The UAE is a member of the Advisory Council on Principles of Statistics of the United Nations

The United Nations Statistical Commission chose the UAE as a member of the Advisory Council on the Basic Principles of Official Statistics, in a qualitative achievement that is the first in the region, which confirms the growing global confidence in the country’s leadership in developing statistical systems and enhancing data governance at the international level.

The selection of the UAE for membership in the Council was announced during the country’s participation in the meetings of the 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, which was held in New York City from the third to the sixth of this March, in the largest international gathering of statistics and data science experts in the world, in the presence of heads and directors of statistical agencies and data centers from various countries of the world, along with academics, experts and consultants in UN bodies and international organizations.

The UAE’s selection as a member of the Advisory Council represents a qualitative milestone in its international leadership journey, especially as it comes after its election as a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission for the period 2025-2028, becoming the only Arab country among the committee’s membership, in a historical precedent since its founding in 1946.

The UAE delegation included government leaders from the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, the Department of Statistics and Community Development in Sharjah, and the National Committee to Combat Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing the Proliferation of Arms.

The Advisory Council, which was launched as a translation of the outcomes of the previous session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, represents a high-level international mechanism concerned with consolidating global commitment to the basic principles of official statistics, in a way that enhances the reliability, transparency and independence of data in light of the rapid transformations in the global data system. The Council includes an international elite of senior experts and specialists in the field of official statistics, including five members of the United Nations Statistical Commission throughout their membership in it, ensuring a direct institutional link to the international decision-making mechanisms and enhancing the integration of Roles between the technical and strategic levels.

The Council’s priorities focus on establishing the basic principles as an institutional reference for national statistical systems, and enhancing their adoption through a high-level international strategic dialogue, in addition to supporting the readiness of national systems to keep pace with digital transformations, including managing big data, employing artificial intelligence techniques, and enhancing the integration of data sources. The Council also contributes to developing and formulating future statistical standards and practices, in a way that enhances global confidence in official statistics, and keeps pace with the development of the international data environment.

The Director of the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, Hanan Mansour Ahli, welcomed the selection of the UAE for membership in the Advisory Council, stressing that the UAE government will work, through membership in the Council, to support the practical application of the basic principles of statistics, by sharing its expertise in unifying data and enhancing the quality of official statistics, and contributing to the development of governance frameworks that keep pace with digital transformation and ensure the responsible and safe use of technology, in addition to enhancing cooperation and building capabilities through knowledge exchange, which contributes to consolidating a more integrated international statistics system. Flexibility and readiness for the future, supporting the achievement of sustainable development priorities.

She added that the UAE’s participation in the 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, in light of its membership for the period 2025-2028, embodies its commitment to developing a national statistical system based on reliability, governance and integration, and transforming official statistics into a strategic lever for policy making, enhancing quality of life, supporting sustainable growth, and enhancing data integration among concerned parties, which contributes to raising the quality of national indicators and supporting evidence-based policies.

Ahly said: “The UAE’s membership in the Statistical Committee represents a strategic milestone in the process of developing national statistical work, and we are working to move from producing data to enhancing its impact on decision-making and anticipating the future, through an integrated statistical system based on governance, transparency, and technologies, enhancing competitiveness, supporting sustainability, and consolidating the UAE’s position as a reliable international partner in developing the statistical system.”