Affiliations: Director of Statistical Methods and Tools;
Dissemination, Eurostat, European Commission, L-2920 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
Tel. +352 4301 35474; Fax: +352 4301 34771; E-mail:
Pedro.Diaz@ec.europa.eu
Abstract: The attention given by statistical organisations to Statistical Data
and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) is currently at unprecedented levels. This paper
analyses the reasons for this and describes the key elements of this
infrastructure. Furthermore, it describes all the dimensions of the SDMX
initiative, namely, the standards, the exchange of data in different modes and
the opportunity for the sharing of tools; and it links all these dimensions to
the corresponding infrastructure elements. The paper also summarises the governance aspects of the initiative
and outlines the benefits of adopting SDMX in an organisation, including the
use of the data model in the statistical productions chain and to profit from
the available components. Finally, a reflection on the global implementation of SDMX, as
recommended by the United Nations Statistical Commission in February 2008, is
provided in this paper. Finally, the paper urges national and international
statistical organisations in the world to implement SDMX standards and
guidelines and to use them in their exchanges of data; to participate in the
governance mechanisms; and to act as a relay for promoting the use of SDMX by
other partners. Readers can find more information about the topics dealt with in
this paper in the SDMX official website at http://www.sdmx.org/.
Keywords: SDMX, statistical infrastructure, statistical standards, data exchange, data sharing, structural metadata, reference metadata
