| ABS |
Australian
Bureau of Statistics |
| ACC |
Administrative
Committee on Coordination |
| ADB |
Asian Development
Bank |
| APEC |
Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation |
| ASEAN |
Association
of South East Asian Nations |
| CD-ROM |
Compact Disk
- Read Only Memory |
| CIS |
Commonwealth
of Independent States |
| COICOP |
Classification
of Individual Consumption by Purpose |
| COFOG |
Classification
of the Functions of Government |
| CST |
Country Support
Team |
| ECO |
Economic
Cooperation Organization |
| ESCAP |
Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific |
| ESIS |
ESCAP Statistical
Information System |
| FAO |
Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| GIS |
geographic
information systems |
| ICAO |
International
Civil Aviation Organization |
| ILO |
International
Labour Organization |
| IMF |
International
Monetary Fund |
| INSTRAW |
International
Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women |
| MRC |
Mekong River
Commission |
| NHDR |
national human development
report |
| OECD |
Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| SAARC |
South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation |
| SIAP |
Statistical
Institute for Asia and the Pacific |
| SNA |
System of
National Accounts |
| SPC |
Pacific Community
(formerly the South Pacific Commission) |
| UNCHS |
United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) |
| UNCTAD |
United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNDP |
United Nations
Development Programme |
| UNEP |
United Nations
Environment Programme |
| UNESCO |
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNFPA |
United Nations
Population Fund |
| UNHCR |
United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees |
| UNICEF |
United Nations
Children's Fund |
| UNIDO |
United Nations
Industrial Development Organization |
| UNIFEM |
United Nations
Development Fund for Women |
| UNSD |
United Nations
Statistics Division |
| WHO |
World Health
Organization |
| WTO |
World Trade
Organization |
| Y2K |
year 2000 |
INTRODUCTION
1. To provide the Committee on Statistics
with a good view of statistical activities in
Asia and the Pacific currently undertaken by
various international and regional agencies,
an integrated presentation of statistical work
programmes in the ESCAP region was first introduced
at the ninth session of the Committee in November
1994. At its tenth session in 1996, the
Committee agreed that the exercise was useful
and asked the secretariat to continue to collect
and collate information from the agencies, subject
to some modifications in the format and content,
particularly on meetings and publications.
2. It should be noted that for this presentation
the statistical activities are being classified
according to subject-matter along the lines,
as far as possible, of the statistics portion
of the United Nations Administrative Committee
on Coordination (ACC) Programme Classification,
the same classification as for the previous
presentations. Certain statistical activities
which do not fit well in the classification
have been presented in the section entitled
"Other statistics".
3. The Committee may note that the period
covered by this paper, 1998-1999, is not readily
applicable to the work programmes of some agencies,
which had not yet been fully developed at the
time of collecting information. The secretariat
wishes to thank those agencies/organizations
which have contributed to this exercise; 15
agencies so far (out of 27 invited)1
have provided ESCAP with information on their
work programmes and major statistical activities.
Thus, the presentation is far from complete.
To fill in the gaps in certain major fields
of statistics, the secretariat has conducted
some library research and searched through the
Web sites. By and large, the secretariat
has reproduced information as submitted by the
agencies or as appearing on the Web sites.
4. The Committee is invited to comment
on the format of the presentation and give its
views on the usefulness of the exercise.
In addition, it would be helpful if the Committee
could also comment on how to improve the response
rate from the agencies invited and on information
obtained from other sources such as the Internet.
A. DEMOGRAPHIC
AND SOCIAL STATISTICS
1. Population and
housing statistics
ESCAP
Objectives
To assist developing countries in Asia and
the Pacific in improving the quality of population
statistics, planning and organizing the 2000
round of population and housing censuses, and
applying information technology in population
data collection, processing, dissemination and
presentation.
Activities
Statistics Division. The activities of
the Division are focused on: (a) technical meetings
on the application of new technology in population
data collection, processing, dissemination and
presentation; (b) commissioning of specific
national activities in three developing countries
(Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines),
leading to the establishment or adaptation of
information technology to population statistics;
(c) sharing of country experience in the development
of information technology in the population
field through a regional newsletter; and (d)
advisory missions undertaken by regional advisers,
on planning, conduct, processing and analysis
of population censuses and surveys in developing
countries.
Population and Rural and Urban Development
Division. Activities include (a) advisory
services focusing on population data analysis;
and (b) publication of the ESCAP Population
Data Sheet, annually.
UNFPA
Activities
UNFPA is financially supporting many country
projects in this field.
UNSD
Activities
Support to population and housing census activities
in developing countries of the region by providing
technical assistance through resident advisers.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP. |
Working Party
on the Application of New Technology to
Population Data, second meeting (Singapore,
1-3 April 1998); third meeting (tentatively
scheduled to be held in Bali, Indonesia,
6-8 January 1999); fourth meeting (May 1999);
Training workshop on the application
of new technology to population data (October
1999). |
| SIAP. |
SIAP/UNFPA
Subregional Training Course on Processing
of Data from the Year 2000 Round of Population
and Housing Censuses (date and venue to
be decided) |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| ESCAP. |
ESCAP Population
Data Sheet, 1998 and 1999. |
| UNSD. |
United Nations,
Principles and Recommendations for Population
and Housing Censuses, Revision 1, Statistical
Papers Series M, No. 67/Rev.1 (New York,
1998). |
2. Labour statistics
ILO
Objectives
The development of national statistical systems
in member States and, in parallel, the greater
relevance and international comparability of
labour statistics.
Activities
Four means of action will continue to be used
to achieve the above objectives: (a) the establishment
of new international statistical standards,
or the revision of existing ones, (b) the provision
of technical advisory services to member States,
(c) the holding of training courses and seminars
on topics related to labour statistics, and
(d) the dissemination of a broad range of information
on specific labour issues.
Meetings in 1998-1999
Sixteenth International Conference of Labour
Statisticians (Geneva, 6-15 October 1998).
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
- Yearbook and Bulletin
of Labour Statistics;
- Sources and Methods: labour
statistics;
- Household income and expenditure
statistics;
- Economically active population,
1950-2010.
3. Education statistics
UNESCO
Objectives
To strengthen cooperation with member States
in Asia in improving education statistics and
indicators applying the International Standard
Classification of Education (ISCED 1997) and
the new UNESCO questionnaires.
Activities
To promote application of ISCED 1997 in improving
national education statistics and the development
of education indicators, a regional workshop
is being organized to bring together national
coordinators from 20-25 Asian countries to familiarize
them with the new ISCED, UNESCO questionnaires
and the World Education Indicator Programme,
and to plan actions to strengthen education
statistics and indicators systems at both the
national and regional levels.
Meetings in 1998-1999
Regional Workshop on Education Statistics
and Indicators (Bangkok, November 1998).
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
- UNESCO Statistical Yearbook;
- CD-ROM containing UNESCO
databases, and statistics on education;
- Technical documents on
education statistics and indicators;
- Regional network on education
statistics and indicators.
4. Health statistics
WHO
Objectives
To develop and maintain a regional database
of national statistics on causes of death and
to disseminate compiled statistics on mortality
to member States, in support of global health
status assessment and health for all.
Activities
(a) Annual collection of national data on
population by age and sex, deaths by age, sex
and cause, and number of live births for countries
in the Asian and Pacific region and other regions.
Validation, storage and dissemination of raw
data and transformed mortality statistics; (b)
coordination of the International Classification
of Diseases.
Meetings in 1998-1999
Meeting of Heads of WHO Collaborating Centres
for the Classification of Diseases (1998); (1999).
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
- World Health Statistics
Annual.
5. Poverty monitoring
ESCAP
Objectives
To assist developing countries in the development
and utilization of data on poverty in support
of poverty alleviation; to provide guidelines
and assistance to countries through a workshop
on methodologies of poverty measurement.
Activities
Statistics Division. To review
and synthesize the work done in the measurement
of poverty in the region, a regional workshop
on poverty statistics is planned to be held
at Bangkok, tentatively in February 1999.
A synthesis study on the measurement of poverty
is expected to be generated at the workshop.
Population and Rural and Urban Development
Division. As well as demographic data
estimates and projections, the Division also
collects data on changes in family composition
and rural-urban migration, and their implications
for poverty alleviation.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP. |
Committee
on Socio-economic Measures to Alleviate
Poverty in Rural and Urban Areas, first
session (Bangkok, 15-17 September 1998);
Regional workshop on poverty statistics
(Bangkok, tentatively 17-19 February 1999).
|
| SIAP. |
SIAP/UNDP
Training Course on the Review and Presentation
of Different Measurements of Poverty in
Specific Reference to the South-East Asian
Region (Vientiane, 31 March-10 April 1998). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| ESCAP. |
Report of
the Committee on Socio-economic Measures
to Alleviate Poverty in Rural and Urban
Areas, first session;
Technical documents and the report of
the Regional Workshop on Poverty Statistics.
|
6. Role of women
ESCAP
Objectives
To support improvement in statistics and indicators
on the role of women.
Activities
Statistics Division. The Division's
activities are currently focused on the compilation
and dissemination of data through one regional
and sixteen national publications.
Social Development Division. Publishing
an updated version of the statistical compendium
on women in Asia and the Pacific to support
the review of implementation of the Jakarta
Declaration and Plan of Action for the Advancement
of Women in Asia and the Pacific and the Beijing
Declaration and the Platform for Action.
UNIFEM
Activities
The UNIFEM Regional Programme for Asia and
the Pacific is very active in providing funds
for national and regional projects on women's
development, including gender statistics.
INSTRAW
Objectives
To support gender statistics activities in
the ESCAP region.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP. |
Ad hoc expert
group meeting on the review of implementation
of the Jakarta Declaration and Plan of Action
for the Advancement of Women in Asia and
the Pacific and the Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action (1999). |
| INSTRAW. |
Gender statistics
training workshop (tentatively in Mongolia). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| ESCAP. |
Publication
on the situation of women and men in the
countries of the region; National profiles
on women for sixteen countries in Asia and
the Pacific; Statistical compendium on women
in Asia and the Pacific (1999). |
7. Other social,
demographic and related statistics
Meetings in 1998-1999
SIAP. SIAP/ESCAP training course on
disability statistics (provisionally to be held
at New Delhi, 1 week, 1999).
B. ECONOMIC STATISTICS
1. National accounts
ESCAP
Objectives
To assist developing countries in the implementation
of the 1993 System of National Accounts, through
advisory services and the provision of guidelines.
Activities
Statistics Division. The Division's
activities are oriented towards (a) providing
advisory services in new areas of data generation
in relation to adoption of the 1993 SNA and
compilation of accounts of institutional sectors;
(b) verifying data sources and the treatment
of special cases, in particular the privatization
of government bodies; (c) exploring means of
producing sub-annual estimates; (d) reviewing
benchmark deflators; (e) examining the possibility
of regional (subnational)/ island based estimates;
and (f) organizing subregional workshops on
various aspects of the revised SNA.
FAO
Objectives
To assist the developing countries in collection,
analysis and use of data on output, input, purchase
of items of capital nature and prices relating
to food and agriculture using national accounting
concepts. To achieve this goal FAO has
prepared a handbook entitled A System of Economic
Accounts for Food and Agriculture, which also
takes into account backward and forward linkages
to the agricultural activities for a more dynamic
analysis.
Activities
To organize a workshop on economic accounts
for agriculture to be held at Kunming, China
from 30 November to 4 December 1998. The
workshop is being organized jointly with SIAP
and will be attended by participants from selected
countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand and
Viet Nam.
To provide technical assistance to Mongolia
in establishing a system of economic accounts
for agriculture to meet the needs of decision
makers working in areas relating to food and
agriculture. This task is being done through
a technical cooperation project and covers areas
such as designing a framework of economic accounts
for agriculture suitable for Mongolia; improving
the existing system of data collection, taking
into account data needs for the preparation
of accounts; and collection of data on a pilot
basis for a limited area. This project
is in field at present and will be completed
by the middle of next year.
IMF
Objectives
To introduce the concepts and theories of
national accounts as well as the implementation
of the 1993 SNA.
Activities
Regional seminars on national accounts statistics
are organized by the IMF Statistics Department.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP. |
First Workshop
on the Implementation of the 1993 SNA (Bangkok,
12-23 October 1998). |
| ESCAP/OECD. |
Joint OECD-ESCAP
Meeting on National Accounts (Bangkok, 4-8
May 1998). |
| IMF. |
Regional
Seminar on Quarterly National Accounts (Thailand,
22-28 March 1998);
Regional seminar on national accounts statistics
(Singapore, February 1999). |
| SIAP. |
SIAP/FAO
training course on a system of economic
accounts for agriculture (Kunming, China,
30 November-4 December 1998); (1 week in
1999). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| FAO. |
Technical
document giving operational guidelines for
the preparation of economic accounts for
agriculture giving illustrations from participating
countries attending the related workshop;
project report for a case study on the preparation
of economic accounts for agriculture for
Mongolia. |
2. Agriculture
statistics
FAO
Objectives
(a) To monitor developments in national food
and agricultural statistics in the region, and
assist developing countries in improving statistics
system in this field; (b) to make available
an updated statistical series and database on
the agricultural sector; and (c) to support
the national efforts in developing an information
and mapping system on the nature, magnitude,
problems, trends and severity of different types
of food, Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information
and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS), as established
in the World Food Summit Plan of Action.
Activities
(a) To advise/assist developing countries
in conducting agricultural surveys and censuses
and implementing country projects; (b) to construct
and maintain updated data series on agricultural
production, trade of food and agriculture commodities,
and commodity and food balance sheets; (c) to
support national FIVIMS by (i) preparing guidelines
for the establishment of national FIVIMS with
special reference to statistical issues; (ii)
providing technical support through the ACC
Network on Rural Development and Food Security;
and (iii) organizing meetings and workshops.
MRC
Objectives
A broad objective is to provide information
used in agricultural development planning in
the riparian countries and the MRC Secretariat.
Immediate objectives are (a) to establish the
land resources information system; and (b) to
promote the application of remote sensing and
GIS in land resources inventory and data analysis.
Activities
Development of basin-wide natural resource
databases for sound natural resources and environmental
monitoring: (a) spatial databases on soil types,
irrigation and inundation of main agricultural
development areas completed; and (b) land resources
information integrated and applied for land
evaluation.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| FAO. |
Meeting of
the FAO Asian Food and Nutrition Network
on the Nutrition Components of FIVIMS (Bangkok,
October 1998);
Seventeenth Session of the Asia and Pacific
Commission on Agricultural Statistics
(Hobart, Australia, 2-6 November 1998);
Seminar on the use of remote sensing
in agricultural statistics (Bangkok, February
1999). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| FAO. |
Report of
the seventeenth session of the Asia and
Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics;
Proceedings of the seminar on the use
of remote sensing in agricultural statistics;
Technical documents/materials/reports
on various aspects of agricultural surveys/
censuses in selected countries, including
Fiji, Pakistan and the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea;
FAO Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics
and Food Balance Sheets;
Selected Indicators of Food and Agriculture
Development in Asia-Pacific Region;
FAO yearbooks. |
| MRC. |
Basin-wide
spatial databases on soil types, irrigation
and inundation; application of the integrated
land resources databases for land evaluation;
and enhanced remote sensing and GIS capabilities
for land resources inventory and evaluation
at member line institutions. |
3. Forestry and
fishery statistics
FAO
Objectives
Forestry. To facilitate intercountry
cooperation in collecting, analysing and sharing
better statistics and information, with a focus
on the problem areas highlighted by the seventeenth
session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission
(APFC);
Fisheries. To improve the quality
of data coverage and production on capture fisheries
and aquaculture and related fields in response
to future national, regional and international
needs.
Activities
To establish an APFC Ad Hoc Working Group
on Forestry Statistics and Information in the
Asia-Pacific region to assist member countries
and other partners in improving data in the
following areas: wood residues, trees outside
forests, fuelwood, and non-wood forest products
with development potential. The overall
task of the Working Group will be to collect,
review and interpret statistics and information
on key aspects of the forestry sector with a
view to developing authoritative information
of value to the region.
Activities include (a) production of Guidelines
on the Collection of Structural Aquaculture
Statistics: Supplement to the Programme for
the World Census of Agriculture 2000, (b) uptake
of Guidelines on the Collection of Structural
Aquaculture Statistics: India, (c) organizing
an Expert Consultation and Regional Workshop
on the Development of Guidelines for the Routine
Collection of Capture Fisheries Data (Bangkok,
May 1998), (d) organizing the fifth Asian Fisheries
Forum (AFF), and (e) organizing a workshop on
aquaculture terminology.
MRC
Objectives
To develop sound fisheries databases and information
systems for the sustainable management of the
fundamental resource to the livelihood and well-being
of the Mekong basin's people, and to assess
the potential impact of development proposals.
Activities
Construction of a common system for collection,
processing, analysis and application of fisheries
data adopted and in use in the four countries
of the lower Mekong basin.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| FAO. |
Seventeenth
session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission
(Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 23-27 February 1998);
Expert Consultation and Regional Workshop
on the Development of Guidelines for the
Routine Collection of Capture Fisheries
Data (Bangkok, May 1998);
Fifth Asian Fisheries Forum (AFF) (Chiang
Mai, Thailand, November 1998);
Workshop on aquaculture terminology (Thailand,
November 1998). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| FAO. |
Guidelines
on the Collection of Structural Aquaculture
Statistics: Supplement to the Programme
for the World Census of Agriculture 2000;
Guidelines for Routine Capture Fishery
Data Collection. |
| MRC. |
Development
of information systems, including sampling
surveys for data collection and analyses,
and computer system designs. |
4. Trade statistics
ESCAP
Objectives
(a) To promote international collaboration
on research and development of statistics on
trade in services through regional workshops
and advisory services on various aspects of
trade statistics, for developing countries and
economies in transition; and (b) to disseminate
trade statistics on the region and its constituent
economies.
Activities
Statistics Division. Activities
in this field are focused on (a) updating and
maintaining data on international trade for
countries of the region; and (b) publishing
detailed annual compilations of such data covering
a recent five-year period.
International Trade and Economic Cooperation
Division. The Division issues a monthly
publication, Prices of Selected Asia/Pacific
Products, and plans to provide detailed trade
data in national format on CD-ROM.
UNSD
Activities
UNSD provides international trade statistics
on Asian and Pacific countries for the ESCAP
annual publication on the subject.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP/UNSD. |
Regional
workshop on international trade statistics
(Bangkok, 22-26 March 1999). |
| UNSD. |
Training
Workshop on International Trade Statistics
in China (13-16 May 1998). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| ESCAP. |
Publication
of Foreign Trade Statistics of Asia and
the Pacific (1998, 1999);
Publication of Prices of Selected Asia/Pacific
Products (monthly);
Technical materials in response to requests
for statistical information from users
outside and within the secretariat, particularly
in support of thematic analyses and studies,
including data on investment flows. |
5. Money and banking,
interest rates and other private finance, public
sector finance, balance of payments and external
debt, exchange rates and capital flows
APEC
Objectives
To improve international standardized foreign
direct investment (FDI) statistical systems
and develop an accurate and efficient data collection
method in APEC developing countries.
Activities
Organize training programme on FDI.
IMF
Objectives
(a) To improve national compilers' understanding
of the IMF methodology for collecting, compiling
and reporting the monetary data to be used in
macroeconomic analysis; and (b) to provide technical
assistance in all areas of macroeconomics and
financial statistics.
Activities
(a) Regional seminars on money and banking
statistics are organized by the IMF Statistics
Department; and (b) staff visits and technical
assistance missions in the region.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ADB. |
Meeting of
Heads of Statistics Offices of Asian Countries
in Crisis (Manila, 1-2 October 1998). |
| APEC. |
APEC Training
Program on Improving the Capacities on Foreign
Direct Investment Statistics (Xiamen, China,
6-10 July 1998). |
| IMF. |
Regional
seminar on money and banking statistics
(Singapore, April 1999). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
APEC. Formulation of an advanced framework
of data collection on FDI statistics.
C. OTHER STATISTICS
1. Environment
statistics
ESCAP
Objectives
(a) To assist countries in developing systems
of environmental data collection by promoting
knowledge and skills of methodological issues
and problems in the collection of environment
statistics, and to initiate the collection and
dissemination of environment statistics in order
to monitor environmental conditions on a regular
basis; and (b) to promote the development of
indicators of sustainable development in countries
of the region.
Activities
Statistics Division. Preparation
and publication of an operational handbook on
environment statistics. Technical assistance
in the form of training, workshops etc. to support
developing systems of environmental data collection.
Environment and Natural Resources Development
Division. (a) Organization of national
workshops on indicators of sustainable development;
(b) assistance to countries in the construction
of a core set of sustainable development indicators;
and (c) preparation and publication of a compendium
on electric power in Asia and the Pacific.
MRC
Objectives
To improve the coordination and management
of environmental and natural resources information
on the lower Mekong basin in order to strengthen
decision-making for sustainable development.
Immediate objectives are: (a) to integrate the
basin-wide geographic database with statistical
databases; (b) to strengthen the data development
and management capability of the MRC Secretariat
and the member countries.
Activities
Developing and monitoring integrated basin-wide
databases for multiple use in the management
of the environment and natural resources.
UNEP
Objectives
To carry out a continuous and timely assessment
of the state of environment at the national,
regional and global levels for the purposes
of policy formulation, priority-setting and
action planning.
Activities
(a) To provide a framework for a standard
environmental database for countries in order
to facilitate data collection, compilation and
analysis; and (b) to train government officials
in the data collection and compilation process.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ADB. |
Concluding
Workshop of the Asian Development Bank Project
on Institutional Strengthening and Collection
of Environment Statistics in Selected Developing
Member Countries (Manila, May 1998). |
| ESCAP. |
National
Workshop on Indicators of Sustainable Development
(Maldives, March 1998; Beijing, May 1998;
and Manila, June 1998);
First subregional training workshop on
environment statistics (tentatively March/April
1999);
Second subregional training workshop
on environment statistics (tentatively
July 1999). |
| UNEP. |
Training
on Second State of the Environment Database
and Reporting (Bangkok, 29 June-10 July
1998); (for the Greater Mekong Subregion,
South Pacific and South Asia, 1998-1999). |
Publications and other
outputs (1998-1999)
| ESCAP. |
Electric
Power in Asia and the Pacific, 1995-1996
(1998);
Operational Handbook on Environment Statistics.
|
| ESCAP/UNEP. |
Data collection
on the state of the environment completed
for 6 Mekong subregion countries by the
end of 1998. About 40 officials from
Asia and the Pacific are trained on the
database and reporting. |
| MRC. |
A set of
essential baseline information, with conceptual
database design, integrated spatial and
statistical database system, access tools
for end users and coordination of data collecting
activities among various Mekong projects. |
2. Statistical
capacity-building and training
CIS
Objectives
The Interstate Statistical Committee of the
CIS carries out statistical studies and provides
support to CIS countries in various statistical
areas.
Activities
(a) To study statistical methodology, develop
and improve CIS statistical standards and make
recommendations for member countries; and (b)
to organize working groups, seminars, meetings,
and training workshops on various areas of statistics.
ESCAP
Objectives
To assist developing countries of the region
in improving their statistical capacity and
the quality and availability of socio-economic
and other statistics.
Activities
Statistics Division. The Division
carries out the following activities, among
others: (a) providing technical support and
services, through group training, seminars and
workshops, and advisory services, including
through UNFPA/CST, to national statistical authorities;
(b) promoting technical cooperation among developing
countries in the region, taking into account
respect for basic priorities and the need to
minimize duplication; (c) ensuring that international
standards and methods are suitable for the use
of member countries; (d) improving the quality
of vital statistics and the use of administrative
records; (e) assisting statistical agencies
of countries in transition to promote the standard
of their statistical services; and (f) providing
technical and substantive support to institutions
conducting statistical training, especially
SIAP.
SIAP
Objectives
(a) To train official statisticians from developing
countries of the ESCAP region with a view to
improving the capability of the national statistical
services; (b) to develop and enhance the statistical
training capability at the country level through
the training of trainers; and (c) to assist
countries in the use of information technologies
relevant to national statistical services.
Activities
SIAP activities are mainly in the form of
training courses and workshops, which are usually
at the regional or national level, although
in a few cases SIAP activities may focus on
a specific group of countries.
SIAP also organizes regional workshops and
seminars where, in addition to the objectives
stated above, the aim is also to generate awareness
of a contemporary or emerging issue in statistics,
and to provide a forum for learning from the
exchange of experience and for the exchange
of views.
SPC
Objectives
To develop statistical capability in Pacific
Community member countries in the areas of basic
statistics, survey operations and procedures,
data analysis and report writing, statistical
analysis, analysis for decision-making and other
requested specialized areas.
Activities
Based on member countries' needs, (a) to undertake
several advisory missions to SPC member countries,
and (b) to organize national and subregional
statistical training courses in the Pacific
region.
In late 1998 and in future years the statistics
programme will be collaborating with the population/demography
programme in the presentation of workshops on
the interpretation and utilization of basic
demographic and statistical data. In 1999,
two specialized training workshops will be developed.
One of these is very likely to be on statistical
computing, the other could be on national accounts,
environment statistics or statistics for planning
purposes.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| SIAP. |
Eighth Group
Training Course in Practical Statistics
(Tokyo, 1 October 1997-20 March 1998);
Fourth Course/Workshop on Sample Design
for Household and Establishment Surveys
(Macau, 27 April-22 May 1998);
Fourth Group Training Course in Automatic
Data Processing for Trainers (Tokyo,
11 May-12 July 1998);
Country-focused Group Training Course
in Practical Statistics for the Kingdom
of Cambodia (Tokyo, 1 June-3 July 1998);
SIAP/World Bank Training Course in Survey
Sampling Methods and Applications (Phnom
Penh, 1-12 June 1998);
Second Group Training Course in Analysis
and Interpretation of Statistics (Tokyo,
21 July-18 September 1998);
Ninth Group Training Course in Practical
Statistics (Tokyo, 5 October 1998-19 March
1999);
SIAP/ESCAP Tenth Group Training Course
in Practical Statistics (Tokyo, May-October
1999);
Country-focused Group Training Course
in Practical Statistics for the Kingdom
of Cambodia (Tokyo, June-July 1999);
Fifth Course/Workshop on Sample Design
for Household and Establishment Surveys
(November-December 1999);
SIAP/ABS Training Course on Deseasonalization
of Time-series Data (provisionally Singapore,
2 weeks in 1999);
SIAP/UNDP Country Course on Sample Design
and Survey Methodology [in the context
of Statistics for NHDRs] (2 weeks in 1999);
SIAP/UNDP Country Course on Data Collection/Compilation
and Statistical Analysis Required in the
Preparation of NHDRs [five country courses
have been programmed] (2 weeks for each
course, 1999);
SIAP/UNDP Subregional Workshop on Statistics
for NHDRs (4 days in 1999). |
| SPC. |
Regional
Workshop on Data Analysis for Decision Making
(Noumea, March 1998, and also in 1999). |
Publications and other
outputs
SPC. Statistical training newsletter
Stats Training News.
3. Statistical
information
ASEAN
Activities
Publishing ASEAN statistical indicators.
The publication provides basic ideas and trends
at a glance. It is a comprehensive and
useful reference for tracking ASEAN social and
economic development across a wide array of
activities. Indicators are also provided
to demonstrate how well ASEAN has performed
relative to other countries and regions.
CIS
Activities
Collecting, processing, analysing and disseminating
statistical information based on common statistical
methodology and technology.
ECO
Objectives
To support the establishment and promotion
of information exchange channels to and from
the national statistical offices of member States
and among themselves by keeping its facilities
and resources, especially its Web site, at their
disposal.
Activities
(a) Collecting major economic and social indicators
through the focal points of the member States
on a regular basis, and maintaining a computer
data bank, and (b) establishing cooperative
networks among the research centres of member
States for the design and implementation of
joint studies.
ESCAP
Objectives
To identify, collect, process, analyse and
utilize data needed for the formulation, monitoring
and evaluation of development plans and policies;
to disseminate comparable socio-economic statistics
through publications and off-line and on-line
electronic media.
Activities
Statistics Division. The Division
carries out the following activities: (a) collection
of statistical information on member countries;
(b) compilation of data; (c) dissemination of
data and provision of technical support and
services; and (d) responses to requests for
statistical information from users outside and
within the secretariat.
SPC
Objectives
To disseminate statistical information through
publications and a Web site.
Activities
To collect, compile, publish and disseminate
statistical information for the Pacific subregion
through the following publications: Selected
Pacific Economies - A Statistical Summary and
Pocket Statistical Summary, a statistical training
newsletter, and the SPC Statistics Home Page.
Publications and other
outputs
| ADB. |
Project reports
and publications:
Key Indicators of Developing Asian and Pacific
Countries;
Basic Facts;
Asian Development Outlook;
Annual Report. |
| ASEAN. |
ASEAN Statistical
Indicators, including a diskette of the
statistical tables. |
| CIS. |
Commonwealth
of Independent States (statistical yearbook);
Economy of the Commonwealth of Independent
States;
Statistical Bulletin
of the CIS Statcommittee (twice a month);
Short-term Economic Indicators of the
CIS Countries (quarterly);
Information
Bulletin (monthly);
Investments,
Finance and Prices in the CIS Countries;
Main Macroeconomic Indicators of
the CIS Countries;
Labour Market
in the CIS Countries;
External
Trade of the CIS Countries;
Industry
of the CIS Countries;
Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishery in the CIS Countries;
Commonwealth of Independent States:
Statistical Portrait;
Statistical
data and materials issued on CD-ROM. |
| ECO. |
Annual ECO
statistical bulletin;
ECO
Annual Economic Report. |
| ESCAP. |
Statistical
Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific;
Statistical Indicators for Asia and the
Pacific, quarterly;
Asia-Pacific
in Figures, annually;
Statistical
Newsletter, quarterly;
Data on diskettes and/or CD-ROM;
ESCAP Web site on statistics and public
sector computerization. |
| SPC. |
Selected
Pacific Economies: A Statistical Summary;
Pocket Statistical Summary. |
4. Data dissemination
standards
IMF
Objectives
(a) To inform countries on the detailed
aspects of the IMF General Data Dissemination
System (GDDS); and (b) to further assist countries
to meet the requirements of the IMF Special
Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
Activities
(a) Regional seminars on GDDS are organized
by the IMF Statistics Department; and (b) staff
visits and technical assistance mission in the
region.
Meetings in 1998-1999
IMF. Regional Seminar on IMF's General
Data Dissemination System (Singapore, 13-17
July 1998).
5. Statistical
information systems
ESCAP
Objectives
To bring fully into operation the ESCAP Statistical
Information System (ESIS), including provision
of on-line access within the secretariat, and
to promote electronic interchange and networking
among national statistical offices of the region.
Activities
Statistics Division. The ESCAP Statistical
Information System (ESIS) is being further developed
in order to integrate the secretariat's core
statistical socio-economic data series into
a unified computerized statistical information
system to better meet current and future data
storage, management, retrieval and analysis
needs. The information system is also
being designed to be capable of providing an
enhanced and innovative range of statistical
information services and outputs to a broad
spectrum of internal and external users.
ESIS will also complement and support the work
of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs
on designing the United Nations Economic and
Social Information System (UNESIS).
Other Divisions. All Divisions
of ESCAP are being invited to participate actively
in the development of ESIS.
Publications and other
outputs
| ESCAP. |
ESCAP Statistical
Information System (ESIS), linked to the
United Nations Economic and Social Information
System; Data on diskettes and/or CD-ROM. |
6. Information
technology in national statistical offices and
in the public sector
ESCAP
Objectives
To accelerate the adoption of information
technology in the public sector in general,
and in statistical offices in particular.
SIAP
Activities
Organize training event in 1998 on the Y2K
issue.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ESCAP. |
Seminar on
application of information technology in
national statistical offices (Taejon, Republic
of Korea, 15-18 December 1998);
Seminar on information technology management
for decision makers (Bangkok, March 1999).
|
| SIAP/ESCAP. |
Workshop
on the Year 2000 (Y2K) Problem in Computers
and Strategic Issues for National Statistical
Offices (Bangkok, 18-19 June 1998). |
7. Coordination,
harmonization, liaison and parliamentary services
ESCAP
Objectives
(a) Provision of a forum for the articulation
of regional views on statistical matters; (b)
coordination with and support to other intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations on matters
related to statistics; and (c) technical and
substantive support to SIAP.
Activities
Statistics Division. The Division's
activities in this field are: (a) reports to
and substantive servicing of the annual Commission
sessions; (b) reports to and substantive servicing
of the Committee on Statistics; and (c) coordination
with intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and other programmes, to be undertaken
inter alia through the United Nations Statistical
Commission and the Administrative Committee
on Coordination Subcommittee on Statistical
Activities.
SPC
Objectives
To organize a subregional meeting of heads
of statistics offices in the Pacific region
and receive country inputs on the future directions
of these programmes and regional statistics
in general.
Activities
A regional meeting of heads of statistics,
to be organized in alternate years, to present
the work of the SPC statistics and demography/population
programmes.
Meetings in 1998-1999
| ECO. |
Meeting of
national focal points in the area of statistics
and economic research (November 1998);
Meeting of regional officials and representatives
of international statistical institutes;
Meeting with representatives of the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank. |
| ESCAP. |
Committee
on Statistics, eleventh session (Bangkok,
24-26 November 1998);
Working Group of Statistical Experts,
eleventh session (Bangkok, 1999);
Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific, fifty-fourth session
(Bangkok, 16-22 April 1998), and fifty-fifth
session (Bangkok, 1999). |
| SIAP. |
SIAP Governing
Board, fourth session (Bangkok, 18-20 November
1998);
SIAP Governing Board, fifth session (1999).
|
Publications and other
outputs
| ESCAP. |
Reports to
the Commission on the progress of work carried
out in statistical development (1998, 1999);
Reports to the Committee on Statistics (1998). |
| SIAP. |
Reports
of SIAP Governing Board meetings (1998,
1999). |
1
ADB, ASEAN, CIS, ECO, FAO, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INSTRAW,
MRC, OECD, SAARC, SIAP, SPC, UNCHS, UNCTAD,
UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO,
UNIFEM, WHO, the World Bank, WTO. |
