New york: The world marked today World Statistics Day with the UN stressing the vital role of statistics in helping to address the challenges of our time. "The Sustainable Development Goals have helped transform statistical systems and increase the availability of data. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, statistical systems proved their resilience, delivering the data that guided life-saving decisions as well as social and economic recovery," said UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres in a message to mark the Day, which is observed once every five years.

According to Emirates News Agency, created by the United Nations Statistical Commission, World Statistics Day was first celebrated on 20 October 2010. This year's theme is "Driving change with quality statistics and data for everyone." Guterres highlighted the critical importance of timely, accurate, disaggregated, and independent data as the world faces interconnected global challenges such as climate change and rising inequalities.

Guterres emphasized that this year's observance reaffirms the commitment to the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics: impartiality, professionalism, and adherence to scientific principles and professional ethics. He asserted that citizens everywhere deserve trustworthy data to inform public policy and strengthen accountability.

The UN underscores that with evolving technology and new tools, the potential to collect, analyze, and visualize data continues to expand, offering fresh opportunities to advance sustainable development and social equity worldwide.