Specialists from 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries, together with representatives of regional and international organizations, participated in the Annual Seminar on National Accounts for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024: Towards SNA 2025, which took place from September 10 to 11 at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Javier Medina, ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, who highlighted the importance of the System of National Accounts (SNA) in providing a solid and up-to-date conceptual framework that allows for the collection of detailed and internationally comparable economic data.
In his speech, Javier Medina stressed the importance of reliable statistics for the development of effective economic policies in the region and the crucial moment in which the international statistical community finds itself with the upcoming adoption of the SNA 2025. He also highlighted the consolidation of this regional event.
“This seminar has established itself as a fundamental space for sharing updates on conceptual frameworks, learning about countries’ progress in implementing international recommendations for compiling National Accounts, and sharing experiences and good practices to address common challenges in compiling these statistics,” said ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary.
Representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the Central American Statistical Commission of SICA (CENTROESTAD) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) participated in the event.
The meeting featured several sessions that addressed crucial issues such as the status of the SNA 2025 update process, presented by UNSD, and the implementation of natural capital measurements, led by the OECD. The World Bank also presented an update on the activities of the International Comparison Program (ICP) and the results of the 2021 cycle in the region.
During the two-day meeting, the specialists discussed topics such as the use of machine learning for GDP estimation in Mexico, as well as key advances in countries such as Costa Rica, Brazil and Guatemala in the implementation of the recommendations of the SNA 2025.
The seminar also included discussions on satellite accounts related to culture and bioeconomy, providing a valuable space for the exchange of experiences and good practices among experts from the region.
The Annual Seminar on National Accounts, organized by ECLAC since 1982, seeks to strengthen the statistical capacities of participating countries and improve the quality and comparability of economic statistics.
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