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Statistical Activities

UNCTAD maintains a broad range of statistical programmes covering trade, investment, maritime transport, and development. These programmes produce the data published in UNCTADstat and the flagship publications of UNCTAD.

150+
Statistical series
200+
Economies covered
60+
Years of historical data
8
Core statistical programmes
📦

International Trade Statistics

UNCTAD compiles and disseminates comprehensive data on international merchandise trade, trade in services, and tariff and non-tariff measures. Data covers over 200 economies and spans more than 50 years.

Key outputs

  • Merchandise trade by product (SITC, HS)
  • Trade in services by category (EBOPS)
  • Trade partner matrices
  • Trade indices and structural transformation
  • Tariff and non-tariff measure databases (TRAINS)
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💰

Investment and Enterprise

UNCTAD monitors global FDI flows, investment policy and enterprise development trends. The division publishes the World Investment Report annually, presenting the most authoritative analysis of FDI trends.

Key outputs

  • FDI inflows, outflows, and stocks by country
  • Investment policy monitoring
  • International production network analysis
  • Investment-for-development indicators
  • Special Economic Zones database
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🚢

Maritime Transport Statistics

UNCTAD is the leading intergovernmental body on maritime transport, maintaining the only global dataset on liner shipping connectivity and compiling comprehensive data on seaborne trade and fleet development.

Key outputs

  • Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI)
  • Container port throughput (global)
  • Seaborne trade volumes by cargo type
  • Merchant fleet by flag and type
  • Freight rates and transport costs
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🌐

Digital Economy and ICT

UNCTAD measures the digital economy's contribution to trade and development, tracking e-commerce adoption, ICT goods and services trade, and broadband infrastructure access across all economies.

Key outputs

  • E-commerce transaction statistics
  • ICT goods and services trade
  • B2B and B2C e-commerce indicators
  • Digital economy readiness assessment
  • Technology access indicators for LDCs
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🏭

Productive Capacities and Structural Transformation

UNCTAD developed the Productive Capacities Index (PCI) to measure the extent to which economies have built the productive base needed to sustain diversification, industrialisation, and economic resilience.

Key outputs

  • Productive Capacities Index (PCI) — 8 pillars
  • Structural transformation indicators
  • Value chain participation metrics
  • LDC graduation monitoring
  • Economic complexity measures
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♻️

Environment and Sustainable Trade

UNCTAD tracks the environmental dimensions of trade, including plastics trade, BioTrade in biodiversity-derived products, carbon footprint of trade, and trade in environmental goods and services.

Key outputs

  • Plastics trade and substitutes
  • BioTrade product categories and values
  • Trade in environmental goods
  • Carbon footprint of merchandise trade
  • SDG trade-related indicator monitoring
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📊

Trade and Development Finance

UNCTAD monitors international financial flows affecting developing economies, including external debt, official development assistance (ODA), remittances, and commodity price trends.

Key outputs

  • External debt statistics
  • Commodity price indices (UNCTADstat)
  • ODA and financing for development
  • Remittance flow estimates
  • Exchange rate data
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📚

Statistical Capacity Development

UNCTAD supports national statistical offices in developing economies to improve their data collection, processing, and dissemination capacity, particularly for trade and investment statistics.

Key outputs

  • Training workshops for NSOs
  • Software tools for data compilation
  • Methodological guides and manuals
  • South-South statistical cooperation
  • Statistical quality assessment frameworks
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Statistical publications and methodology documents

UNCTAD publishes detailed methodology notes, technical guides, and statistical handbooks for all major statistical series. These are available through the UNCTAD Digital Library.