Press Release No. 11/247

Press Release: The Republic of Guyana Begins Participating in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System

June 22, 2011

Guyana began participating in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) on June 22, 2011, marking a major step forward in the development of the country’s statistical system. Comprehensive information on Guyana’s statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddscountrylist/).

“Guyana’s participation in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System follows significant improvements already achieved in the quality and coverage of national statistics and in the strength of the national statistical system,” said Mr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Guyana. “Guyana is committed to use the GDDS as a general framework to continue developing the national system consistent with best international practices,” he added.

Ms. Adelheid Burgi-Schmelz, Director of the IMF Statistics Department, welcomed Guyana’s participation in the GDDS. “Participating in the GDDS is a major milestone in Guyana’s statistical development. I am confident the country will benefit from using the GDDS as a framework for continuing development of its statistical system,” she underscored.

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. Guyana is the 100^th GDDS participant (excluding the countries that have graduated from the GDDS to the more rigorous Special Data Dissemination Standard).