Overview

The IMF is an international organization of 187 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment. In recent years the IMF has also developed standards and codes of good practice in its areas of responsibility.

The work of the IMF is of three main types. The first is surveillance which involves the monitoring of economic and financial developments and the provision of policy advice aimed especially at crisis-prevention. The second is lending to countries with balance of payments difficulties  to provide temporary financing and support policies aimed at correcting the underlying problems. Loans to low-income countries are also aimed especially at poverty reduction. The third work area is to provide countries with technical assistance and training in its areas of expertise. Supporting all three of these activities is IMF work in economic research and statistics.

Statistical Activities

The Statistics Department (STA) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides a number of statistical products and services to member countries and the international community. These include standards for data dissemination, support of surveillance and use of Fund resources, technical assistance, training, statistical methodologies, database management, statistical publications, and international statistical coordination.

STA provides technical assistance in the collection, compilation, and dissemination of macroeconomic statistics to help data-producing agencies strengthen their statistical capabilities. On-the-job training is particularly emphasized. Assistance is provided in the topical areas of national accounts and price statistics; government finance statistics; monetary and financial statistics; financial soundness indicators; and balance of payments, international investment position, and external debt statistics. Technical assistance focuses both on developing new data series and improving the accuracy and reliability of existing series. Emphasis is also given to some aspects of statistical management and organization, particularly in post-conflict countries, and improving accessibility and serviceability of data. STA encourages countries to develop their statistical systems using frameworks, such as the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) or the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), and the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF). The Department also encourages countries to recognize the importance of statistics development in their national development plans.

STA technical assistance is delivered mainly through short-term single-topic missions conducted by IMF staff and externally recruited experts, complemented by the placement of long-term statistical advisors in selected countries and regions. STA also manages a large technical assistance GDDS project funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, covering 24 Anglophone African countries. During 2009/10 STA undertook 383 technical assistance missions (including 253 missions through the RTACs) to 125 member countries. As of September 2010, STA had 10 resident long-term advisors in the RTACs.

Regional Training Centers (RTCs) and Regional Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs)
The IMF offers courses, workshops, and seminars for country officials in Washington DC and through a network of seven regional training institutes and programs, based in Singapore, Tunisia, China, United Arab Emirates, India, Brazil, and Austria. The courses and trainings offered at these centers cover all the areas of macroeconomic statistics mentioned above.

The IMF is increasingly adopting a regional approach to the delivery of technical assistance and operates seven RTACs—one each in the Pacific (Fiji), the Caribbean (Barbados), and Central America (Guatemala); three in Africa (Dar es Salaam, Bamako, and Libreville) and one in the Middle East (Beirut). Three more RTACSs are planned in the near future: two in Africa in Mauritius and Ghana, and one in Central Asia in Uzbekistan.

The overall aim is to help countries adopt international standards, codes, and best practices in the production and dissemination of macroeconomic and financial statistics. Statistical activities of the RTACs are fully integrated with STA’s technical assistance program, allowing better coordination of technical assistance and appropriate quality control and accountability for technical assistance delivered by the RTACs. In the delivery of technical assistance, the RTACs work in close coordination with other development partners and rely on local expertise for short-term technical assistance and workshops.

Validated September 2010