Panama has implemented the recommendations of the IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) by publishing critical data through the National Summary Data Page (NSDP). The page aims to serve as a one-stop publication vehicle for essential macroeconomic data on national accounts, government operations and debt, monetary and financial sector, and the balance of payments, among others. These data will be disseminated in both human and machine-readable formats. The e-GDDS was established by the IMF’s Executive Board in May 2015 to support improved data transparency, encourage statistical development, and help create synergies between data dissemination and surveillance.
The NSDP is posted on the National Institute of Statistics and Census’ website, utilizing the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX), and is accessible on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board, at http://dsbb.imf.org. The NSDP page contains links to statistics published by official data producers, namely the National Institute of Statistics and Census, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Superintendency of Banks.
Publication of essential macroeconomic data through the NSDP will provide national policy makers and domestic and international stakeholders, including investors and rating agencies, with easy access to information that the IMF’s Executive Board has identified as critical for monitoring economic conditions and policies. Making this information easily accessible in both human and machine-readable formats, and according to an Advance Release Calendar, will allow all users to have simultaneous access to timely data and will bring greater data transparency.
Louis Marc Ducharme, Chief Statistician and Data Officer, and Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, welcomed this major milestone in the country’s statistical development. “I am confident that the Republic of Panama will benefit from using the e-GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system.”
