Priority areas

Implementing the 2008 System of National Accounts

The System of National Accounts (SNA) is one of the most important statistical systems and frameworks in official statistics, providing a comprehensive and integrated set of macroeconomic statistics. The SNA is the backbone of various international standards for various economic and industrial statistics. The 2008 SNA is the latest version and addresses recent changes in economic composition and provides a comprehensive coverage of the economy.

The implementation of the 2008 SNA is an international initiative and commitment, and provides an opportunity to improve the quality, availability, consistency and harmonization of economic statistics and national accounts. In Africa, many countries are still at the early stages of developing national accounting systems; and thus, national accounts statistics of these countries are inadequate. This is due to limited human, technical, and financial resources as well as weak statistical infrastructure. To overcome these challenges in the compilation of national accounts statistics, Member States, with the support of ECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC), and regional and international organizations have developed a continental strategy and project for implementing the 2008 SNA in Africa.

International trade statistics

International trade statistics provide data on the movements of goods and services between countries. These statistics are instrumental in measuring economic growth and development and facilitating regional integration in Africa. In the area of international trade statistics, ECA supports Member States in applying and implementing international statistical standards, including the related concepts, definitions, classifications, methodology as reflected in the International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions (2010) and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services (2010) both of which are essential for producing comparable trade statistics.

Environment statistics

Environment statistics are the basis for research and policy formulation related to green economy and sustainable development. The demand for environment statistics has increased with heightened awareness of climate change, environmental degradation, and the challenges associated with resource management. Nonetheless, national statistics offices encounter challenges to building national capacities to adequately collect and transform environmental data into environment statistics. Currently, many African countries do not have adequate environment statistics units within their respective national statistics offices. In this regard, ECA is assisting and supporting Member States to strengthen their capacity to develop environment statistics programs through the application of international statistical standards as reflected in the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES), the Core Set of Environment Statistics, and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

Key activities in priority areas

  • Support Member States in the implementation of the 2008 SNA;
  • Provide technical assistance and training support to strengthen institutional and technical capacity of the Member States for the collection, processing, compilation, analysis, dissemination, and archiving of economic statistics and national accounts;
  • Conduct research and develop technical manuals and guidelines on concepts, definitions, classifications, methods, and standards related to the production and use of economic statistics based on international standard methodologies and adapted to the African context;
  • Support Member States in undertaking assessments of current practices in collecting, compiling, and disseminating economic statistics and national accounts and establish reporting, monitoring, and evaluation systems; and
  • Support Member States in mobilizing resources for the compilation of economic statistics in collaboration with international and regional organizations.

Expected outcomes in priority areas

  • Improved institutional and technical capacity of the Member States for the collection, processing, compilation, analysis, dissemination, and archiving of economic statistics and national accounts;
  • Increased availability of quality, timely, and harmonized economic statistics and national accounts in support of policy formulation, evidence-based decision making, and research at national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels; and
  • Increased number of related practical technical operational documents such as manuals, guidelines, and tools on concepts, definitions, classifications, methods, and standards based on international standard methodologies and adapted to the African context.