RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s economic data is demonstrating increased availability and maturity, with the nation advancing 25 places on the World Bank’s most recent Statistical Performance Indicators report. The Kingdom ranked first in the Gulf region and advanced four places among countries of the G20 to rank 15th, compared to 19th in 2019. The World Bank’s ranking takes into account the maturity and performance of the statistical systems of 186 countries. Its criteria involve analyzing five main axes distributed over more than 52 indicators covering data sources and services, statistical products, and infrastructure. The Kingdom achieved 100 percent on the “data use” axis and received an evaluation score of 80 percent, a significant jump from the previous assessment, which stood at 63 percent in 2019. These results demonstrate a 17.4 percent progress rate, the highest among the G20 countries. The Chairman of the General Authority for Statistics, Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Dosari, explained in a release by the body that the support and empowerment that the administration received during the last period contributed to achieving strategic transformations in the field of statistical production and technical infrastructure, which had a significant impact in strengthening the role played by the authority. He added that the entity’s progress included building and calculating indicators and high-quality statistical data that have “received praise from international organizations specialized in the statistical field.” These developed indicators have supported all state sectors with statistical data that aid decision-makers and government officials. The progress achieved by the Kingdom on the SPI indicates the nation prioritizing implementing a statistical shift that keeps pace with the national transformation to achieve Vision 2030. According to the release, the authority is making unremitting efforts to “anticipate the future” in light of the current strategy. These efforts include developing the body’s technical infrastructure, conducting field surveys, and strengthening partnerships with the government, private, and non-profit sectors to improve data availability.