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Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard

First Quarter 2007

June 19, 2007

Observance Status

As of the end of the first quarter of 2007, all 64 Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) subscribers were in observance of the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars (ARCs) (Table 1). The IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) disseminates a complete list of subscribers.

Table 1. SDDSIndicators
Indicators As of
March 31, 2006		 As of
December 31, 2006		 As of
March 31, 2007
Number of subscribers 62 64 64
Number of countries officially in observance1 62 64 64
1Observance of the requirements of the SDDS with respect to the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and the use of ARCs. Other elements of the SDDS dealing with the integrity and quality of the data are on a self-disclosure basis, with subscribers providing information on which users can make their own judgments. A subscriber experiencing difficulties in meeting SDDS requirements is not automatically in "nonobservance" of the SDDS. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff tries to resolve the issue with the subscriber, and then, if necessary, through the Executive Director. If these efforts fail, the matter is brought to the attention of the subscriber’s Governor for the Fund. A subscriber is officially declared in "nonobservance" only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB.

Monitoring Data Releases

The IMF monitors the data and access dimensions of the SDDS for each subscriber by comparing the first appearance of new information on the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) against the last release date announced in the ARC, which should meet the SDDS timeliness requirements. Table 2 contains results for the first quarter of 2007, and for the first and fourth quarters of 2006 for comparison purposes. Compared with the same quarter in 2006, the punctuality of the data of the first quarter of 2007 improved for monthly and annual data, and decreased slightly for quarterly data due to delays in the reporting of the data of national accounts, unemployment, and central government debt. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2006, the punctuality of the data for the first quarter of 2007 improved for quarterly and annual data, while the punctuality of the data disseminated on a monthly basis decreased slightly mainly due to delays in the central government operations data category.

Table 2. Monitoring of Data Releases
2006 Quarter 1 –2007 Quarter 11
Data Categories Q1/06
Revised		 Q4/06
Revised		 Q1/07
Monthly data 88.9 90.2 89.2
     Production index 91.4 91.1 91.7
     Consumer prices 95.0 92.6 92.0
     Producer prices 90.4 92.4 92.4
     Central government operations 73.9 82.2 77.8
     Analytical accounts of banking sector 89.0 90.5 90.9
     Analytical accounts of central bank 86.8 91.1 89.9
     Official reserves 94.1 90.1 89.4
     Reserves template 88.7 91.7 90.1
     Merchandise trade 90.7 90.1 88.4
Quarterly data 92.3 90.3 91.6
     National accounts 95.0 92.2 90.3
     Employment 95.3 91.5 96.3
     Unemployment 97.6 91.3 95.3
     Wages and earnings 89.1 91.4 91.9
     Central government debt 87.9 89.7 82.7
     Balance of payments 92.8 88.5 94.8
     External debt 88.4 90.3 90.1
Annual data 87.7 79.7 89.2
     General government operations 82.1 78.8 81.6
     International investment position 93.3 80.6 96.8
1Percentage of data categories subscribers disseminated on their National Summary Data Pages (NSDP) in accordance with SDDS timeliness requirements (quarterly averages).

DQAF Conversion of Metadata

After the Sixth Review of the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund agreed that IMF staff should reformat the SDDS and General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) metadata into the structure of the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF). The staff began conversion of metadata on the DSBB to the DQAF format in March 2006 and expects to complete conversion for all SDDS subscribers during the second quarter of 2007. At this report, the staff had converted the metadata for forty-six countries, and DQAF metadata for forty-two countries have been posted on the DSBB. These countries are: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Posting the remaining four countries’ DQAF metadata is pending their review and approval from the respective national authorities.