Economic statistics uses big data and new technology to leave no one behind.

With the endorsement of the 2030 Agenda, there is an increasing demand for both the production and inclusivity of statistics to leave no one behind. To support enduring national statistical capacity in the region, the Asia-Pacific Economic Statistics Week (APES) opened in Bangkok this Monday, gathering delegates from national statistics offices, central banks, academia and development organizations from 27 countries in the region.The Week’s events featured a four-day seminar convening under the theme “Integrating economic statistics in monitoring the 2030 Agenda.” The seminar served as a platform to showcase key findings from national studies and research related to economic statistics and exchange good practices and methodologies in their production.Opening the meeting, ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary Hongjoo Hahm remarked, “the 2030 Agenda has generated much needed debate on how to measure progress; GDP may be growing but we still need to agree on what constitutes people’s ‘well-being’ and how to measure it.”Robust and comprehensive data have critical implications as litmus tests for SDG achievement. Though almost half of the indicators in the global SDG monitoring framework require economic statistics, many countries in the region struggle with basic statistics on the economy.The meeting also focused on disseminating economic statistics for use by the broader community. Through interactive panel discussions, delegates shared practical ways to communicate economic statistics to various users and stakeholders.