WASHINGTON (World Bank press service) — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today $10 mln in grant financing from the International Development Association for the Modernizing the National Statistical System Project in Tajikistan. The project will contribute towards improving the quality and reliability of statistical data and reporting in Tajikistan for better policy and development outcomes.

“The better the data, the more accurate the diagnostics and the more effective policy responses derived on that basis”, said Jan-Peter Olters, World Bank Country Manager in Tajikistan. “The focus on national accounts and disaggregated information on socio-economic development indicators has become even more important during times of crises — including the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic — and rapid changes, making the generation and dissemination of timely and accurate information on changes to statistics on the population’s health, social situations, and economic well-being critical for the design of evidence-based policies.”

The Modernizing the National Statistical System project will be implemented by the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan. The objective of this project is to enable the Agency for Statistics to modernize statistical production, dissemination, and improve user engagement. The project will support the Government in developing more effective and evidence-based economic and social policies and monitoring the effectiveness of its programs and policy measures by providing reliable and high-quality data, providing easy access to statistical data, and enhancing the use of data produced by the private sector.

The project will invest in modernizing statistical infrastructure and ICT systems of the Agency for Statistics and its regional offices for improved data collection, processing, user-friendly visualization, and dissemination. This technical upgrade will enable the Agency’s information systems to be integrated with the databases of other data collecting agencies to ensure two-way exchange of data. The IT modernization will be implemented in accordance with open data principles, such as data accuracy, transparency, timeliness, and wider data access and use. It will enhance the capacity and functions of the Agency by streamlining its business processes and organizational structure.

The project will also finance measures to improve the quality of statistical production, in particular, improve the compilation of national accounts in line with latest international standards.

This project builds on many years of collaboration between the World Bank and Government of Tajikistan in improving data collection and reporting. The TAJSTAT I and TAJSTAT II projects, implemented between 2006 and 2018, supported (a) improvement of the legal framework for statistics, (b) development of staff skills at the Agency for Statistics, (c) upgrade of IT equipment, (d) adoption of the Household Budget Survey as the primary source for poverty monitoring, (e) better alignment of GDP estimates to international standards and (f) introduction of e-reporting to support the private sector and decrease the burden on respondents.

The World Bank is financing 21 projects in Tajikistan totaling $1.1 bln. Since 1996, the World Bank has provided over $2 bln in IDA grants, highly concessional credits, and trust funds for Tajikistan.