Mohammed bin Rashid approves national programme to modernise UAE statistics system

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the National Programme for Developing the Statistics System in the UAE. The strategic initiative is designed to enhance the quality of official economic statistics, keep pace with the rapid transformation of the UAE economy and further strengthen the country's position among the world's leading economies. A key component of the programme is the adoption of 2024 as the unified base year for national accounts and the reconstruction of the UAE's GDP time series for the period from 2010 to 2026. The move is expected to provide a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the size, diversity and growth of the UAE economy, while improving the reliability and international comparability of official economic data. The programme will support economic decision-making, public policy development and future planning, while enhancing confidence among investors and international financial and economic institutions. It comes in response to major structural changes in the national economy, including the rapid growth of non-oil sectors, services, the digital economy, technology and investment activities, as well as the increasing use of modern administrative data sources, including corporate tax and value-added tax data. The initiative is based on an integrated national framework for updating and harmonising national accounts in line with the UN System of National Accounts and international statistical standards. This includes updating the base year, expanding data sources and increasing the use of administrative records to improve the accuracy, consistency and transparency of economic indicators. The programme also introduces a unified national methodology for reviewing GDP data and establishes a framework for regularly updating the base year in accordance with international best practices. Led by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, the programme is being implemented in partnership with local statistics centres across the UAE and a range of federal entities, including the Central Bank of the UAE, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Authority, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Emirates Investment Authority, and Etihad Water and Electricity. The National Programme for Developing the Statistics System serves as the overarching framework for modernising the UAE's statistical ecosystem through a range of legislative, institutional and technical initiatives. These include a comprehensive review of GDP, a national strategy for the statistics system, supporting statistical policies, a national statistical data platform, a statistical leadership development programme and the UAE Principles for Official Statistics document. The initiative aims to further strengthen economic decision-making and reinforce the UAE's competitiveness as a global leader in the development and production of official economic statistics.