ECB marks World Statistics Day

Today, the European Central Bank (ECB), together with more than 100 national, regional and international statistical agencies across the globe, is celebrating the first World Statistics Day. The aim of this initiative, which is being pioneered by the United Nations, is to highlight the importance of official statistics based on the core values of service, professionalism and integrity. Further information is available on the ECB website.

To mark the event, the ECB is today hosting an international seminar, entitled “Central bank statistics in a global context”, which coincides with the fifth ECB Conference on Statistics on 19-20 October 2010 in Frankfurt am Main. The seminar will bring together speakers from the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States Department of Commerce, the Bank of Japan, the People’s Bank of China, the Central Bank of Chile and the Banco de Portugal. They will discuss with the audience a variety of issues concerning the production, use and publication of statistics, with a particular focus on the implications of the financial crisis.

The ECB will also use the occasion of the World Statistics Day to launch its latest video in a series of educational videos devoted to various aspects of central banking in the euro area.