Evaluation of FAO's statistical work

The evaluation of FAO’s statistical work examines the relevance and the effectiveness of statistics in the era of “leave no one behind”. It appraises the progress made by FAO and the challenges faced in establishing functional statistical governance, providing quality statistics, and adopting sustainable capacity development at the global, regional and country level.

The evaluation found that statistics remain core to FAO’s overall work. Members demand for data to support SDG indicator implementation and the use of statistics in policy-making has increased. FAO’s profile has been raised through its methodological work on the SDG indicators and outreach work on national standards.

However, gaps in internal governance, data quality and capacity development need urgent remedial actions. The evaluation recommends long-term investment in coherent and coordinated governance, production and dissemination of modernized quality statistics, better use of resources within a sustainable capacity development framework, and more.