Press Release No. 12/283

Press Release: The Islamic Republic of Iran Begins Participation in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System

August 6, 2012

The Islamic Republic of Iran began participating in the International Monetary Fund’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) on August 6, 2012, marking a major step forward in the development of its statistical system. Comprehensive information on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddscountrylist/).

To mark the occasion, Dr. Mahmud Bahmani, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), noted: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to use the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System as a general framework to continue developing the national statistical system consistent with the best international practices. The participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the GDDS will also lead to the production and dissemination of more reliable and timely statistics.”

Ms. Adelheid Burgi-Schmelz, Director of the IMF Statistics Department, welcomed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s participation in the GDDS and observed: “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s participation in the GDDS is a major milestone in the country’s statistical development. I am confident that the Islamic Republic of Iran will benefit from using the GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system.”

The GDDS was established by the IMF in 1997. It provides a framework to help countries to develop their statistical systems to produce comprehensive and accurate statistics for policymaking and analysis. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the 103^rd GDDS participant (excluding the countries that have graduated from the GDDS to the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS)).