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Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard

Second Quarter 2010

September 10, 2010

Observance Status

As of the end of the second quarter of 2010, all 68 SDDS subscribers were in observance of the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars (ARCs) (Table 1). The IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) disseminates a complete list of SDDS subscribers. Recording the observance of SDDS metadata requirements for summary methodologies is discontinued; it has become obsolete because all metadata are presented using the Data Quality Assessment Framework structure.

Table 1. SDDS Indicators
Indicators As of June 30, 2009 As of March 31, 2010 As of June 30, 2010
Number of subscribers 64 67 68
Number of countries officially in observance1 64 67 68
1Observance of the requirements of the SDDS with respect to the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and the use of ARCs. Other elements of the SDDS dealing with the integrity and quality of the data are on a self-disclosure basis, with subscribers providing information on which users can make their own judgments. A subscriber experiencing difficulties in meeting SDDS requirements is not automatically in “nonobservance” of the SDDS. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff tries to resolve the issue with the subscriber, and then, if necessary, through the Executive Director. If these efforts fail, the matter is brought to the attention of the subscriber’s Governor for the Fund. A subscriber is officially declared in “nonobservance” only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB.

Monitoring Punctuality of Data Releases

The IMF monitors the punctuality of data releases of each SDDS subscriber. Punctuality is monitored by comparing the first appearance of new information on the subscriber’s National Summary Data Page (NSDP) against the last release date announced in the subscriber’s ARC for each of the SDDS data categories. The ARC release dates should meet the SDDS timeliness requirements for the various data categories. Table 2 contains monitoring results for the second quarter of 2010, showing comparisons with results for the first quarter of 2010, and those for the second quarter of 2009. Year on year, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2010 increased for monthly data (except for production index and producer prices), for quarterly data, and for annual data (except for general government operations). Quarter on quarter, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2010 also increased for monthly data (except for consumer prices and producer prices), quarterly data (except for external debt), and annual data (except for international investment position).

Compared with historical averages since the third quarter of 2000, when monitoring was introduced, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2010 increased for monthly data (except for production index, consumer prices, producer prices, official reserves, and reserves template), quarterly data (except for national accounts, and wages and earnings), but decreased for annual data (except for general government operations).

Table 2. Monitoring Punctuality of Data Releases
Quarter 3 2000—Quarter 2 20101
Data Categories Historical Average since Q3/00 (standard deviation) Q2/09 Revised Q1/10 Revised Q2/10
Monthly data 89.8
(3.9)		 87.9 88.9 90.2
Production index 91.1
(4.6)		 90.0 89.1 90.0
Consumer prices 94.0
(3.9)		 91.6 94.4 93.5
Producer prices 92.1
(3.8)		 91.0 91.7 90.4
Central government operations 80.7
(5.0)		 77.8 78.8 80.9
Analytical accounts of banking sector 89.5
(4.2)		 87.3 93.3 94.0
Analytical accounts of central bank 89.5
(5.2)		 88.5 85.4 91.8
Official reserves 89.4
(3.9)		 86.5 87.0 88.2
Reserves template 90.9
(4.6)		 88.1 87.9 89.6
Merchandise trade 91.1
(4.6)		 90.7 92.9 93.1
Quarterly data 89.9
(5.0)		 87.2 88.7 91.7
National accounts 89.9
(7.2)		 83.9 85.5 89.6
Employment 91.4
(5.0)		 88.7 89.9 93.7
Unemployment 92.0
(4.4)		 90.1 90.2 93.7
Wages and earnings 89.7
(5.7)		 87.3 88.1 88.5
Central government debt 83.9
(6.2)		 81.6 82.8 91.2
Balance of payments 92.0
(5.4)		 93.5 92.6 94.7
External debt 89.8
(5.0)		 85.7 91.9 90.5
Annual data 83.5
(3.9)		 80.9 78.8 82.6
General government operations 79.3
(6.4)		 87.8 71.8 81.0
International investment position 86.9
(5.5)		 74.0 85.7 84.2
1Percentage of data categories subscribers disseminated on their NSDP in accordance with SDDS timeliness requirements (quarterly averages).