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ABUJA – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has adopted new guidelines aimed at harmonising national statistical systems across member states to improve the quality, comparability and availability of official data for policymaking and regional integration.
The decision was reached at the end of a five-day meeting of Directors-General of National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) of ECOWAS member states, held from July 27 to 31, 2026, in Dakar, Senegal.
The meeting, held under the ECOWAS Statistical Policy, focused on strengthening cooperation among member states to produce reliable, comparable and timely statistics needed to support evidence-based decision-making, monitor Community programmes and advance regional integration.
According to the ECOWAS Commission, the newly validated guidelines mark a major milestone in implementing the regional statistical policy and are expected to improve the production and harmonisation of official statistics across West Africa.
The Commission said the framework would support the monitoring of Community policies, promote macroeconomic convergence and provide the data needed for sustainable development planning across the region.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dr. Kaliou Sylla, who was represented by the Acting Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission, Professor N’Zué Félix Fofana, stressed the strategic importance of quality data in driving development and regional cooperation.
He said data has become a critical tool for sovereignty, economic transformation and regional integration, noting that credible statistics are essential for evidence-based policymaking and the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2050.
The ECOWAS Commission said the outcomes of the meeting represent another step towards building a more integrated regional statistical system capable of supporting economic planning, governance and development across member states.
