Page 179 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS479 Saidi H.

Modernization of the Tunisian Statistical System
and its impact on statistical production for SDGs
Saidi Hedi
Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics

Abstract
The new political reality in Tunisia has introduced radical changes across
different fields, resulting in many new challenges facing the National Statistical
System (NSS), which were mainly related to the increase of the user’s demands
for statistical information, especially after the adoption of the new law on
access to information. The need to consolidate an image of the credibility and
independence of the statistical system, to improve data quality, to put in place
more dynamic systems of information dissemination and to preserve
confidentiality in accordance with international standards, mandates that the
statistical system be renewed. To overcome the challenges and modernize the
Tunisian statistical system, most notably the pivotal structure embodied in the
National Institute of Statistics (NIS), with a view to meet the challenges and
new requirements of SDGs, a twinning project was launched with European
statistical institutions for the period 2016-2018. The main objectives of this
program are:
• The adoption of a new statistical law;
• The implementation of the Tunisian Statistical Charter (TSC);
• The revision of the organization chart of the NIS-Tunisia;
• The adoption of the SCN2008;
• The development of regional statistics;
• The establishment of a quality management system;
• The development of a communication strategy.
We will introduce the current situation of the Tunisian Statistical System, as
well as its strengths and weaknesses, the results of the twinning program and
their impacts on statistical production for SDGs and will focus on work
progress to initiate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Keywords
The National Statistical System; Statistical modernization; quality
management; SDGs.

1. Introduction
Tunisia has had a satisfactory statistical production system for a very long
time, making it one of the most developed countries in Africa and the Arab
world. The National Statistical System (NSS) is highly centralized as all

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