KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica will join the rest of the world in celebrating World Statistics Day on October 20, under the theme ‘Connecting the World with Data We Can Trust’.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank today, Director General of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Carol Coy, said that this year marks the third round of celebration.

World Statistics Day is a United Nations event celebrated every five years.

“The celebration is to highlight the importance of statistics in development, especially sustainable development,” Coy said.

“The theme means that we have to produce statistics that are internationally comparable – statistics that follow international methodologies, concepts and classifications,” she explained.

The director general further indicated that statistics have become very important in recent times, as they relate to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“You need statistics to be able to assess whether countries are meeting these goals and targets as were set out,” Coy added.

The SDGs form the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. They address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.

Coy also indicated that the significance of data has been highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to know what is happening to persons when they contract the virus. We also need to understand what is happening in the economic, social and environment sphere of countries. So, as governments balance between lives and livelihoods and they make these decisions and measures, how does that affect the economic and social lives of persons?” she added.

World Statistics Day was first observed in 2010.