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Chapter One: Membership of Palestine in the Special Data
Dissemination Standards of the IMF (SDDS)
A view of PCBS Celebrations on the event of PCBS subscription of SDDS
Origin and Purpose
In 1996, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the initiative of Special Data Dissemination
Standards (SDDS). This represents a framework for the dissemination of statistical data by providing a number
of indicators with special specifications within specific dates. It is aimed at improving the coverage of available
data in individual countries for public use and includes quality, timeliness and enhancing data and information
that underlie the operations of international financial markets and the assessment of economic policies in general.
This should facilitate the decision-making process in public and private sectors. The need to develop standards
for data dissemination emerged during the world financial crisis in the mid-nineties and it was believed that
poor data and information contributed to the occurrence of the crisis.
As Palestine strides forwards towards independence and integration into international organizations, the
subscription of Palestine to the SDDS will provide accurate data and information for investors and policy makers by
providing standard indicators with the required transparency. These indicators are published on the IMF website.
SDDS Indicators
SDDS includes 22 indicators divided into four economic sectors, namely: the Real sector, in which GDP is
considered one of the most important indicators; the public finance sector in which general government operations
are the most important indicators; the financial sector in which the most important indicators are survey depository
corporations; and the external sector where the balance of payments and international investment position are
considered to be the most important indicators.
Importance of SDDS
The significance of SDDS lies in the enhancement of the process of providing integrated and comprehensive data
with regular coverage and prompt dissemination. Countries that have the capacity to access the capital markets,
or preparing to access, should disseminate basic data, to let data users in general, the participants in the financial