“Competitiveness and Statistics” is implementing a project to compensate for the shortage of technical personnel with virtual statistical experts

Director of the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, Hanan Mansour Ahli, revealed the existence of an integrated government plan to develop national cadres specialized in the field of data science and statistics and raise the efficiency of government agency employees in the areas of publishing and analyzing open data, through training programs in various fields in addition to employing modern programs and technologies to improve the quality of data collection and analysis.
Today, Wednesday, during the session of the Federal National Council to discuss the government’s policy regarding regulating the statistical sector and open data and enhancing the country’s competitiveness, she explained that there is a national project within the National Platform for Statistical Data that contributes to addressing the shortage of specialized technical personnel, by taking advantage of generative artificial intelligence techniques to build virtual statistical experts based on artificial intelligence, noting that there is a specialized team working on building the system and transforming statistical skills into an integrated technical system that contributes to enhancing the efficiency of statistical work in the country.
She confirmed that the “Emirates Numbers” project has achieved remarkable progress in electronic connectivity procedures, with the completion rate reaching 87% according to 2025 statistics, and that this percentage will be updated during the current year, noting that there is a clear government target to reach a full connectivity rate of 100% by the year 2030.
She explained that the number of federal government agencies participating in the project increased from 21 to 26, which reflects the growing level of integration and institutional cooperation between government agencies, pointing out that there are plans for integrated electronic connectivity with local statistics centers in the various emirates of the country.
Ahli confirmed that the UAE has come a long way in developing the data and statistics system, after it ranked ninth in the world in the open data index out of 198 countries, an achievement that reflects the great progress in making data available and the quality of the resources associated with it, noting that the country jumped from 106th to ninth place in the world in record time, thanks to its advanced system.
She pointed out the existence of a comprehensive strategy for data and statistics supervised by the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, in addition to a new strategy currently being prepared in cooperation with federal agencies, with the aim of enhancing the efficiency of data management and developing the national statistical system.
She added that efforts to develop open data are being carried out in partnership with the Communications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, by working to develop regulatory policies and guidelines related to open data and data governance, stressing that the current year will witness important developments in the legislative frameworks supporting statistical work, in addition to the launch of a number of policy packages and the national strategy for statistics to fill the regulatory and legislative gaps in this field.