On first-ever World Day, UN hails statisticians’ contributions to development

The United Nations marked its first-ever World Statistics Day today to pay tribute to the work of statisticians worldwide and spotlight their essential work in promoting development and peace.

“Statistics permeate modern life,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a message for the Day, which will be celebrated in 100 countries. “They are the basis for many governmental, business and community decisions. They provide information and insight about the trends and forces that affect our lives.”

Mr. Ban noted that three billion people will take part in censuses this year, with statistics collected affecting the planning of schools, hospitals, road and other crucial services.

He underlined that statistics are also a vital tool in global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

They are a “central consideration in justifying almost every aspect of budgets and programmes that enable hungry children to be fed or that provide shelter and emergency health care for victims of natural disasters,” the Secretary-General underlined.

He noted the work of the UN Statistical Commission, established in 1947, in creating international methodological standards and guidelines in virtually all areas of statistics.

Statistical experts, Mr. Ban said, carry out an essential public service, “one that promotes peace and democracy by giving citizens reliable and impartial public information about their communities.”

Also highlighting the importance of unbiased data was Paul Cheung, Director of the UN Statistics Division, who stressed that the integrity of statisticians’ work “cannot be influenced by any political considerations.”

He told the UN News Centre that there are occasions in which “politicians will try to interfere in our work,” but that would lead to “serious” consequences.

Mr. Cheung expressed hope that on the Day, “the world will recognize the contribution that we have made and the importance of maintaining this integrity, this autonomy, that this profession deserves.”

Television quizzes, seminars and conferences are just some of the public events that will be held worldwide to commemorate the Day. In Barbados, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will brief schoolchildren on its statistical work, while in Brussels, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), briefed journalists on how the statisticians support institutions in developing countries.

At UN Headquarters in New York, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched the report, The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics, which found that violence against women remains widespread across the world, exacerbated by traditions and customary practices that determine the way women are treated in families, places of work and communities.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) unveiled a joint exhibition last week, together with Austria’s national statistical office, presenting statistical information produced by the bodies.

For IAEA Member States, authoritative energy statistics are vital to formulate policies that expand energy access while curbing costs and environmental impacts, while UNIDO maintains and industrial statistics database on industrial growth worldwide, helping countries set their industrial development agendas.

Statistics furnished by the UNODC, which regularly publishes information on the situation of illicit drugs and crime, are key to understating the evolution of illicit drug markets and the level of drug use worldwide.

On the occasion of the inaugural Day, both the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have launched separate databases.

UNCTADstat is a free online resource and serves as a single entry point into the agency’s vast repository of statistics, including data on international merchandise trade and foreign direct investment. ILO’s new database contains timely information on the labour market and consumer prices.