The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)[1] is UNESCO's official statistical agency. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it develops international statistical standards and produces internationally comparable data in UNESCO's fields of competence: education; science, technology and innovation; culture; and communication and information.
The Institute collects, validates and disseminates data reported by Member States, provides methodological guidance and technical assistance, and supports the development of national statistical systems. Its data are used by governments, researchers and international organizations to inform policy and monitor international commitments, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on SDG 4, SDG 9.5, and SDG 11.4.1.
History
The UNESCO General Conference established the UIS in 1999 as a Category 1 institute to strengthen UNESCO's statistical programme and respond to the growing demand for timely, reliable and internationally comparable data.
Following its establishment, Montreal was selected as the Institute's headquarters, with support from the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and the city of Montréal. The Institute became fully operational in Montreal in 2001.
The UIS has supported the monitoring of successive international frameworks, including Education for All, the Millennium Development Goals and, since 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals. It has also expanded its work in science, technology and innovation; culture; and communication and information, while providing statistical capacity building to Member States.
Organization
Mandate
UIS coordinates UNESCO's international statistical programme. Its mandate is to develop statistical standards and methodologies; collect, process and disseminate internationally comparable data; and support Member States in strengthening their statistical systems. It also provides the data and technical expertise required to monitor international development goals within UNESCO's areas of competence.
Governing Board
The Institute is governed by a 12-member Governing Board. Six members are appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO and six are elected by the UNESCO General Conference, each for a four-year term. They serve in their personal capacity and are selected for their expertise in statistics, public policy and fields related to UNESCO's mandate.
Statistical domains
Education
Education is the Institute's largest statistical domain. UIS data cover education from early childhood to tertiary and adult education, including participation, progression, completion, educational attainment, teachers, education finance, learning environments and learning outcomes.
Science, technology and innovation
The UIS produces indicators on research and development (R&D), including expenditure, researchers and research personnel, as well as other measures of scientific and technological capacity.
Culture
In the field of culture, the Institute develops standards and produces statistics and analysis on the cultural and creative ecosystem, including cultural employment, expenditure and trade.
Communication and information
UIS is currently reviewing its programming on communication and information statistics, aiming at resuming work on statistics related to communication technologies, media, access to information and knowledge.
Functions
Statistical standards
The UIS develops and maintains statistical classifications, methodologies and metadata that enable data from different countries to be interpreted and compared consistently. These include the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and the UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS). The Institute also contributes to the development of methodologies for measuring research and development, innovation, literacy, education finance and learning outcomes.
Data production and dissemination
The Institute compiles data reported by Member States from administrative systems, censuses, household surveys and other national sources. It validates and harmonizes these data before disseminating indicators through databases, publications and analytical reports.
Some data collections are conducted jointly with partner organizations. The annual UNESCO–OECD–Eurostat (UOE) data collection, for example, gathers internationally comparable education data from participating countries.
Capacity development
UIS provides technical assistance, training and methodological guidance to national statistical offices, ministries and other data producers. Its activities include supporting the implementation of international standards, strengthening education management information systems, improving the measurement of science and culture, and assisting countries with SDG reporting.
Global monitoring
The Institute serves as the custodian or co-custodian agency for several SDG indicators, notably those associated with SDG 4 on quality education. UIS data support international monitoring and reporting, including the preparation of UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report.
Partnerships
The UIS works with national statistical offices and government ministries, which are the principal sources of the data it compiles. These institutions also contribute to the development and implementation of international statistical standards.
These Institute partners include United Nations agencies, regional and sub-regional organizations, multilateral development banks, academic institutions and professional statistical associations. The Institute collaborates with regional organizations such as the African Union Commission, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Pacific Community (SPC), as well as international organizations such as the OECD, Eurostat, UNICEF and the World Bank on data collection, methodological development and SDG monitoring. These partnerships support data collection, methodological development, statistical capacity development and SDG monitoring.
Data and publications
The UIS publishes statistical data, classifications, methodological resources and analytical studies. Its principal data products and main resources include:
- UIS Data Browser – an online platform providing access to datasets, metadata, visualizations, a data application programming interface (API) and bulk downloads;
- Statistical standards and classifications – including the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), the UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics and metadata for SDG indicators;
- Methodological and technical resources – including manuals, technical guidelines, glossaries and methodological documentation to support national statistical systems. These resources include the LASER, a framework for assessing national data ecosystems across five components: Learning Assessment, Administrative data, Survey systems, Expenditure data, Review and monitoring
- Global monitoring resources – including SDG datasets, country profiles, dashboards and the SDG 4 Scorecard. Through the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML), the Institute supports the development of internationally comparable methodologies and knowledge products for measuring learning outcomes under SDG 4, including the Global Proficiency Framework (GPF), and guidance on Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPL).
- Analytical publications – including thematic reports, technical papers and statistical analyses in UNESCO's areas of competence. Notable publications include World Education Statistics, and statistical reports on education finance, culture, research and development, and SDG monitoring. UIS data also underpin a range of UNESCO publications, including the Global Education Monitoring Report and the UNESCO science report.
References
- ↑ UNESCO Institute for Statistics website.
