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World Statistics Day

20 October 2010 07:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. World Statistics Day, celebrated for the first time on 20 October 2010 worldwide, will pay tribute to statisticiansâ€™ outstanding work in producing and disseminating data needed for responding to everyday challenges and for measuring progress in peopleâ€™s lives. Statistics are a daily part of national and international life and policymaking, but never before has the international community formally paid tribute to official statistics through dedicating them an international day. Over 100 countries and areas and some 40 international agencies will mark this Day with special events and activities.

Acknowledging that the production of reliable, timely statistics and indicators is indispensable for informed policy decisions and monitoring implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the General Assembly designated 20 October as World Statistics Day in resolution A/64/267. Official statistics are data produced and disseminated by national statistics offices, other government departmentsâ€™ statistical units and by many United Nations, international and regional statistical units.

Many international entities and United Nations agencies are organizing joint conferences or round tables to mark World Statistics Day, notably in Geneva, Santiago, Vienna and Washington. In Barbados, the United Nations Childrenâ€™s Fund (UNICEF) will brief schoolchildren on its statistical work. In Brussels, Eurostat will brief the media on how the European statistical community supports statistical institutions in developing countries.