Description: The five-day course, delivered by the IMF's Statistics Department in cooperation with the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center, will focus on how digitalization is impacting financial sector statistics. The digital revolution in finance is not just a technological shift, but a fundamental transformation of the financial landscape, reshaping how financial services are delivered, consumed, and managed. While offering immense opportunities for efficiency and inclusion, digitalization presents a significant challenge for traditional financial sector statistics: how do we accurately capture and reflect these rapidly evolving dynamics? For decades, financial sector statistics have relied on established methodologies and reporting frameworks built around the activities of traditional financial institutions like banks and insurance companies. With the rise of fintech companies, mobile payments, peer-to-peer lending platforms, digital currencies, and crypto assets, it is essential that statistical methodological guidance underlying financial sector statistics as well as data collection accurately capture these emerging instruments and market participants, crucial for maintaining the stability and effectiveness of the financial system. This workshop will focus on how to reflect digitalization in financial sector statistics, discuss the emerging methodologies and underscore the collaborative effort between macroeconomic statisticians, regulators, policymakers, and the private sector to explore non-traditional data sources. Participants are expected to actively contribute to presentations on country practices and exercises. Peer learning will be an essential element of the workshop.
Target Audience: Mid-level government officials from central banks, financial services supervisors and regulators and other agencies involved in financial sector statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, focuses on both the conceptual framework of government finance statistics (GFS) as presented in the IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and on practical aspects of data compilation. Basic concepts, accounting principles, and detailed classifications are dealt with in the context of the GFSM 2014 methodology, which is harmonized with the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008). The course examines GFS coverage and accounting rules (including accrual accounting), valuation, classification, debt, balance sheets, and the sources and methods used for compiling the statistics. It also deals with reporting data to the IMF. Central to the course is a series of case studies.
Target Audience: Officials whose main responsibility is compilating and disseminating fiscal statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, discusses identification and assessment of elementary indicators and the techniques for combining them into a single overall index of economic activity to track trends in the economy. Flash estimates or indexes of economic activity bring together a range of specific economic elementary indicators to give timely overall measures of economic activity. Such measures give useful information to policy makers complementing the annual and quarterly GDP estimates (which are more comprehensive but usually only available after substantial lags) and provide a more comprehensive picture than a set of individual monthly and quarterly indicators (which are up-to-the-minute but reflect just a portion of the total economy). This course is oriented toward actual or potential compilers of short-term indicators in central banks and statistical offices as well as those involved in data collection of monthly indicators. Participants are expected to work with their own available monthly and quarterly time series during the course. These indicators will be used in the practical session to develop experimental estimates.
Target Audience: Officials responsible for compiling short-term or monthly economic indicators in central banks and statistical offices.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, covers theoretical and practical aspects in the compilation of national accounts statistics based on the conceptual framework of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The course consists of lectures covering advanced methodological and compilation issues of the 2008 SNA and workshops consisting of practical exercises in compiling the accounts. The main aim of the course is to train participants in developing and using more advanced compilation techniques in areas including supply and use tables (SUTs), input-output tables, price and volume measures, and thematic satellite accounts. The course starts with SNA framework and will discuss how these accounts can be extended to address specific user needs. The main lectures and workshops include: Conceptual framework of the SNA; Output of specific industries; SUTs and input-outputs tables; Price and volume measurement; Estimating consumption of fixed capital; and Thematic satellite accounts, with a focus on topics covered in the update of the 2008 SNA (e.g., informal economy, labor accounts).Emphasis is also placed on sharing country experiences among the participants.
Target Audience: Compilers of national accounts statistics employed by agencies responsible for official national accounts statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, acquaints participants with the fundamentals of compiling and using FSIs in support of macroprudential analysis. The course covers methodological and technical issues in the construction of FSIs, as discussed in the 2019 Financial Soundness Indicators Compilation Guide (2019 FSI Guide) . The course takes an interactive approach using hands-on exercises in discussing the main topics as follows: Preparation of the sectoral financial statements and compilation of FSIs for deposit takers, other financial corporations (OFCs), and nonfinancial corporations (NFCs). Regulatory framework for deposit takers. Accounting principles and data consolidation for the compilation of FSIs for deposit takers. Metadata reporting. Overview of FSIs for Household sector and Real Estate markets.
Target Audience: Officials at central banks and supervisory agencies of the financial sector involved in the collection, compilation, and analysis of financial soundness indicators (FSIs).
Description: This course, conducted by the Statistics Department, presents a user-friendly tool developed by the department to automatically combine monetary, government, and international investment position data reported to the Statistics Department to create a distribution of claims and liabilities on a from-whom-to-whom basis—an extremely useful tool for macro-financial analysis. Once the matrix is generated, country officials should be able to use the Balance Sheet Approach (BSA) analysis to focus on overall balance sheet linkages and identify specific exposures and vulnerabilities, such as excessive reliance on external funding, leverage buildup in the corporate sector, and overreliance on the banking sector for sovereign debt placement.
Target Audience: Officials at central banks, ministries of finance and other agencies in charge of compiling monetary and financial statistics, government finance/debt statistics, and external sector statistics; and/or overseeing macro-financial analysis.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, is intended to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the international standards for the compilation of EDS presented in the 2013 EDS: Guide for Compilers and Users (2013 EDS Guide). It also offers practical compilation guidance on data sources and techniques for compiling EDS, as well as on analysis of these data, taking into account the relevant developments in the global financial market. It comprises a series of lectures, practical exercises, and case studies that cover: Recent developments in the global financial market (e.g., process of disintermediation, moving away from traditional cross-border investment vehicles, etc.) and their effect on EDS compilation; Implementation of the 2013 EDS Guide and ensuring consistency and comparability among external debt statistics and other macroeconomic statistics, namely balance of payments, IIP, government finance statistics, and national accounts; Data dissemination and requirements of the World Bank's Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database.
Target Audience: Officials whose main responsibility is the compilation of external debt and/or international investment position (IIP) statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, is intended to broaden participants’ understanding of the concepts, methods, and challenges of compiling CPIs. Concepts and methods introduced in the online CPIx are explored in greater detail to address actual compilation issues faced by participants. It provides an overview of the index number theory and the practical implications of choosing the index number formula at lower and higher levels of aggregation. The course covers the sources and methods for developing/validating weights; and practical applications of the methods used for sampling areas, items, outlets, and varieties. New and emerging data sources as well as new collection technologies are discussed. Frontier issues including how to better measure the digital economy are included. Linkages to the 2008 SNA are highlighted, including the related principles of scope, coverage, and valuation. The course covers the following topics: calculating elementary and upper-level indexes; methods for handling temporarily and permanently missing prices; introducing new outlets, items, and varieties; adjusting prices for quality changes; chaining and linking indexes with updated weighting structures; and meeting data users’ needs to ensure relevancy. The course follows the principles and recommendations of the CPI Manual (2020).
Target Audience: Compilers of consumer price indexes (CPIs).
Description: The CRVS Applied Research Training (CART) Initiative focuses on enhancing CRVS systems through supporting applied research on strategies, interventions, and tools. This project aims to strengthen the capacity of CRVS practitioners to conduct high quality relevant research. The first workshop was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 26 to 30 August 2024. The agenda is attached.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, provides participants with an introduction to the compilation of monetary statistics covering the central bank (CB) and other depository corporations (ODCs) in accordance with international standards. Course materials are based on the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (MFSMCG). The course discusses the principles of residency and sectorization of institutional units, the characteristics and types of financial instruments, valuation principles, and other accounting issues that are relevant to the compilation of monetary statistics. Participants also become familiar with the defining characteristics of depository corporations (DCs), notably their role as money issuers, and with the main principles on which analysis of monetary and credit aggregates is based. The course consists of lectures, and exercises covering practical aspects of compiling monetary statistics, especially the use of financial statements for filling out standardized report forms (SRFs 1SR and 2SR) and the derivation of the respective surveys for the CB, ODCs, and the consolidated DCs sector. Participants should be prepared to ask questions and discuss challenges related to MFS compilation practices. This course is an abbreviated version of the longer, introductory MFS course traditionally offered by STA in-person.
Target Audience: Central bank officials and officials from financial regulatory agencies responsible for compiling monetary statistics.
Organizer(s): UNSD FCSC United Arab Emirates Road & Transport Authority United Arab Emirates
Description: Integrating data science into the production of official statistics to inform and enhance efficacy of policy decisions, with a special focus on the transport sector. Get practical insights into human-centric transformation of transport information systems and see how modern transportation information systems play a pivotal role in designing and implementing sustainable transportation policies utilizing new data sources and technologies. The second sprint of the Data Science Leaders Network will focus on developing a detailed outline of a playbook to integrate data science into National Statistical Offices. The International seminar will also feature a workshops on Mobile Phone Data in transport statistics and hands-on GIS training for SDGs.
Description: This in-person, two-week course, conducted by the IMF Statistics Department, will familiarize participants with the sources and methods to develop macroeconomic relevant climate change-related indicators that can inform economic and financial policies. The participants gain an understanding of a) environmental accounting concepts; b) how to assess global/open-source datasets that can be used for the compilation; and c) the different approaches and methodologies used to estimate the indicators. The course consists of a series of lectures, workshops, and plenary discussions on country practices describing the methods for compiling environmental and climate change statistics, including data sources. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss compilation challenges they have encountered and gain insights into the analytical uses of the environmental and climate change statistics. The statistics covered include Environmental revenues and expenditures, Natural Resource Accounts, Physical and Transition risk indicators, Air Emission Accounts and Sustainable Finance indicators.
Target Audience: Officials from National Statistics Agencies, Ministries of Finance, Planning and Environment, Central Banks and other agencies, who are responsible for compiling environment and/or climate change related indicators.
Description: This side event on “Integrating Natural Capital Accounting and Climate Change” was organized by the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai. The event was moderated by the Scientific Director of BC3 and included interventions by representatives from the IMF and the World Bank, who emphasized the importance of using the harmonized methodology of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) in support of informing climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and the role of capacity building to support countries to develop the necessary information. The event was opened with a message by the UNSD Director, who underlined the strengths of the SEEA in linking environmental and economic information to support decision-making in a statistical framework endorsed by the international statistical community through the UN Statistical Commission. Tools such as ARIES for SEEA, developed by BC3 in collaboration with UNSD, can facilitate the implementation of the SEEA in countries by providing easily accessible data and models that are consistent with SEEA. More information on the side event is available here
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, acquaints participants with the fundamentals of compiling and using FSIs in support of macroprudential analysis. The course covers methodological and technical issues in the construction of FSIs, as discussed in the 2019 Financial Soundness Indicators Compilation Guide (2019 FSI Guide) . The course takes an interactive approach using hands-on exercises in discussing the main topics as follows: Preparation of the sectoral financial statements and compilation of FSIs for deposit takers; Regulatory framework for deposit takers; Accounting principles and data consolidation for the compilation of FSIs for deposit takers; and Overview of key points and changes in the 2019 FSI Guide.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, focuses on both the conceptual framework of government finance statistics (GFS) as presented in the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014, the update of the 2001 edition), and on practical aspects of data compilation. Basic concepts, accounting principles, and detailed classifications are dealt with in the context of the new methodology, which is harmonized with the system of national accounts. The course examines GFS coverage and accounting rules (including accrual accounting), valuation, classification, debt, balance sheets, and the sources and methods used for compiling the statistics. It also deals with reporting data to the IMF. Central to the course is a series of case studies.
Description: This two-week intermediate regional course on balance of payments and IIP statistics is presented by Statistics Department and targets compilers with some experience in compilation of balance of payments and/or IIP. The course will focus on more complex methodological issues than the previous balance of payments/IIP standard courses. It aims at providing a deep understanding of the concepts, data sources, and compilation techniques for balance of payments and IIP statistics and their application for addressing complex methodological issues. The course does not cover the basic balance of payments and IIP concepts. The intermediate level of the course presupposes participants’ familiarity with the basic concepts. Therefore, it is highly recommended to complete the balance of payments/IIP online course (BOP-IIPx) to review or learn the balance of payments/IIP basic concepts. The course consists of a series of lectures and workshops analyzing country cases with a strong data component and to allow peer learning and sharing of experiences. Recognizing the challenges in compiling data in emerging areas of user interest, the course emphasizes specific topics, such as estimating informal cross border activities and the treatment of special purpose entities. The course examines themes and challenges emerging from developments in global economy, and participants can discuss how these impact compilation work. Specific exercises are geared to integrating data compilation with Fund surveillance and policy advice, and to demonstrate the analytical uses of ESS.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is intended to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the international standards for the compilation of EDS presented in the 2013 EDS: Guide for Compilers and Users (2013 EDS Guide). It also offers practical compilation guidance on data sources and techniques for compiling EDS, as well as on analysis of these data, taking into account the relevant developments in the global financial market. It comprises a series of lectures, practical exercises, and case studies that cover: Recent developments in the global financial market (e.g., process of disintermediation, moving away from traditional cross-border investment vehicles, etc.) and their effect on EDS compilation; Implementation of the 2013 EDS Guide and ensuring consistency and comparability among external debt statistics and other macroeconomic statistics, namely balance of payments, IIP, government finance statistics, and national accounts; Data dissemination and requirements of the World Bank 39;s Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, covers theoretical and practical aspects in the compilation of national accounts statistics based on the conceptual framework of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The course consists of lectures covering advanced methodological and compilation issues of the 2008 SNA and workshops consisting of practical exercises in compiling the accounts. The main aim of the course is to train participants in the compilation of more advanced parts of the accounting structure including supply and use tables, input-output tables, satellite accounts, labor and productivity statistics, and advanced price and volume topics. The course starts with review of the sequence of accounts with a focus on how these accounts can be extended to address specific user needs. The main lectures and workshops include: * Supply and use tables. * Input-Output Tables. * Trade in Value Added. * Satellite Accounts. * Labor and Productivity Statistics. * Advanced topics in price and volume measurement. * Emphasis is also placed on sharing country experiences among the participants.
Target Audience: Compilers of national accounts statistics employed by agencies responsible for official national accounts statistics.
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, identifies the key uses of RPPIs; reviews data sources and methods for compiling RPPIs; and outlines strategic issues for country-specific application. Emphasis is given to the importance of evaluating alternative data sources for compiling RPPIs in terms of coverage, timeliness, richness in terms of supporting a quality-mix methodology, suitability of a price measure, and weighting. Trade-offs involved in selecting data sources are considered, as are strategies for longer-run development of data sources. The methodological component of the course emphasizes the quality-mix problem: a change in the mix of properties transacted each period can bias measures of change in average prices. Mix-adjustment by stratification and hedonic regression are the main methods used to deal with this issue and interactive workshops deal with these topics. The course also highlights how data source and methodological issues are intertwined and follows the principles of the 2013 Handbook on RPPIs published by Eurostat, International Labor Organization (ILO), IMF, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the World Bank. Practical advice on RPPI compilation will draw on the 2020 RPPI Practical Compilation Guide published by the IMF.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, introduces the fundamentals of compiling monetary statistics, with special attention to other financial corporations (OFCs). It also gives an overview of financial statistics and national accounts. The course material is based on the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (MFSMCG). Although the course summarizes the main principles underlying the compilation of monetary statistics, it assumes participants already understand these principles (e.g., having participated in the MFS-I course). The core of the course deals with characteristics of various OFCs (insurance corporations, pension funds, non-MMF investment funds, etc.), their typical balance sheet structure, and their role in the financial sector. The course also covers some aspects of financial statistics, dealing with financial flows and stocks of all sectors of the domestic economy and their interactions with the rest of the world; the balance sheet approach to vulnerability analysis; and the relationships between monetary, balance of payments, government finance, and national accounts statistics. The course consists of lectures and case studies to familiarize participants with practical aspects of compiling monetary statistics for OFCs and the basic principles underlying the compilation of national accounts. At the end of the course, participants are expected to make a short presentation on monetary statistics compilation issues in their own countries.
Description: The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) of the UAE together with the United Nations Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics (UN-CEBD) welcome the world to explore data science and big data during a three-day event at Expo 2020. FCSC also invites everyone to witness the ceremonial launch of the Regional Hub for Big Data and Data Science in UAE, which serves the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.
Description: This course, presented by the Statistics Department, provides training on the methodology for compiling and disseminating CBPS, including the integrated IIP and memoranda and supplementary position data items following BPM6 ; EDS, including currency composition, remaining maturity, and debt service schedule; the CPIS, including sectoral data; and the CDIS. The course consists of a series of lectures, discussions, and practical exercises. Lectures and class discussions focus on general concepts and compilation practices, while exercises provide participants with an opportunity to put knowledge learned into practice. Participants have the opportunity to discuss problems encountered in their compilation work and gain insights into the analytical uses of the international accounts. The course is based on the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6) , the 2013 External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users , the 2010 CPIS Guide , and the 2015 CDIS Guide .
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, covers theoretical and practical aspects of compiling national accounts statistics based on the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The course consists of lectures on methodological and compilation issues covered in the 2008 SNA and workshops consisting of practical exercises in compiling accounts. The purpose of the course is to train participants in how to compile annual GDP both at current prices and in volume terms using the production and expenditure approaches. The course starts with an overview of the system of national accounts, presenting the sequence of accounts for transactions and other flows as well as balance sheets, based on the 2008 SNA. It covers the main concepts related to transactions, other economic flows, stocks, institutional units, classifications, and the main macroeconomic aggregates measured by the system.The main lectures and workshops cover the production account, covering definition and measurement of output, intermediate consumption, and value added; valuation issues; and the treatment of particular industries; source data and issues in the compilation of GDP using production and expenditure approaches; deflators and derivation of volume measures of GDP; and specific issues related to goods and services transactions, including supply and use framework, inventory valuation adjustment, consumption of fixed capital, and the nonobserved and informal economy. Sharing country experiences among the participants is also emphasized.
Target Audience: Compilers of national accounts statistics employed by agencies responsible for official national accounts data.
Description: This course, conducted by the IMF’s Statistics Department, focuses on the conceptual framework of public sector debt statistics as presented in the Public Sector Debt Statistics Guide, as well as on the practical aspects of public sector debt data compilation. Basic concepts, accounting principles, and detailed classifications are dealt with in the context of the methodology that is harmonized with the government finance statistics and system of national accounts. The course examines coverage and accounting rules of the public sector debt statistics framework, valuation, classification, selected methodological issues, and the sources and methods used for compiling the statistics. It also deals with debt data reporting to the IMF and World Bank. The course is organized around a series of case studies.
Target Audience: Public sector officials whose main responsibility is compiling and disseminating public sector debt statistics.
