The annual publication of World Development Indicators is the culmination of a process that involves many people and many organizations, starting with national statistical offices and continuing to the international agencies that compile global databases. Some are highly specialized. Others have a broad mandate with large responsibilities. All need to work together to produce consistent and timely data. We are grateful to our many partners who help us bring this book to you.

Efforts to improve and expand the scope of national and international statistics are ongoing. This year’s World Development Indicators reports on initiatives to improve the measurement of gender statistics, urban and housing indicators, business conditions and the investment climate, and migration and remittance flows. Agreement has been reached on proceeding with revisions to the 1993 System of National Accounts. And the latest round of data collection for the International Comparison Program was launched in February 2005. This will be the biggest global effort ever undertaken to collect comparable price data from countries. New estimates of purchasing power parities will appear in 2006.

While these initiatives will lead to improvements in specific data sets, it is widely recognized that sustainable improvement in development statistics requires continuing investment in national and international statistical systems. The Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics, agreed last year at the Second Roundtable on Managing for Results, sets out an ambitious agenda for the development of statistics, based on investment in national strategies, and for better coordination of activities at the international level.

Good progress is being made in implementing the Marrakech plan. More than 40 developing countries are now using a strategic development plan for developing their statistical system, and more than 30 more have proposals to do so. PARIS21, the international partnership in statistics for development, has produced knowledge resources to help countries develop better statistical systems. The World Bank has implemented a multicountry lending program, STATCAP, to provide financing for statistical capacity building. International agencies have formed the International Household Survey Network to provide wide access to information from household surveys conducted by countries and agencies. And because benchmark demographic data collected through censuses is so important, the United Nations has convened an interagency group to prepare for the 2010 round of censuses.

Improvements in global statistics require the combined efforts of many partners. A good example is the work of the UN’s interagency and expert group on the Millennium Development Goals. By bringing together the many agencies responsible for compiling indicators used to monitor progress toward the Goals, the group has created an important forum for identifying statistical gaps, harmonizing work, and disseminating reliable indicators. The results of their activities are visible in the report on the Goals in the World view section and throughout the rest of this book.

Of course much work remains to be done. As always, we invite your comments and suggestions. You can find out more about our work at www.worldbank.org/data. Or you can send email to data@worldbank.org.

Shaida Badiee, Director
Development Data Group