Data programs
As an integral part of the international community, the World Bank works closely with other international agencies, regional development banks, donors, and other partners to:
- Develop appropriate frameworks, guidance and standards of good practice for statistics.
- Build consensus and define internationally agreed indicators, such as indicators for the Global Goals (SDGs).
- Establish data exchange processes and methods.
- Help countries improve statistical capacity.
The World Bank offers technical assistance and financial support for statistical development to its member governments. Training and seminars are also provided. For more information on training, contact the Development Data Group or the Open Learning Campus. Programs include:
Open Government Data Toolkit
The Open Government Data Toolkit is designed to help governments, Bank staff and users understand the basic precepts of Open Data, then get “up to speed” in planning and implementing an open government data program, while avoiding common pitfalls.
Improving Statistical Capacity
The World Bank works to improve the quality, timeliness and relevance of national and international statistics to better support fighting against poverty and to increase the statistical capacity of client countries and international partners. We provide a variety of services, including advice and support for projects, management of partnership activities, and financial resources. The main statistical capacity programs include:
- ECASTAT is a programmatic regional trust fund established for assisting countries to improve their statistical systems, increase their capacity to produce reliable, timely and accurate data in line with internationally accepted methodologies and best practices that meet user needs, and inform decision-making process within the government and community.
- Statistics for Results Facility is a multi-donor initiative, managed by the World Bank, to sup¬port statistical development in developing countries. Along with its Catalytic Fund (SRF-CF), this initiative promotes statistical capacity building and supports better policy formulation and decision- making through improvements in the production, availability and use of official statistics.
- Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) is a global grant facility focusing on improving countries’ capacity in the production, analysis, dissemination and use of timely statistics.
International Household Survey Network
The mission of the International Household Survey Network (IHSN) is to improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of survey data within developing countries, and to encourage the analysis and use of this data by national and international development decision makers, the research community, and other stakeholders.
International Comparison Program and Purchasing Power Parity
The International Comparison Program (ICP) is a worldwide statistical initiative—the largest in geographical scope, in implementation timeframe, and in institutional partnership. It estimates purchasing power parities (PPPs) for use as currency converters to compare the size and price levels of economies around the world. The 2011 ICP round covered 199 economies from eight regions.
External Debt Reporting System
At the beginning of each fiscal year, the World Bank Development Data Group provides a status report on the external debt of each country that is an active borrower. The report includes an assessment of the adequacy of debt-reporting arrangements and the nature of any inadequacies (e.g., lack of staff, data problems, inadequate administrative arrangements, simple neglect).
Quarterly External Debt Statistics
The Quarterly External Debt Database, jointly developed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, brings together detailed external debt data that are published individually by countries that subscribe to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
The Joint External Debt Hub
Jointly developed by the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, the Joint External Debt Hub (JEDH) brings together external debt data and selected foreign assets from international creditor/market and national debtor sources.
Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange
SDMX stands for Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange-the electronic exchange of statistical information. Its goal is to explore e-standards that could allow us to gain efficiency and avoid duplication of effort in our own work and possibly in the work of others in the field of statistical information.The BIS, ECB, EUROSTAT, IMF, OECD, UN, and the World Bank have joined together to focus on business practices in the field of statistical information that would allow more efficient processes for exchange and sharing of data and metadata within the current scope of our collective activities.
The Sponsoring Institutions created common (SDMX) technical and statistical standards and guidelines, together with an IT architecture and IT tools, to be used for the efficient exchange and sharing of statistical data and metadata.
Standardized file formats for data and metadata and standardized contents of these files are the pre-condition for the automated production, processing and exchange of SDMX data and metadata files between national and international statistical organisations.
