E-learning Course and Webinars on International Merchandise Trade Statistics

Organized jointly by UNSD, UNCTAD, in cooperation with WTO

  • 28 February to 10 April 2022

This course on compilation and analysis of International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS) will be conducted from 28 Feb to 10 Apr 2022 in English and French. Follow-up webinars will take place on 12 April in English and on 13 April in French. The course was developed and produced jointly by UNSD, UNCTAD and WTO in close collaboration with the Inter-Agency Task Force on International Trade Statistics in 2018. It is run annually.

The objective of the course is to provide more globally accessible and rather complete training material for those involved in the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS). That is, the course is annually organized to meet the needs for technical assistance in the compilation of IMTS and contributes to address the aims of Goal 17 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Main goals of the course are to enhance statisticians' ability to apply the most recent internationally agreed recommendations on IMTS, define best possible data sources, set up adequate (or enforce existing) collection systems, and enhance statistics compilation and production processes. The course focuses on the following topics: Conceptual Framework, Institutional Arrangement, Production and Compilation, Metadata and Quality, Dissemination and Analysis and New Areas of Work. Furthermore, the course emphasizes the importance of quality, metadata, timely dissemination, and links to economic analysis and national policy objectives. The course enhances trainees' capacity to make better use of the internationally agreed guidance, especially the IMTS Concepts and Definitions 2010 and the related Compilers Manual.

This course was designed mainly for trade data compilers; however, users of trade data can also benefit from the course.

If interested, please self-register on https://tft-reg.unctad.org. Select International Merchandise Trade Statistics for English version, or Statistiques du Commerce international des Marchandises for the French version with access codes "2022IMTS" and "2022SCIM" respectively. Registration deadline is 20 Feb 2022.

Week 1: 28 February – 4 March

Module 1 : Conceptual Framework
  • Read the manual of Module 1 (34 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M1 (43 slides) 44"
  • Run quiz M1
  • Give your feedback on Module 1

Week 2: 7 – 11 March

Module 2 : Institutional Arrangements
  • Read the manual of Module 2 (24 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M2 (19 slides) 20"
  • Run quiz M2
  • Give your feedback on Module 2

Week 3: 14 – 18 March

Module 3 : Production and Compilation
  • Read the manual of Module 3 (30 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M3 (27 slides) 48"
  • Run quiz M3
  • Give your feedback on Module 3

Week 4: 21 - 25 March

Module 4 : Metadata and Quality
  • Read the manual of Module 4 (23 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M4 (30 slides) 46"
  • Run quiz M4
  • Give your feedback on Module 4 (Opinion questionnaire)

Week 5: 28 March - 1 April

Module 5 : Dissemination and Analysis
  • Read the manual of Module 5 (28 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M5 (30 slides) 60"
  • Run quiz M5
  • Give your feedback on Module 5

Week 6: 4 - 8 April

Module 6 : New Areas of Work
  • Read the manual of Module 6 (25 pages) (PDF or EPUB)
  • Watch the video M6 (29 slides) 48"
  • Run quiz M6
  • Give your feedback on Module 6 and on the course
  • Complete Golden Book

Week 7: 11 - 15 April

90” webinars on topics presented by selected course participants