The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from its inception in 1973 recognised the importance of adequate statistical services in achieving its goals and aspirations.  Within the framework of the Treaty establishing the Caribbean Community and in accordance with Resolution No. 54/74/4 of the Fourth Meeting of the Common Market Council of Ministers under the general supervision of Council, CARICOM established the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) in 1974, one year after the establishment of CARICOM.  The objectives of the SCCS as given by Council in 1974 were, inter alia,  “to foster increased recognition of the importance of adequate statistical services to the countries of the region; to widen the scope and coverage of statistical data collection; and to improve the quality, comparability and timeliness of statistics produced.”  

Harmonised statistical information is an essential ingredient in planning, monitoring and evaluating the development of the Region. Official Statistics is a public good that provides a statistical and information infrastructure responsive to the needs of citizens, public and private decision-makers, researchers, the media and other users. Notwithstanding its importance, developing countries like those in CARICOM remain challenged in their delivery of quality statistics for use in policy and other developmental concerns.  Additionally, recent obligations at the regional and international levels have placed new demands on national and regional statistical systems, rendering the need for regional cooperation in statistics even more urgent, beginning with the need to reinforce statistical development at the country level.  Strong regional cooperation on statistics would be of benefit to both regional stakeholders and to national statistical systems, as the latter play a crucial role in policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation.

The CARICOM RSDS forms the shared foundation for developing the region’s statistical capacity. Through this strategy, CARICOM National Statistical Offices commit to ensuring equitable access to official statistics to all categories of users and ensuring a high level of quality in the production and dissemination of official statistics in the Region.

The RSDS is guided by the five (5) Strategic Priorities, namely, 1-Standards and Harmonisation, 2-Governance, 3-Integrated Statistical Systems, 4-Innovation and 5-Advocacy and Communication. These Strategic Priorities, when implemented in an integrated manner, will seek to strengthen and position the national and regional statistical infrastructure to provide the statistics for evidence-based decision-making, towards the ultimate outcome of resilient economies and sustained economic growth and development of CARICOM countries.

See also Regional Statistics Programme