International Year of Statistics 2013: Statistics Mauritius Launches Code of Practice and Data Portal

These initiatives are in line with a series of activities being organised by Statistics Mauritius in the context of the International Year of Statistics 2013 which is being celebrated worldwide to increase public awareness on the power and impact of statistics in all aspects of society.

The Code of Practice for Official Statistics, approved by the Statistics Board on 17 May 2013 as per the Statistics Act 2000 (Amended), is applicable to all producers of official statistics who must in turn guarantee the standards of statistics produced. The Code sets the standard for developing, producing and disseminating official statistics in Mauritius. It represents a set of 15 key principles and indicators of good practice intended to improve the quality, relevance and credibility of official statistics, and ensure that the statistics are of high standards. After its implementation, a compliance assessment will be carried out once every three years to monitor the progress achieved.

As for the Interactive Statistical Data Portal, developed in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), it will serve as an interactive tool that enables users to compile their own tables and graphs while also allowing them to view pre-selected indicators from various time periods by country or regions using a variety of charts and maps. The portal includes pre-selected data from Statistics Mauritius and international organisations such as the World Bank, United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking on that occasion, the Chairperson of the Statistics Board, Mr J.Gilbert Gnany, underlined the significant role of statistics in all aspects of life which according to him, are important to the socio-economic development of every country. He also enumerated some major achievements of Statistics Mauritius namely, Mauritius becoming the first country to ratify the African Charter of Statistics in January 2010 and Mauritius graduated from the IMF General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) in February 2012 and became the 2nd Sub-Saharan African country to subscribe to the SDDS to maintain the highest standards of quality of official statistics.

The Director of Statistics, Ms. L. F. Cheung Kai Suet, emphasised the increasing role of Statistics Mauritius into providing credible statistical information to various Government Ministries/Departments and other stakeholders which are considered fundamental in the design of policy measures. She stated that it is vital that the quality of statistics produced rests on strong foundations while highlighting the various initiatives being undertaken by the organisation to improve service delivery since its setting up in 1945. The most recent ones, she added, are the proclamation of a new piece of legislation setting the foundation for a modern and efficient national statistics office; a review of the organisation in 2011 providing it with more independence and authority to ensure better quality statistics and the adherence of the country to the first two-tiers of the Data Standards initiatives of the IMF.

For his part, the AfDB representative, Mr Karim MHIRSI, lauded the initiative of Statistics Mauritius. With the launching of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics and an Interactive Statistical Data Portal, Mauritius, he said, has joined the African Information Highway, a shared vision for data exchange, management and dissemination. He recalled that the idea of disseminating statistical information was evoked during the meeting of the 3rd session of the Statistical Commission, where regional member countries requested the AfDB to provide them with a Statistical Dissemination System that could be used to exchange data within the region. Consequently, the project, of installing Data Portals in all regional member countries and in the 16 Sub-Regional organisations in Africa started in 2013 and will be completed by the end of this year.