Special Data Dissemination Standard

SDDS - Quick Start

This site provides information prepared by countries in support of their observance of the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The information provided about their data and their data dissemination practices is called metadata.

SDDS standard formats. Countries provide their metadata in a set of standard formats. A country has a base page for each of the SDDS's data categories (for example, consumer prices, interest rates, international reserves, etc.). The base page first lists a contact person, the formats in which the data are available (news release, bulletin, Internet, diskette, etc.), and a hyperlink to the subscriber's National Summary Data Page (NSDP), which provides the actual data corresponding to the data categories and components prescribed under the SDDS. It then provides a table that corresponds to the four dimensions of the SDDS:

• the data: coverage, periodicity, and timeliness;
• access by the public,
• integrity, and
• quality.

The table shows, on its left, the four dimensions of the SDDS, each of which consists of two to four monitorable elements. On its right, the table shows the country's description of how it meets each element of the SDDS. Cross-country comparisons of the practices described are now available through the query facility discussed under the item Navigation/Query below.

For more detailed information than is in the base page about how to obtain data or about compilation methodology, click on the category-specific dissemination formats page orther summary methodology page. (The summary methodology pages will be added gradually over a period of time.) For more detailed information about a country's data release calendar or its observance of the SDDS, click on the cross-category advance release calendar or summary page on observance and transition plans (both of which are also accessible from the country's index page).

Quick-reference map. The locations in the country pages of answers to some frequently asked questions are mapped below.

Example: For questions about the dates of release of a country's consumer price index or other SDDS data category (the fourth item in the list), the base page provides a description of its practice in general terms, along the lines of "in the second week following the end of the reference month." The cross-category advance release calendar provides dates for the quarter ahead.

Query facility: An interactive SDDS metadata query facility is now available online. This facility is designed to provide a multitude of "views" into the metadata of SDDS Subscribers, thereby facilitating comparative analysis of data compilation and dissemination practices. Users are able to:

• View information by Metadata Dimension(s) and Element(s) for one or more Countries and Data Categories This feature provides quick access to subscribers' metadata for any combination of countries, data categories, and metadata elements (data coverage, periodicity, timeliness, etc.).
  
• View information by Key Concepts within Metadata Element(s) for one or more Countries and Data Categories. This feature provides a rapid means to analyse various statistical compilation and dissemination practices among SDDS subscribers in terms of key concepts (i.e. index base year, institutional coverage, etc.) embedded within many of the metadata elements.
  
• View Advance Release Calendar (ARC) information for one or more data categories and countries This feature permits the review ARC information for any combination of countries and data categories on a quarter-ahead basis.
  
• View Summary of Observance information: cross-country practices vis-a-vis the SDDS This facility privides comparative summary information for any combination of countries and data categories regarding how the SDDS specifications on data coverage, periodicity, and timeliness are being met.
  

Query output formats.Users may choose to present the results of the queries executed in a variety of different formats including "By country", "By data category", "By dimension", "By element", and "By key-concept".

Comments. The DSBB is a cooperative effort involving the IMF, member countries, and the communities of users and producers of economic and financial data. This website is published and maintained by the IMF as a service to its membership. The preparation of metadata for the DSBB - and the development and regular updating of NSDPs - by countries subscribing to the SDDS reflects a major commitment by those countries as their part of this important cooperative effort. Your comments are invited at ddsd@imf.org.