Press Release No. 04/47

Press Release: Cape Verde Formally Begins Participation in the IMF's General Data Dissemination System

March 8, 2004

Cape Verde has begun participating in the International Monetary Fund's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), marking an important step forward in the development of the country's statistical system. Comprehensive information on its statistical production and dissemination practices were published on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddshome on February 23, 2004.

Mr. Francisco Tavares, President of the National Institute of Statistics of Cape Verde, stated "Cape Verde's participation in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) of the International Monetary Fund goes hand in hand with the reform of the National Statistics System started in 1996 and bears witness to the commitment of the Cape Verdean authorities to produce statistics with the requisite availability, quality, and relevance to meet the needs of Cape Verde's national development agenda. This is important not only for good governance but also for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals."

Mrs. Carol S. Carson, Director of the IMF's Statistics Department, noted that Cape Verde became the 70^th GDDS participating country. "I am pleased to note that Cape Verde has joined the countries already participating in the GDDS. The commitment being made to improve statistics is the cornerstone for developing sound data needed to monitor economic and social progress in the country." In this context, she noted Cape Verde's decision to include the Millennium Development Goal indicators in the framework of the GDDS.

The GDDS, established by the IMF in 1997, provides a framework to assist IMF member countries to develop their statistical systems with the objective of producing comprehensive and accurate statistics for policy-making and analysis. It addresses the quality and the dissemination of data. In addition, the DSBB for Cape Verde shows the country's plans for improvements in its statistics infrastructure and related technical assistance needs. This information provides the international community with a useful framework to develop and coordinate their technical cooperation projects in Cape Verde.