The General Authority for Statistics Participates in the Gulf Statistics Day ... The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, on the twenty-fourth of November 2016, approved to set a day for Gulf statistics every year. The Gulf Statistics day   is set to show emphasize on the importance of the society’s collaboration with statisticians, and the vital role of statistics is playing in achieving sustainable development for GCC member states.  It also shows the strategic role of the Gulf statistical ecosystem in decision making and policy development in the region. The General Authority for Statistics participates with national statistical organizations (NSOs) in GCC countries in celebrating the Gulf Statistics Day this year on Thursday, the 24th of December. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia witnessed the beginnings of statistical work and started to produce statistics in the 1930s, where the Kingdom realized the importance of statistics and information as a pillar of development in any country that aims to advance based on solid foundations. About three decades later, The General Statistics Law was issued by a royal decree, so that the statistical work is organized under a legal framework. The Gulf Statistics Day this year under the slogan "Smart data ... the future of official statistics” shows the importance that GCC countries give to smart data, that could facilitate data classification and data exchange, and builds the foundations to produce quality statistics. Hence, this will enhance participation to use statistics and foster institutional innovation. The Statistics Center of the Gulf Cooperation Council was established to be the official source of data, information and statistics in relation to the countries of the Council, and to enhance the statistical work of the national statistical centers and the planning agencies in GCC countries. The establishment of the center was approved by the Ministerial Council of the GCC countries in September 2011, and its main system was approved in December 2012 by the Supreme Council of the GCC, which is composed of Their Majesties and Highnesses Heads of Member States. The General Authority for Statistics produces many statistical products that are important to making development plans. These products draw on multiple sources, including surveys, administrative data as well as big data. Making statistical information, analytical publications, and statistical indicators available to decision makers and the broader public and hence supporting evidence based decision making is the Authority’s main task and objective.

The General Authority for Statistics is seeking the opinion and comments of the public for the proposed Statistics Law Based on the principles of openness and transparency, the General Authority for Statistics is inviting the public to express their opinions and suggestions regarding the proposed statistics law via e-mail (SLR@stats.gov.sa), before 09/04/1442 AH corresponding to 24/11/2020. The statistics law project has twenty-five articles and aims to regulate the statistical work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The statistics law project has been drafted after carefully reviewing the International best practices and laws related, and based on regulations and processes to adopt laws in the Kingdom. The statistics law project aims to enhance the statistical ecosystem, by establishing the legal framework for the development, production and dissemination of official statistics. This is to contribute to providing accurate data that serve sustainable economic development in various fields, and to provide an effective framework in order to provide reliable data and statistics. Official statistics help to properly plan for development based on evidence, and to meet the needs and requirements of the government and private sector, and to fulfill the Kingdom's obligations and regional and international statistical requirements such as the ones by the Arab League, ESCWA, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the G20 and others. It is agreed by many officials, senior planners, experts and specialists around the world on the importance of accurate data and information for sustainable development in various fields and sectors of work and production. Based on this, the General Authority for Statistics provides accurate and reliable official statistics, information and indicators about the Kingdom's economy and the society in Saudi Arabia. Educational, environmental and various activities, and the living conditions of citizens and residents in the Kingdom, classifying these data, analyzing them and issuing them according to scientific standards in the statistical field, on the basis that the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) is the official body responsible for preparing official statistics in the Kingdom. GASTAT applies scientific methods in accordance with internationally recognized professional standards. The General Authority for Statistics had provided access to the Statistics Law Project through its website to seek the opinion of the public on the articles therein, through the form below, and sending them to the e-mail SLR@stats.gov.sa before November 24, 2020. Those wishing to review the Statistics Law project documents and express an opinion can access the following link: https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/page/295

GASTAT Releases the Real-Estate Price Index report for the 3rd Quarter 2020 The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released on Thursday, 5 Rabie Al-Awal 1442H, , corresponding to 22/10/2020, the report of the Index of the Real- Estate Price Q3 2020 in Saudi Arabia and published it on its official website www.stats.gov.sa.com Real- Estate Price index recorded an increase by (0.5+%) in the third quarter 2020 (compared to the same quarter of the previous year) effected by the increase of  the “residential” real- estate price by (+ 2.1%), as the price of the “agricultural” real estate recorded a slight increase by (+ 0.3%), Whereas the price of the “commercial” real estate registered a decrease of (-2.5%), which limit the increase of the General index. The report indicated that the residential piece of land prices witnesses an increase by (+ 2.1%) on an annual basis in the third quarter of 2020, which contributed to an increase in the "residential" real- estate price, which in turn led to an increase in the general index; Due to its large weight in the index, The report attributed that among other "residential" real estate villas prices increased by (+ 0.8%) and apartments prices by (+ 1.5%), while buildings prices decreased by (-0.9%)  residential houses by (-3.1%) also The "agricultural" real- estate Price increased by (+ 0.3%) effected by the increase of the agricultural lands prices by (+ 0.3%). The report pointed out that the Real- Estate Price index decreased by (-0.6%) in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter (second quarter of 2020),Due to the decrease in the "residential" real estate average price (-0.5%) In particular the residential piece of land which witnessed a decreased by (-0.5%),among other "residential" real estate, villas prices decreased by (-0.1%), apartments prices decreased by (-0.1%) and house prices by  (-0.2%) whereas Residential buildings prices increased by (+ 0.1%). The average price of commercial real estate decreased by (-0.7%) especially the prices of commercial piece of land (-0.7%), while shops increased by (+1.0) whereas the prices of buildings and commercial centers recorded a stability and did not record any significant change, as well as the prices of agricultural lands. It should be noted that the Real- Estate Price index is a statistical tool to measure the relative change in the Real- Estate Price in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and it is based on a set of data of the real- estate  transactions available at the Ministry of Justice as it is the only official reference and the source of the Real- Estate  data in the Kingdom ,this data set are the result of the Electronic registration and documentation operations that takes place in the ministry, it also includes various variables in the real estate transactions such as: value, location, sector, and type, GASTAT calculates the index (Real- Estate Price) based on these variables on a quarterly basis based on the sector and the type of the property of all administrative regions In the Kingdom, the base year of this indicator is 2014.

At the end of his statistical work journey GASTAT president honors Albatel after a successful career path that lasts for 40 years. In the presence of a number of leaders and employees of the General Authority for Statistics, GASTAT President, Dr. Konrad Pesendorfer, honored Mr. Abdullah Albatel, the president’s advisor, and ex- vice-president, on the occasion of reaching the retirement age, at GASTAT headquarters in Riyadh. In the honoring ceremony, GASTAT president thanked and appreciated Mr. Albatel for the efforts he made throughout his work, and for his dedication and sincerity, wishing him success in future endeavors. In his speech, Mr. Albatel was keen to confirm the continuity of work development from one generation to another. On the other hand, Mr. Albatel expressed his sincere thanks, appreciation and gratitude to GASTAT president for the kind initiative in honoring him at the end of his statistical career. He affirmed his pride in his colleagues at the authority with their great confidence and capabilities the statistical sector in Saudi Arabia has, stating: “I do not remember that the authority faced a challenge that could not be addressed by my colleagues, and this is clear evidence that the authority relies on competences and sincere national experiences that distinguished the statistical work system in the Kingdom". Albatel stressed the importance of accurate statistical data and indicators that transparently reflect the reality of all fields in Saudi Arabia, to be presented to decision-makers, policy-makers and those interested, so that everyone can benefit from their acquired data to help them develop future actions and draw up integrated sustainable development plans. Mr. Albatel said with pride: “The statistical work has contributed to the growth and development of the Kingdom and the provision of the appropriate environment and tools necessary for the success of the Saudi Vision 2030 by supporting and coordinating efforts among all components of the statistical sector to enhance its role in supporting this ambitious vision”. It is noteworthy that Mr. Albatel is one of the most prominent statistical figures in Saudi Arabia, as his career path in the statistical sector spans for over 5 decades. His keen experience contributed to the development of statistical work during his career in the Central Department of Statistics and Information and the General Authority for Statistics. Mr.Albatel started his career path as a statistician, and progressed to later becoming the vice president of the Authority. Moreover, Mr.Albatel contributed to the completion of four general census of population, housing and establishments, in addition to statistical work in economic and social statistics, among others. It is worth noting that Mr. Albatel has also represented the Kingdom in many forums, conferences, both in local and international meetings. He also contributed in drafting the systems, regulations and decisions that led to the development of statistical work up to what is has become today. He was honored by GASTAT’s president, Dr. Konrad Pesendorfer, in appreciation of the important and prominent role he played throughout his career, and his enrichment of statistical work in the Kingdom. During the ceremony, Mr. Mohammed Al-Dukhaini, Strategic Communication and Client Support deputy, and GASTAT spokesperson delivered a speech on behalf of GASTAT employees, in which he expressed the sincerest appreciation and gratitude for Mr.Albatels’s support for them reflecting by his gentleness of morals, nobility, and with his long practical experience. Mr.Albatel will always be an important reference for following generations in the Authority.