Paraguay subscribes to the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard

October 29, 2024

Washington, DC: On October 28, Paraguay subscribed to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), joining 48 other countries currently subscribing to the SDDS. Subscription to the SDDS is expected to improve the country’s data compilation and dissemination capacity, facilitate macroeconomic policymaking, help build market confidence in the country’s institutional capacity, and contribute to economic and financial stability.

Paraguay’s achievement builds on its strong performance in the IMF’s 2017 Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) and sets an example for its peers.

Bert Kroese, Chief Statistician and Data Officer and Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, hailed the key achievement in the country’s statistical development. “I congratulate the authorities for e-GDDS graduation and advancement to SDDS. It reflects Paraguay’s strong commitment to transparency and is a significant step forward in adhering to internationally accepted best practices in data dissemination.”

“Subscription to SDDS is also beneficial for the country. added Mr. Kroese. “The milestone is also a testament to the Fund’s commitment to helping member countries build capacity.”

The SDDS, established by the IMF in March 1996, aims to guide members in disseminating economic and financial data to the public. Subscription to the SDDS improves the availability of timely statistics according to an Advance Release Calendar (ARC), thereby contributing to sound macroeconomic policies and the smooth functioning of financial markets. Although voluntary, a subscribing member commits to complying with the standard and publishing information (metadata) about its data dissemination practices.

In conclusion Tenth Review of IMF Data Standards Initiatives In February 2022, the IMF Executive Board highlighted the important role that data standards initiatives of the mid-1990s have played in promoting data transparency as a global public good, encouraging countries to voluntarily publish key macroeconomic and financial data. The 10th evaluation also highlighted the importance of supporting e-GDDS countries’ progress towards SDDS.

National summary data page (NSDP) from Paraguay includes SDDS data categories. Comprehensive documentation on related statistical practices is published on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) and information for Paraguay is available at IMF – SDDS Subscriber Countries (DSBB))

In addition to SDDS and e-GDDS, data standards initiatives include SDDS Plus. Detailed information on data standards initiatives can be found at https://dsbb.imf.org.