Press Release No. 04/95

Press Release: São Tomé and Príncipe Formally Begins Participation in the IMF's General Data Dissemination System

May 13, 2004

São Tomé and Príncipe has begun participating in the International Monetary Fund's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), marking a major step forward in the development of the country's statistical system. Comprehensive information on its statistical production and dissemination practices was published on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddshome/) starting on April 21, 2004.

On this occasion, Mr. Albano Germano de Deus, General Director of the National Institute of Statistics of São Tomé and Príncipe and National Coordinator for the GDDS reiterated the intention of the Sãotomean authorities to abide by the standards developed by the GDDS in producing economic, financial, and socio-demographic statistics.

"The adherence of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe to the International Monetary Fund's General Data Dissemination System clearly expresses the intention of the National Institute of Statistics, on behalf of the Sãotomean government, to conduct our activities in accordance with international guidelines for the production and dissemination of official statistics."

"The National Statistics System is hereby committed to update its metadata regularly according to the GDDS methodology, with a view to gradually improve the quality of the production and dissemination of São Tomé and Príncipe's statistical data," Mr. Germano de Deus said.

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 IMF's website shows São Tomé and Príncipe's plans for improvement in its statistics and the related technical assistance needs. This information provides the international community with a useful framework to develop and coordinate technical cooperation projects in São Tomé and Príncipe.

At present, 74 countries have joined the GDDS since its inception and have their metadata published on the IMF's DSBB.

Mrs. Carol S. Carson, Director of the Statistics Department, noted "São Tomé and Príncipe's participation in the General Data Dissemination System is a major accomplishment and will allow the country to take full advantage of this framework for developing its economic, financial, and socio-demographic data."