IMF Conference

Global Conferences on Data Gaps Initiative (DGI)

Ongoing consultative process

The Statistics Department of the IMF jointly with the FSB Secretariat has been organizing Global Conferences on the G-20 DGI since 2009. These annual events are part of the consultation process leading to the preparation of the progress reports that are delivered to the G-20 FMCBG. The Global Conferences are alternatively hosted by the IMF and the FSB and are attended by senior officials from the G-20 economies and from non-G-20 FSB member countries, and by the IAG member agencies.

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Held from June 17–19, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa, the DGI-3 Global Conference marked 15 years of the initiative’s transformative international collaboration in developing the global statistical infrastructure. The event brought together over 260 participants—data producers, policymakers, and economists—from G20 and non-G20 economies and international organizations, who convened in-person and virtually to address complex data challenges and share solutions.

In the face of the climate crisis, increasing economic polarization, and large-scale digital transformation, policymakers confront complex and multidimensional policy challenges. The G20 Leaders, meeting in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022, acknowledged a multidimensional crisis, including the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, fragmentation and increasing inequality.

To address these challenges, policymakers require robust, comprehensive, and comparable data. Recognizing that critical data gaps exist in these areas, the G20 Leaders welcomed a new G20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) and tasked the IMF, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG), G20, and participating economies to begin filling these data gaps. The first DGI-3 Global conference, held in IMF HQ2 from June 13-15, 2023, aims to assess progress, exchange best practices, and address specific challenges to ensure the most critical data gaps are addressed.


1 The IAG members are BIS, ECB, Eurostat, IMF (chair), OECD, United Nations and World Bank.