Greece has been a subscriber to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since November 8, 2002. The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 2007 Article IV report notes that Greece's economic data is adequate for surveillance purposes but needs to be strengthened. The IMF acknowledges that in its effort to meet the European Union’s requirements, the country has improved substantially on its statistical methodologies and practices. The IMF, in 2007, released an Observance Report on Greece's data standards, in which it notes that the country meets or exceeds the SDDS' specifications for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all data categories except for Central Government Operations where Greece avails itself of the flexibility option for periodicity. Per the same report, Greece, where applicable, meets the requirements for the dissemination of advance release calendars for all months. With regards to the SDDS’ integrity dimension, information provided on the SDDS website indicates that Greece meets the bulk of the requirements, except that some entry points, such as International Investment Position and External Debt, offer methodological changes at the time of release as opposed to in advance as required by the SDDS. The requirements for the quality dimension are largely met except for a few data categories like Central Government Operations and Interest Rates where no information is provided on the SDDS website regarding the dissemination of component detail and statistical frameworks.

General Overview

Greece has been a subscriber to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since November 8, 2002. The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 2007 Article IV report (published in 2008) states that Greece's economic data is "adequate for surveillance, but should be strengthened" (p. 40). The IMF acknowledges that in its effort to meet the European Union’s requirements, the country has improved substantially on its statistical methodologies and practices.

The IMF's 2005 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) indicates that Greece does not have one sole agency responsible for compiling and disseminating a comprehensive and integrated set of government finance statistics. Three official institutions are responsible for the compilation and dissemination of the SDDS prescribed data categories. The General Secretariat of the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG) compiles and disseminates data on the national accounts, industrial production index, labor market, price indices, merchandise trade, and population. The Bank of Greece has responsibility for the analytical accounts of the banking sector, the analytical accounts of the central bank, interest rates, balance of payments, international investment position, and international reserves and the General Accounting Office of the Ministry of Economy and Finance is responsible for data on central government operations and central government debt.

The legal and institutional framework for collecting, processing, and disseminating statistics in Greece is, according to the IMF, based on the following laws and presidential decrees: (1) Legislative Decree No. 3627 of 1956; (2) Legislative Decree No. 2392 of 1996; (3), Presidential Decree No. 224 of 1986; and (4) Presidential Decree No. 226 of 2000. These laws and decrees clearly describe the role and responsibilities of the NSSG, including the compilation and dissemination of national accounts statistics. The confidentiality provisions of these laws are further strengthened by Legislative Decree No. 2472 of 1997 on the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

Per the IMF's 2006 report, although Greece has made some progress in its statistical regime, further improvements are still necessary. The quality and coverage of general government public finances and cross-sector data consistency should be improved, and financial accounts of the government should be prepared. Government finance and balance of payments statistics should be brought closer to internationally accepted methodologies. Further progress is needed in providing short-term national accounts data, with reconciliation across datasets for government finance, monetary, and balance of payments statistics. Even though all statistics are readily available to the public, statistical presentations could be improved in most cases to facilitate analysis and understanding. Service to users could be further enhanced by disseminating more detailed metadata including wider identification of compilers in press releases, and by publicizing contact persons. Moreover, most statistics do not provide the public with a clear statement of the revision policy.

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

FC

The IMF, in 2007, released an Observance Report on Greece's data standards, in which it notes that the country meets or exceeds the SDDS' specifications for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all data categories except for Central Government Operations where Greece avails itself of the flexibility option for periodicity. Similarly, information provided on the IMF’s SDDS website also indicates the same results.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

FC

Per the IMF 2007 Observance Report, Greece, where applicable, meets the requirements for the dissemination of advance release calendars for all months. In addition, the IMF’s SDDS website shows that all data categories release information simultaneously to all interested parties except for Price Index: a consumer price which releases information to the media on an embargo basis.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

CP

The SDDS website indicates that Greece meets the bulk of the requirements for the integrity dimension, except for some entry points, such as International Investment Position and External Debt, which offer methodological changes at the time of release instead of in advance as required by the SDDS.

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

CP

The IMF's 2007 Observance Report states that “during 2007, Greece provided available information on the methodology, sources, and reconciliation of data categories in Data Quality Assessment Framework that would facilitate users to assess the quality of the data” (p. 7). Similarly, the requirements for the Quality dimension are, according to the IMF’s SDDS website, largely met except for a few data categories like Central Government Operations and Interest Rates where no information is provided on the SDDS website regarding the dissemination of component detail and statistical frameworks.