Under the Slogan “Up-to-date Statistics for Extraordinary Circumstances” 
GCC Statistical Offices Celebrate the Gulf statistics Day

The GCC official statistical offices and the GCC-STAT Center celebrate the Gulf Statistics Day, which falls on December 24th of each year. This year, the Gulf Statistics Day will be under the slogan “Up-to-date Statistics for Extraordinary Circumstances”. The slogan reflects the lessons learned by GCC statistical offices and the whole world from the Corona Pandemic (COVID-19), and how the pandemic affected the business of these offices, influenced data providers, in addition to the change it made in information sector that accompanied the economic consequences of this pandemic. As a result, there was an increased demand for a specific type of data, and a need for proactive statistical studies. 
During the COVID-19 period, GCC countries- represented in their official statistical offices and GCC-STAT Center- have sought to address the challenges that statistical sector faced through providing official statistics that can be accessed easily to support decision and policy makers in making necessary measures to reduce the pandemic’s negative effects on societies and economies, prepare for the recovery stage, and develop future strategies and plans.  
It is worth noting that the decision to celebrate December 24 as the Gulf Statistics Day was taken by the GCC Ministerial Council on its 141 session held in Manama, Bahrain on November 24, 2016. The celebration aims at emphasizing the importance of statistics in planning and valuing the efforts of those working in the statistical field. In addition, it would strengthen the partnership between the GCC countries to improve and develop the statistical environment in a way that enhances the GCC joint works.