The Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS) has officially migrated to .Stat Suite – a milestone achievement made possible through collaboration with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and with support from the Statistical Information System Collaboration Community (SIS-CC).
This transition strengthens the Maldives’ capacity to manage and disseminate official statistics across a wide range of domains, ensuring timelier, higher-quality data for policymakers, researchers, and the public. With the MBS adopting SDMX and the .Stat Suite, the organisation gains access to a global network of peers and experts, all of whom work to continuously improve and refine .Stat Suite. The project also underscores the Community’s commitment to advancing modern, interoperable data solutions throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Migrating to .Stat Suite
The decision to adopt .Stat Suite aligns with the MBS’ vision for a streamlined, future-proof data infrastructure. By adhering to open standards like SDMX, .Stat Suite simplifies data handling, improves overall data quality (by ensuring data is structured consistently and can be easily exchanged), and enables more efficient dissemination through automated workflows and user-friendly portals. Because the solution is open-source, it also offers the flexibility to scale and innovate over time, ensuring that the platform evolves alongside changing national priorities and the broader needs of the statistical community.
“Implementing SDMX by migrating to .Stat Suite has enabled us to modernise our data infrastructure, improve data quality, and streamline data exchange. This strategic move ensures our data remains relevant, interoperable, and accessible in the digital age, delivering lasting benefits to data users and the nation as a whole.”
Aishath Hassan (Chief Statistician, Maldives Bureau of Statistics)
Climate Data & Beyond
As one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world, the Maldives has a pressing need for robust, high-quality climate data to inform policy and decision-making. Implementing .Stat Suite is particularly timely given the increasing importance of rapid data-sharing and coordination. As challenges (including climate change) grow in complexity, the ability to integrate and analyse diverse datasets becomes critical.
Yet, while supporting climate data remains an important goal, this migration benefits all data domains: from socioeconomic indicators to health statistics, having a unified, robust data platform fosters better insights and evidence-based decision-making across government agencies.
“The MBS implementation approach was very mature in that it was grounded in a strong business case, it involved full data lifecycle migration of numerous data domains and it engaged stakeholder partners from other government agencies in the knowledge workshops. This collaborative approach is a key element of good data governance and led to MBS improvements in the provision of relevant, high quality, and trustworthy official statistics to data users. The implementation framework adopted by the MBS facilitates extending this achievement to additional processes, domains, and datasets which will in turn support continued innovation in data production and use.”
Brian Buffett (Senior Consultant)
A Community-driven Approach
By adopting SDMX and the open-source .Stat Suite, the Maldives Bureau of Statistics joins a global community dedicated to open standards and open knowledge. MBS will also be able to take advantage of the advanced tools, best practices, and continuous innovations developed by the SIS Community. Through this collaboration, MBS benefits from collective improvements and technical guidance—strengthening its capacity to deliver high-quality, standards-based statistics.
This project also illustrates how partnerships with regional bodies like UN ESCAP can amplify the impact of modern data solutions. Through tailored capacity-building – including workshops on SDMX and data modelling – and agile implementation strategies, knowledge of SDMX spread beyond the MBS, creating a network of professionals that support the dissemination of standards-based statistics.
“The data platform opened new horizons for MBS, facilitating the use of data for decision making. It also simplified and harmonised the internal processes for collating indicator data from different sources. With the increased capacity of the staff, Maldives is now the forefront of the region’s data management practice.”
Dayyan Shayani (Statistician, UNESCAP)
Looking Ahead
With its new, advanced data platform in place, the MBS is well-positioned to deliver timely and relevant statistics for years to come. By harnessing the power of .Stat Suite, the MBS can better meet domestic data needs and align with international requirements, strengthening the country’s role in global statistical initiatives.
SIS-CC congratulates the Maldives Bureau of Statistics and UN ESCAP on this milestone achievement. We look forward to continuing to work with regional partners and explore new ways to leverage technology, community expertise, and open standards to bolster official statistics in the Maldives and beyond, particularly in the critical field of climate resilience.
