Data collection vital: Statistician

Business

A STATE agency head says information on Papua New Guinea’s economy, population, and other key indicators is crucial to better planning and achieving outcomes.
National Statistical Office acting head John Igitoi said the data and statistics collected would guide policy makers, investors, businesses and the government.
Igitoi said the Government needed to be informed of the key economic indicators such as its gross domestic product (GDP) as it was a record of the country’s economic health.
He said Government(s) could use GDP data to decide on where and how to target their policies; for example, if a sector was economically weak the government could put more resources into it to promote its growth.
He said higher GDP indicated higher potential tax funding bases for governments to draw on.
Igitoi said a high GDP gave the opportunity for the country to repay loans.
“We follow strict standards on the compilation of GDP provided by the United Nations to ensure that Papua New Guinea’s GDP is comparable across countries.”