Review of the National Statistical System of the Maldives

High-quality statistics are necessary for monitoring social, economic and environmental progress of a country. Statistics are central tools for policy-making that is based on evidence, and their public availability and accessibility support transparency and accountability in the process.

A national legal, institutional and organizational framework that secures the application of international standards and best practices for official statistics, such as the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (UN-FPS) is a prerequisite for building legitimacy and credibility in official statistics. The objective of the Review of the National Statistical System (NSS) of the Maldives was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the institutional, organizational and technical capacity of the country to produce and disseminate official statistics that comply with international standards and recommendations. The review of institutional and organizational aspects covers the Lead Agency for Statistics, placed within the National Bureau of Statistics in the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, as well as other major producers and users of official statistics in the country. The review of technical capacity focuses on data sources and statistical business processes for the production and dissemination of economic statistics and the entities that produce these statistics.

The Lead Agency for Statistics and other producers of official statistics in the Maldives face increasing demand from the Government, the business sector, international organisations and civil society for timely, reliable and internationally comparable statistics for monitoring economic, social and environmental policies. Demand has with the advent of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals increased further. This report takes stock of and assesses the capacity of the NSS of the Maldives to meet those demands and puts forward a list of recommendations for strengthening the production and dissemination of official statistics towards that end. The report also considers opportunities to strengthen the functioning and support to the national statistical system as presented by the ongoing efforts of the Government of the Maldives and the international community to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.