Statistical governance in the Latin American and the Caribbean Region: Achievements and challenges

Several countries in the Latin American and Caribbean Region are experiencing a spectacular economic growth. As a consequence, reliable statistics are increasingly needed. In order to ensure the credibility of official statistics governance has to be enhanced. This process has already started in the Region, and is being developed along several lines. First a Code of Good Practices in Statistics for the ECLAC Region, following the Fundamental Principles of United Nations and very much in the line of the European Code has been implemented and adopted and, in some countries, embodied into national Codes. As a consequence a number of countries in the Region are now in the process of updating their legislation on official statistics and adapting it to the principles of this Code. Another line of development is a plan for assessing the compliance of the current practices in the countries with the principles of the Code, and to that end a series of peer reviews, as well as some monitoring on the accomplishment of improvement actions, are being undertaken. This paper intends to present an overview of the current situation, outlining the improvements already achieved and the main difficulties encountered in the process, and commenting on some challenges still pending.