Stuffing Data Gaps With Dollars: What Will It Cost to Close the Data Deficit in Poor Countries?

Data collections, as simple as population counts, contribute to good planning on services that benefit a nation’s development, health and prosperity. Yet such collections are lacking in low-income countries. The International Monetary Fund has set standards on data dissemination and 66 countries don’t meet those standards for population surveys, more than 70 lack living standard surveys and 39 countries fail on health surveys. As a result, the United Nations is initiating a Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. Estimates for needed financing vary, ranging from $20 million to as high as $300 million annually. Writing for the Brookings Institution, Laurence Chandy and Christine Zhang offer recommendations for the IMF, World Bank and other global groups, yet express skepticism about whether funding is the major constraint: “Weak capacity, instability and bad governance at the country level, combined with coordination failures internationally, seem equally if not more relevant.” Conflict and poverty challenge data collection. The most recent census for Lebanon was 45 years ago; for Afghanistan, 36 years have passed. – YaleGlobal