World Statistics Day

World Statistics Day History

World Statistics Day is an international observance designed to highlight the important and pivotal role that statistics play in shaping our societies. This day celebrates the impact of statistics on every arena of our life, from government policy and decision-making to business strategies and even individual household affairs. The ethos of this Observance is to ensure that every statistic utilized is relevant, reliable, and timely to foster informed decision-making processes that are based on real, robust, and up-to-date data.

World Statistics Day was inaugurated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010. Since then, this observance has gained global attention every five years, underscoring the significance of statistical information in achieving national and international goals. For Canada, World Statistics Day offers a platform to acknowledge the indispensable role and contributions of Statistics Canada, the national statistical organization. In Canada's context, this day underscores the importance of utilizing statistics to create effective policies, track progress on national goals, including those related to climate change, gender equality, innovation, and other social, economic and environmental issues that affect the livelihoods of all Canadians.

Observance of World Statistics Day in Canada often involves various activities organized by Statistics Canada. These include promotional campaigns highlighting the significance of statistics, public presentations, and workshops for enhancing statistical literacy. Networking events also take place, enabling statisticians, data scientists, researchers, and policy-makers to interact, exchange ideas, and improve their understanding of statistical practices. Traditionally, World Statistics Day is observed globally on October 20th, but local events coordinated by Statistics Canada may occur throughout the year to continually emphasize the importance of quality data and statistics in our daily lives.

Facts about World Statistics Day

• The theme for World Statistics Day in 2020 was Connecting the world with data we can trust. The next time World Statistics Day is celebrated will be in 2025.
• It was not until the 19th century that statistics began to include all things related to collection, summary and analysis of data. Before the 19th century, data was mainly used to total resources, typically for military and tax purposes around the world.
• Canada carries out a national census every five years with the next one due in 2026. The data collected helps the government in planning public services like healthcare, education, and transportation.
• Statistics Canada is widely recognized as a reliable and trusted source of data both in Canada and abroad. The information provided by the agency also helps international groups like the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank.

In the News and Trending in Canada for World Statistics Day

Top things to do in Canada for World Statistics Day

• Spread awareness about the holiday by using the hashtag #WorldStatisticsDay #StatsMatter or #TruthinStats