Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard
Fourth Quarter 2008
February 27, 2009
Observance Status
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2008, all 64 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 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 December 31, 2007 |
As of September 30, 2008 |
As of December 31, 2008 |
| Number of subscribers |
64 |
64 |
64 |
| Number of countries officially in observance1 |
64 |
64 |
64 |
| 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 fourth quarter of 2008, showing comparisons with results for the third quarter of 2008, and those for the fourth quarter of 2007. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the punctuality of data releases for the fourth quarter of 2008 declined for monthly, quarterly and annual data, but remained higher than the hsitorical averages since the third quarter of 2000, when monitoring was introduced. The punctuality of data releases for employment, unemployment, analytical accounts of the banking sector and for the central bank, balance of payments, external debt, general government operations and international investment position decreased and for central government debt increased.
Compared with the third quarter of 2008, the punctuality of data releases for the fourth quarter of 2008 also decreased for most data release periodicities, but increased for some data categories like nationalal accounts, central government debt, and general government operations.
Table 2. Monitoring Punctuality of Data Releases
Quarter 3 2000—Quarter 4 20081 |
| Data Categories |
Historical Average since Q3/00
(standard deviation) |
Q4/07 Revised |
Q3/08 Revised |
Q4/08 |
|
Monthly data |
89.9
(4.2) |
91.9 |
92.6 |
90.7 |
|
Production index |
91.5
(4.9) |
89.9 |
92.0 |
91.0 |
|
Consumer prices |
94.0
(4.2) |
96.8 |
95.2 |
95.3 |
|
Producer prices |
92.3
(4.0) |
93.5 |
93.5 |
93.0 |
|
Central government operations |
80.6
(5.1) |
84.8 |
86.0 |
83.6 |
|
Analytical accounts of banking sector |
89.4
(4.4) |
90.7 |
94.1 |
88.2 |
|
Analytical accounts of central bank |
89.5
(5.6) |
94.2 |
94.2 |
92.1 |
|
Official reserves |
89.7
(4.1) |
89.5 |
90.6 |
89.0 |
|
Reserves template |
91.1
(4.8) |
95.2 |
92.2 |
92.7 |
|
Merchandise trade |
91.0
(5.0) |
92.6 |
95.3 |
91.6 |
|
Quarterly data |
90.0
(5.4) |
91.3 |
90.4 |
90.1 |
|
National accounts |
90.7
(7.4) |
92.2 |
86.4 |
92.2 |
|
Employment |
91.8
(5.3) |
95.3 |
92.6 |
90.7 |
|
Unemployment |
92.2
(4.7) |
95.1 |
95.1 |
92.6 |
|
Wages and earnings |
90.2
(6.1) |
87.9 |
89.1 |
87.0 |
|
Central government debt |
83.6
(6.6) |
84.5 |
83.5 |
91.2 |
|
Balance of payments |
91.9
(5.7) |
90.5 |
94.6 |
88.2 |
|
External debt |
89.9
(5.5) |
94.1 |
91.5 |
89.0 |
|
Annual data |
84.1
(4.0) |
91.2 |
84.5 |
84.1 |
|
General government operations |
79.9
(6.6) |
90.9 |
77.4 |
84.4 |
|
International investment position |
87.6
(4.1) |
91.4 |
84.5 |
83.8 |
| 1Percentage of data categories subscribers disseminated on their NSDP in accordance with SDDS timeliness requirements (quarterly averages). |
Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board