Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi: Your partner on the path to sustainable development

Abu Dhabi - By launching programmes such as Ghadan21, and the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Abu Dhabi set out to shift away from a reliance on hydrocarbons and build a robust, diversified, innovative and knowledge-based economy

Our world is becoming increasingly data rich and data dependent. In fact, everything is becoming quantitative, with data that is not just in numbers, but numbers that follow complex patterns, and patterns that carry information.
This information gives us the ability to predict future behaviour and trends - allowing us to continuously improve and optimise our society and the world as a whole. Many, if not all, decisions and improvements in various sectors such as healthcare, the environment and more are built on data and numbers, which is why it's important we utilise them. With the growth of data use, comes the growing need for those to accurately and credibly interpret it.
This is where the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) comes in: by providing reliable, accurate, and up-to-date statistics, compiled in line with the best international practices, to meet user needs and guide decision-makers in developing policies, designing plans, and preparing for research studies, SCAD plays a pivotal role in advancing Abu Dhabi's sustainable development and achieving the vision and goals of its wise leadership.
Ahmed Al Shaiba Al Sheryani, executive director of the Data Sector at SCAD, noted that the statistical work programmes set by the centre is mainly intended to serve development initiatives in the emirate by conducting local statistical surveys and also collecting, classifying, storing, analysing and disseminating official statistics, in accordance with global standards and the fundamental principles of independence, transparency, reliability, confidentiality and focus on users. He also alluded to the particular attention SCAD pays to enhancing statistical awareness among members of the public, emphasising the importance of co-operating with the centre's field enumerators by providing the required data and information for its statistical projects.
By launching programmes and strategies such as Ghadan21, and the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Abu Dhabi set out to shift away from a reliance on hydrocarbons and build a robust, diversified, innovation-driven and knowledge-based economy. These initiatives set short and long-term goals that SCAD has been key in measuring and interpreting - providing the UAE's leadership and decision makers invaluable data to build the capital's economic blueprint and track progress.
SCAD carries out statistical surveys and opinion polls across a wide range of sectors in the emirate of Abu Dhabi that give policymakers, the business sector, as well as researchers, crucial results and data in drawing up development plans for target sectors in the emirate. These include:
The Annual Economic Survey
In line with Abu Dhabi's aspirations to achieve economic diversification, the Annual Economic Survey provides the annual national estimates needed to prepare national accounts aggregates, and the necessary data to support economic decision and policy making in Abu Dhabi, and measures the performance of these policies. It enables the construction of key economic indicators, particularly the GDP for Abu Dhabi. Such information is of crucial significance to the Emirate, especially in view of the unprecedented development and growth Abu Dhabi's economy is experiencing.
The data from this survey also provides entrepreneurs, businesspeople, investors and general stakeholders with the necessary data and baseline business cycle information for better investment decisions. The Economic Survey data also enables estimation of the extent of economic diversification and growth in non-oil sectors.
Foreign Investment Survey
One of the survey's main objectives is to understand the priorities and reality of investment in the emirate to study foreign investment flows, improve the business environment, and create a more attractive foreign investment climate.
The emirate's foreign investment database demonstrates the attractive investment nature of Abu Dhabi, its economic growth, and the resulting implications for investments in general and foreign investment in particular.
Research and Development Survey
As part of SCAD's commitment to support knowledge and innovation development in Abu Dhabi, and line with the Abu Dhabi's Accelerator Programme "Ghadan 21", the Research and Development Survey develops and provides indicators for research, development and innovation in Abu Dhabi, to improve the emirate's knowledge base, competitiveness and innovation, and make available the data necessary to support economic decision and policymaking as well as measure the performance of these policies.
Environmental Survey
The Environmental Survey provides the necessary information to improve the sector's monitoring process, support environment-related government decision-making, study the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in Abu Dhabi, enrich energy and water statistics and statistics related to the quantities and composition of solid waste.
Economic Frame Update Survey
The results of the Economic Frame Update Survey are the basis used to form a statistical sampling frame. This can then be relied on for the withdrawal of samples for various surveys, data on economic activity levels and providing a unified database on establishment, to be shared with government entities.
Foreign Trade in Services
SCAD is one of the first entities to conduct a Foreign Trade in Services Survey. This survey complements Abu Dhabi's data on Foreign Trade in Merchandise, and covers services in tourism, manufacturing industries and construction, thereby contributing important inputs for the compilation of country's GDP and balance of payments.
Opinion Polls
SCAD conducts several social and economic surveys on a regular basis. These surveys aim to measure public opinion about various topics. For instance, considering the unprecedented challenges faced due to the coronavirus pandemic, governments found themselves in great need to formulate a joint response and ongoing strategy to face these challenges. To do so, data was key.  Data has proved itself to be a vital component in helping governments, healthcare organisations and other sectors battle the coronavirus pandemic.
SCAD conducted opinion polls on the effects of the pandemic on Abu Dhabi's business sector to estimate the impact on operational processes and the economic situation of establishments in the securities markets sector, the insurance sector, the banking sector and the hospitality sector. That is in addition to identifying trends in personal transfers and trade licences.
Other opinion polls were conducted to assess the effectiveness of precautionary and preventive measures in combating infection from the Covid-19 pandemic and the methods of containing and limiting its spread. Polls were also conducted into changes in consumers' behaviour in purchasing goods and supplies during the pandemic period and how people spent their time in home quarantine. This was done with the aim of learning about their behaviour, level of awareness and commitment to the 'We Are Committed' campaign, which sought to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
Additionally, a Reading Survey is conducted to learn more about the community's reading habits in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and a Tolerance Survey to measure the level of tolerance in terms of the various social values ??and freedom to practice religious rituals in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, some tailored opinion surveys are conducted to meet specific government entities' needs in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Partnerships and Cooperation: Why Statistics are Better Together
Numbers reflect the reality we live in and anticipate the reality of tomorrow. This is why SCAD places a big importance on collaborative relationships and data exchange amongst data providers and users, respondents, and public and private sector partners, entrepreneurs and community members at large. Ultimately, they play a significant role in the emirate's overall decision-making process.
These are important and results-oriented surveys, producing information and data that help decision makers formulate strategic plans and implement projects and initiatives. The need to cooperate with field interviewers stems from the conviction that developing the statistical system in Abu Dhabi is not the responsibility of a single government entity. Instead, it is a collective national responsibility that everyone participates in, each according to their specialisation, be they ministries, government departments, semi-governmental entities, private enterprises or the community at large, in order to obtain accurate and more comprehensive data.
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