(15 January 2013) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) overhauled its CEPALSTAT statistical information website in order to improve the dissemination of indicators relevant to the analysis of the economic, social and environmental situation of the region's countries.
The new CEPALSTAT website systematizes and documents statistical information produced by countries' official agencies and international agencies, as well as relevant indicators on the regional situation produced by ECLAC Divisions.
The website, which is in Spanish and English, provides access to periodic indicators, in the form of tables and pre-defined graphs, or through the database created for this purpose. This enables the production of statistical tables with data from different series, countries and periods online and in real time. Each available variable is associated with a set of metadata that includes the description of sources used, definitions and other relevant aspects.
The overhaul of the CEPALSTAT website is part of the ECLAC statistical dissemination and monitoring programme, which seeks to develop a strategy to disseminate statistical information to various users, in the form of several user-friendly products, with a view to promoting the use of comparable regional statistics and supporting the development of informed public policies.
Most of the available information refers to the 33 Latin American and Caribbean States that are members of ECLAC, and its eight Associate Members. It is, however, possible to find data from other countries (that are not necessarily members of ECLAC).
CEPALSTAT is organized under four major topics, not unlike the international classifications of statistical activities. There are demographic, social, economic and environmental indicators, as well as some cross-cutting areas such as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The new website makes it possible to: generate national and regional profiles based on a series of key indicators in the economic, social, environmental, MDG and gender spheres, create a collection of statistical graphs on relevant regional issues, and access mechanisms for monitoring and assessing regional and international commitments spearheaded by ECLAC.
It is also possible for app developers to access web services through the Application Programming Interface (API). ECLAC is thus following the open data trend that makes certain information freely available to everyone, without the restrictions of copyright, patent or other mechanisms of control. This approach is increasingly used by agencies that produce and disseminate public statistical information.
In addition, the CEPALSTAT website provides access to ECLAC's periodical statistical publication, as well as the statistical annexes to the analytical reports. It is also possible to look up a series of documents containing international methodological recommendations and classifications for the production of statistics that are international in scope and that can more widely used.
cepal.org, Telephone: (56 2) 2210 2040.