1. August Götzfried Eurostat unit B 4
Common Open Standards for the Exchange and Sharing of data and metadata (SDMX) SDMX and National Accounts
August Götzfried
Eurostat unit B 4
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development cooperation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008

2. What is SDMX ?
Statistical data and metadata exchange initiative carried by 7 international organizations (including the UN Statistical Division and Eurostat)
SDMX aims to define standard formats, an IT architecture and content-oriented guidelines for the national and international exchange of statistical data and metadata
Benefits: automated production and processing of data and metadata files and consistent use of statistical concepts should lead to resource savings at all levels of SDMX application
Since 2008 Eurostat holds the chair of the SDMX initiative
SDMX Tools can help defining data structures and metadata structures, but they do not replace the statistical conceptual work.
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development co-operation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008

3. The main components of SDMX
1. Standard formats for data and metadata:
based on a common information model, the SDMX standards include formats based on XML and EDIFACT
implemented as “data structure definition” using the respective structural metadata (i.e. dimensions and code lists) and as “metadata structure definition” for reference metadata
2. IT architecture for data and metadata exchange:
SDMX provides guidelines for data pushing and data pulling from the website of the data provider
SDMX sponsors provide a set of openly accessible IT tools which can be used for editing, viewing and converting data and metadata into and from SDMX-ML formats
SDMX Tools can help defining data structures and metadata structures, but they do not replace the statistical conceptual work.
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development co-operation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008

4. The main components of SDMX
3. SDMX Content-oriented guidelines:
SDMX cross domain concepts, cross domain code lists, statistical subject matter domains and metadata common vocabulary released in 02/2008
Important for the harmonization of structural and reference metadata at international and national organizations
SDMX Tools can help defining data structures and metadata structures, but they do not replace the statistical conceptual work.
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development co-operation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008

5. The implementation of SDMX in National Accounts
Based data sharing agreements between the ECB, the OECD and Eurostat common data structure definitions (DSDs) were worked out.
These cover National Accounts aggregates, Institutional Sectors Accounts and Balance sheets, Financial Accounts, Government Finance Statistics, supply and use tables, input/output tables and regional accounts.
These DSDs are used for the National Accounts Data collection (led by the OECD) and for the ESA 95 transmission program.
For reference metadata Eurostat defined the Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS) with 21 statistical concepts which should also be implemented for the European Statistical System in term.
SDMX Tools can help defining data structures and metadata structures, but they do not replace the statistical conceptual work.
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development co-operation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008

6. SDMX initiative can be called a international success story
Conclusions
SDMX initiative can be called a international success story
As also confirmed by the UNSC as the preferred standard, the SDMX standards should be used in more and more statistical domains and at more and more national and international organizations
However
More capacity building and training needed
For more information
SDMX Tools can help defining data structures and metadata structures, but they do not replace the statistical conceptual work.
Joint Eurostat-UNSD Conference on National Accounts in the context of development co-operation, Luxembourg, 6 to 8 May 2008