of recent data for each data category Total recent data indicated to have been collected across all economies 78/140 Source: Ekhator Mobayode and Hoogeveen (2021) Note: Evidence that a survey was collected can be explicit like in a “survey section” of the website or “implicit” like in a report, summary table and/or any mention or reference to the data on the website. * indicates instances where collection of recent microdata was not indicated on NSOs website, but the research team discovered it on an external website. These include Iraq: Rapid welfare monitoring survey SWIFT 2017/2018 downloadable from <u>https://microdata.worldbank.org/,</u> Egypt (2014) downloadable from http://www.dhsprogram.com/ and Iraq MICS 2018, Oman MICS 2014, Tunisia: MICS 2018, West Bank and Gaza (Palestine) MICS 2019/20 downloadable from <u>https://mics.unicef.org/surveys.</u>

# **(ii) Frequency of Macro Economic Data in MENA**

While the SCI, SPI, and ODIN indicators capture the quality of the data ecosystem to a large extent, they do not necessarily encompass the extent and availability of high-frequency data. Table 3 presents the availability of high-frequency data on GDP, industrial production, and unemployment for 19 economies in the MENA region. The date of the most recent data available is also indicated. This information is compiled from the websites of various statistical offices or data portal initiatives, central banks and ministries of planning, economy, or finance across the MENA region. The findings are benchmarked against Mexico, which serves as a good comparator for the MENA region given its upper-middle-income economy status and a well-functioning data ecosystem. Of the 19 economies in the MENA region, 15 report quarterly data on GDP. Some economies lack information for the year 2020 entirely. Economies in conflict such as Libya (2014) and Yemen (2017) have outdated data. Only 10 of the 19 MENA economies have monthly or quarterly information on industrial production—for the remaining nine economies, information is not readily available. Only eight economies report quarterly unemployment data, while none have monthly data. The benchmark country, Mexico, reports unemployment data monthly. A caveat is that the table does not consider quality. For example, definitions of unemployment may be inconsistent with international standards (Arezki et al., 2020).

**Table 3 MENA Macro Data Availability (as of January 2022)**

|**Economy**|**GDP Data**|**GDP Data**<br>**latest**<br>**(calendar**<br>**year)**|**Industrial**<br>**Production**<br>**Index Data**|**Industrial**<br>**Production**<br>**Index latest**<br>**(calendar year)**|**Unemployment**<br>**Data**|**Unemployment**<br>**Data latest**<br>**(calendar year)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Algeria|Quarterly|Q2 2021|Quarterly|Q3 2021|Semi-Annually|May 2019|
|Bahrain|Quarterly|Q3 2021|n/a|n/a|Only Census|2020|
|Djibouti|Annually|2018|n/a|n/a|n/a|n/a|
|Egypt, Arab Rep.|Quarterly|Q3 2021|Monthly|September 2021|Quarterly|Q3 2021|
|Iran, Islamic Rep.|Quarterly|Q3 2021|Quarterly|Q3 2021|Quarterly|Q3 2021|
|Iraq|Quarterly|Q2 2021|Quarterly|Q2 2021|Only 2 years|2016|
|Jordan|Quarterly|Q3 2021|Monthly|October 2021|Quarterly|Q3 2021|
|Kuwait|Quarterly|Q4 2020|n/a|n/a|Annually|2021|

15