IMF publishes its survey of Swedish statistics

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, published Thursday 20 September a report containing a survey of Swedish economic statistics in a number of fields. This is what is known as an ROSC, a Report on Observance of Standards and Codes, and forms part of the IMF's ongoing work covering a large number of countries. The survey examines the quality of the statistics, the statistical methods used and the legal and institutional framework. The work is aimed at improving the quality of the statistics to help prevent economic crises.

Sweden is one of the first countries to be examined in this way and the report concludes that Swedish economic statistics in the areas surveyed easily fulfil the IMF's special data dissemination standards. Some suggestions for improvement are also expressed. The IMF points out in particular that the statistics concerning the public sector economy need to be improved to enable greater understanding of the developments in the central government budget and debt.

The report can be downloaded in its entirety from the IMF's website, www.imf.org, select "Standards and Codes" and then "Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs)" from the menu.

Any further questions can be answered by Gunnar Blomberg, Advisor, Monetary Policy Department, tel. +46-8-787 01 46