The accurate, timely, reliable and consistent statistical data is of an utmost importance for policy making and strategy development in any country. Based on the well-known DIKW Hierarchy (Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom), correct and contextualised application of knowledge (wisdom) requires gathering parts as data, connecting them as information and forming a whole as knowledge.

As the main socio-economic information bank on and for the OIC Member Countries, the Centre gives special attention to increase the data and information on and for the OIC Member Countries and enhance the national statistical systems (NSS) of Member Countries.

BASEINDThe Statistics and Information Department (SID) of the Centre is mainly responsible for collecting, collating, processing and disseminating socio-economic statistics and information on and for the utilisation of the OIC Member Countries. The OIC Statistics (OICStat) Database serves as the primary online statistical source for the users all over the world who are interested in data and information about OIC Member Countries. The OICStat is regularly updated and enriched on the basis of information collected from/provided by two main sources: International statistical sources and national statistical sources. The option for the dissemination of data from the national statistical sources is available as long as the countries feed data to the OICStat. Currently, the OICStat hosts 1852 socio-economic indicators under 27 categories for the 57 OIC Member Countries, dating back to 1970.

SESRIC Motion Charts (SMC)The SMC Module, an interactive and dynamic data visualisation module based on motion charts, allows the users to dynamically explore the trends of several indicators hosted by SESRIC. The charts generated by the SMC Module are rendered within the user's browser using the Adobe Flash technology. The produced charts are time series based bubble charts including two indicators that can be customised by the user to have either linear or logarithmic scale(s) with alternative bubble sizes based on the related indicators.

The OIC-Countries in Figures (OIC-CIF) profiles the most recent information on OIC Member Countries. The profile information presented under 7 sections, namely Background, Geography and Climate, Society and Demographics, Economy and Sectors, Selected Country in Figures, Logistics, and Special Links for each country, can also be exported to Report format for easy access by the users.

Statistical Yearbook of OIC Member CountriesOther online data modules which work in parallel with the OICStat are OIC Top/Bottom Finder (OIC-TBF) and OIC Ranker. While OIC-TBF extracts the full list of OICStat indicators in which an OIC Member Country is positioned at the very Top or Bottom, OIC Ranker has been developed to rank the OIC Member Countries by a selected indicator hosted under the OICStat.

Apart from the abovementioned online data modules, the Centre also hosts the Roster of Statistics Experts (ROSE) which provides opportunity to reach out to the pool of experts that work in the official statistics sector or in other sectors that deliver services contributing to the efforts of the agencies with an embedded statistical role. In addition, the ROSE is aimed at contributing significantly to useful exchange of information and experiences within the Islamic World through enabling the flow of communication between the professionals and the relevant stakeholders.

BASEINDAdditionally, the striking facts about OIC Member Countries have been reflected through the Did You Know (DYK)? Module since 2010. The DYK aims to highlight the current situation of OIC Member Countries on a specific socio-economic variable in a one-page snapshot format. Information is presented graphically at the individual country levels together with the OIC and the other country group average values.

The SID also prepares major publications periodically such as the Statistical Yearbook on OIC Member Countries and SWOT Outlook on OIC Member Countries. The Statistical Yearbook presents time series data in a tabular format for some of the important indicators that are currently being hosted under the relevant categories of the OICStat.

The SWOT Outlook on OIC Member Countries follows the analytical approach of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) method to present profiles of the group of OIC Member Countries while comparing it with the World and groups of non-OIC developing and developed countries to show where they stand and may move towards in various areas of concern.

Among the other publications of the SID, Towards the Achievement of Prioritised Sustainable Development Goals in OIC Countries presents an overview of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using the most recent data. The Report analyses whether the selected indicators have moved towards or away from the related targets of the SDGs.

The OIC Statistical Outlook Series as a periodical thematic statistical publication provides brief analysis with figures reviewing the performance and progress of the OIC countries in the categories hosted at the OIC Statistics Database (OICStat).

The SID is also responsible to support and coordinate activities and projects towards enhancing the national statistical systems of OIC Member Countries. To this end, the SID mainly coordinates with National Statistical Offices and other related stakeholders.

Since 2011, the Centre also assumes the role of the Secretariat of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom). In its capacity as the Secretariat of the OIC-StatCom, our Centre continued its efforts to organize the regular sessions of OIC-StatCom in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). It is a highly instrumental platform similar to the UN Statistical Commission aiming at supporting the national statistical systems (NSS) and enhancing cooperation among the national statistical offices (NSOs) of the Member Countries for development of better national strategies and policies.

Within the framework of this Centre’s Statistical Capacity Building Programme (StatCaB), we continued to organise statistical courses, technical missions, study visits on various statistical aspects in the NSOs and statistical departments of line ministries in the Member Countries.

Other functions of the SID are to develop projects geared towards improving the NSOs of OIC countries and to establish collaborative relationships with statistical departments of national and regional and international organisations and maintaining/improving continuous and direct contacts and networks with the NSOs of the OIC member countries. Currently, the Centre conducts the project on the Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.