Celebrating the Importance of Statistics on World Statistics Day
The TReNDS’ secretariat highlights some of the most surprising global statistics and the necessary changes to improve statistics in the coming decade
Written by Alyson Marks
Statistics are fundamental to our daily lives – from predicting the daily weather forecast and stock market trends to determining insurance premiums. This year, one could argue that there’s never been a time when data and statistics have mattered so much. Amid a global pandemic and recession, rising extreme poverty, wildfires reaching record levels, among other troubling trends, timely and quality statistics are critical for establishing a baseline of where we are and how we can make progress. Yet, despite their importance, many basic health, social, and economic data and statistics are frequently lacking, particularly in low-income countries, and serious gaps remain in assessing country-level progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The COVID-19 pandemic has further stymied progress by disrupting National Statistics Offices’ (NSOs) production of much of the data and statistics, which are central to achieving the SDGs. Supporting NSOs during this challenging time and encouraging innovation will be essential to chart the way forward.
This World Statistics Day, the TReNDS’ Secretariat have highlighted a few statistics below that we’ve come across that we think are particularly shocking. Thereafter, we put forward some of our individual recommendations on how the global statistical system can be improved.
Declining Wildlife
Globally, monitored population sizes of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have declined an average of 68% between 1970 and 2016.
Three billion animals were killed or displaced by this year’s Australian bushfires.
Internet Traffic
51% of all internet traffic is not human, and approximately 31% of this traffic is suspected to be tied to malicious activity.
In 2020, each minute 41.6+ million messages are shared on WhatsApp, 1.3+ million video calls are made, and 150,000 messages are shared on Facebook.
Food Insecurity
With a population of 30 million, more than 20 million Yemenis are food insecure, and nearly 10 million are acutely food insecure.
Poverty
Source: Unsplash
More than 713 million people live in extreme poverty around the world.
Global Waste
Source: Unsplash
This month alone, 212.4+ billion plastic bags were produced.
In 2020, 10 million+ tons of plastic waste was dumped into our oceans.
What Needs to Change?
Hayden Dahmm, TReNDS’ Manager says:
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for and the use of new data sources, but it has also seen instances of political interference and loss of trust in official statistics. Going forward, we need to strengthen governance procedures to ensure that statistics are being produced in a trustworthy, transparent manner, and that new data sources are being considered prudently so their potential use strengthens rather than undermines domestic statistical capacity. Furthermore, the crisis has only widened the gap between poor and wealthy countries and their ability to produce statistics, so the need for increased funding commitments from the international community is all the more urgent.
Jessica Espey, TReNDS’ Director contends:
Good governance of new technologies and data is all the more essential as we witness the explosion in digital activity. Not least of all, good governance of the data being generated by Artificial Intelligence and 'bots,' which are subject to their own biases and distortions, can result in inaccurate information if not closely monitored.
Maryam Rabiee, TReNDS’ Manager states:
Many new data hubs, including SDGs Today and the World Food Programme’s HungerMapLive, have recently been launched to help provide near real-time estimates on a number of sustainable development issues, including insufficient food intake. While these data are critical for policymakers to make informed decisions, they don’t go far enough. We need a holistic data ecosystem that is policy-oriented and utilizes new methods and technology to help policymakers address complex and interconnected issues at the global and local levels in a timely and sustainable manner. We need more than just numbers in a report that are unlikely to spur action. Additionally, sustainable policies need to address or at least take into account all facets of a complex problem, such as food insecurity, and how they impact each other.
Cameron Allen, TReNDS’ Senior Advisor argues:
In the context of SDGs, there needs to be a focus on filling the remaining gaps in data for SDG indicators, including setting baselines for indicators that have no data. While advancements have been made in methodologies for SDG indicators, close to 50% are still Tier II (the data are not regularly produced by countries). The 2020 UN SDG Report highlights acute gaps, especially within the environmental sector, including for goals 12 (responsible production and consumption), 13 (climate action), and 14 (life below water). Supporting countries to fill these data gaps is critical, as without a baseline, it's impossible to monitor and evaluate progress. The research community should also support these efforts, by looking at ways that earth observations, big data, and data science can provide novel solutions to fill these data gaps.
Alyson Marks, TReNDS’ Communications Manager says:
While the value of data and statistics has been elevated as a result of COVID-19, many are rightfully concerned about governments’ data use and lack sufficient understanding of how the data is used and how it is collected. In addition to ensuring that effective frameworks and policies are established that protect individuals’ data, governments should make a concerted effort in the coming years to improve citizens’ data and statistical literacy. Additionally, with the flood of new information and data demands, we should empower and support NSOs as much as possible to help ensure the production of quality and timely statistics.