Quality and timely statistics on different sectors is required to formulate effective policies for uninterrupted progress of the country, speakers observed at a programme on Tuesday.
Integration of latest technology is needed for better analysis of statistics which will help policymakers to have more clear idea of a particular issue, they also viewed.
Their observations came at a programme jointly organised by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and Bangladesh Statistics Association (BSA) at BBS auditorium in the city's Agargaon, marking World Statistics Day-2020.
Presided over by BBS Director General Mohammad Tajul Islam, the event was addressed by Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury, BSA President Professor Dr PK Matiur Rahman and BSA General Secretary AKM Ashraful Haque.
Delivering his speech, Mr Chowdhury said accurate and timely statistics is required to shape national strategy for economic and social development of the country.
It is the demand of the time to use statistics for the welfare of the people through the utmost use of information technology, he added.
Realising the importance of statistics, the government has already enacted the Statistics Act, 2013 which will help the country in proper planning for development and supervise the progress, he commented.
Besides, the government also approved National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) which will pave the way to establish the National Statistical System (NSS), he said.
The BSA president said before resolving the problem of the country's huge population, especially in the areas of education, health and accommodation, there are no alternative to proper planning and relevant information.
The demand for information of different kinds has been increasing in Bangladesh like other countries, he said, adding: "I hope BBS will be able to meet those demands."
The BBS director general said BBS has been providing official statistics for research and development in the sectors like education, health, economy, demography, agriculture, women empowerment, human resource, environment etc.
The bureau has also been carrying out human census, economic census, and agro census once in 10 years, which are used by different government agencies, development partners, academics, students etc.
BBS deputy director general Ghosh Subabrata delivered the welcome speech while BBS director Abul Kalam Azad presented the keynote paper.
Under the initiative of United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), World Statistics Day is observed in every five years across the globe.
This year's motto for the day was 'Connecting the World with Data We Can Trust.'
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