors of information used for evidence-based decision-making across many sectors, and institutional coordination between statistical and geospatial agencies at the country level was of vital importance. Geospatial data could signif-icantly improve the quality of official statistics and the report concluded that there was an urgent need for a mechanism, such as a global statistical-geospatial framework, to facilitate consistent production and in-tegration approaches for geo-statistical information.


vided an overview of the activities carried out by the statistical community around the world in observance World Statistics Day, held on 20 October 2015 under the theme of “Better data, better lives.” Activities were organized by national statistical offices, statistical as-sociations, universities and other partners in more than 110 countries and areas. Statistical work was presented to a wide public audience through media outreach, and in many countries the Day was used as an opportunity to report on the results of recent sur-veys or censuses and release new statistics. The report was submitted for consideration at the forty-seventh (2016) session of the Statistical Commission.

Statistics of human development

The Secretary-General transmitted to the Statistical Commission the report [E/CN.3/2015/31] of the United Nations Development Programme (undp) on the statistics of human development, which pro-vided an update on the production of the Human Development Report and human development indi-cators—published annually since 1990. The report noted that the Human Development Report also con-tained a statistical annex—a thematic compendium of the latest available statistics, some of which were summarized in five composite indices of which the Human Development Index was the best known. It specified that the Human Development Report was produced by the Human Development Report Office of undp drawing on work and consultations with leading scholars, development practitioners and other stakeholders. For the production of composite indices and the statistical annex, the Human Development Report Office relied on data from other UN entities and international organizations with mandates for data collection, verification, compilation and public dissemination based on international definitions and standards.

The report briefed the Commission on the status of the human development indices and related communications and processes; the communications and other processes put in place for the regular an-nual production of human development composite indices; and the methodology and data for human

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