Uzbekistan advances 66 places in 2020 Statistical Capacity Index

April 12, 2021

Image: UNDP Uzbekistan

9 April 2021: TASHKENT – Uzbekistan has placed 67 out of 154 countries in the World Bank’s Statistical Capacity Index, as recorded in the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives. The country has advanced 66 places in this index since 2016.  The report, published on 24 March, focuses on how data can improve the lives of poor people and advance development objectives.

UNDP Uzbekistan Resident Representative Matilda Dimovska said this remarkable achievement can in large part be attributed to a web portal her organization set up together with the State Statistics Committee. The online database, located at http://nsdg.stat.uz/, contains publicly available statistics on national progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“To fully implement Uzbekistan’s ambitious agenda to achieve the SDGs, decision makers need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently disaggregated, relevant, accessible and easy to use,” she said. “The website provides updated information for government leaders, and for journalists and the greater public who need to know how their country is progressing.”

A nation’s Statistical Capacity, as ranked by the World’s Bank index, refers to its ability to collect, analyse and disseminate high-quality data about its population and economy. Such quality statistics are needed to monitor social and economic indicators, allocate political representation and government resources, guide private sector investment, and inform the international donor community about program design and policy formulation.

The national SDG web portal, launched on 2 March 2019, offers these statistics in Uzbek, Russian and English language pages. Statistics on Uzbekistan’s progress towards achieving the SDGs is presented both as raw data, and in an annotated format. This information is supplemented with national news, reports and legislation related to SDG progress, and global publications on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.

Dimovska said the Government of Uzbekistan is now collecting and publishing data on more than 100 SDG indicators on the national website. “UNDP is eager to continue working with our national colleagues and partners, in accelerating progress towards safer, more inclusive, resilient and sustainable development,” she said.

In addition, UNDP is helping the Committee to prepare other statistical products to enhance awareness of progress towards the SDGs. It has helped to publish a regular statistical compendium on SDGs, which provides on SDG indicators and serves as a comprehensive tool to monitor progress towards the achievement of the SDGs in post-pandemic Uzbekistan.