ECOWAS technical experts began a four-day review of the draft ECOWAS Yearbook of Sectoral Statistics in Lomé, Togo, on November 3, 2026, to finalize it before Regional Technical Committee approval.
The workshop, convened by the Commission’s Directorate of Research and Statistics (DRS) and running through November 6, brings the relevant sectoral directorates together to examine the first draft of the Yearbook, assess the consistency and relevance of the selected indicators, supplement the available data, and provide feedback ahead of submission to the RTC.
Samson Bel-Aube Nougbodohoue, Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission, opened the proceedings.
In his remarks he stressed the importance of the exercise for strengthening the regional statistical system and for giving decision-makers reliable, harmonized and comparable data, and said completion of the Yearbook would mark a significant step in the Commission’s efforts to improve the availability and use of sectoral statistics in member states.
He called on participants to work with rigor and commitment, saying: “I therefore invite all participants to demonstrate constructive engagement, professional rigor, and a spirit of collaboration so that we may produce a high-quality document that meets the statistical requirements of our community.”
The Yearbook is being developed under the Projects for the Harmonization and Improvement of Statistics in West Africa (PHASAO) and in West and Central Africa (PHASAOC), which are funded by the World Bank.
The Commission describes the initiative as reflecting its commitment to strengthening the availability, quality, comparability and accessibility of the statistical data needed to monitor development and regional integration policies and programs.
According to the Commission, the establishment of a Yearbook of Sectoral Statistics follows a strategic direction it defined as early as 2018, aimed at ensuring comprehensive, centralized, regularly updated and widely disseminated sectoral data.
It also sits within the implementation of ECOWAS’s Vision 2050, which the Commission says places significant emphasis on strengthening national and regional statistical systems to improve the comparability and use of data among member states.
The Commission’s stated longer-term aim is to establish a regional database of sectoral data and to ensure the regular publication of an annual statistical bulletin.
The Yearbook is designed to provide an overview of the main economic, social and environmental trends within the Community.
It compiles indicators spanning the demographic and social characteristics of populations — including demographics, employment, migration, gender, health and education — as well as agricultural and environmental activities such as agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, environmental management, agricultural commodity prices and consumption.
It also covers economic factors and infrastructure through data on public finances, the balance of payments, industry, tourism, transportation and communications.
Preparation of the draft followed work by a Technical Working Group (TWG) on sectoral statistics that the DRS established in 2021 in collaboration with the National Institutes of Statistics (NIS) and the Commission’s sectoral directorates.
That work culminated in April 2025 with a harmonized questionnaire and a manual for reporting the indicators.
In each member state, three national experts appointed by the Directors-General of the NSIs were mobilized to collect, compile and calculate indicators in the selected areas.
The RTC subsequently selected approximately one hundred indicators that form the foundation of the Yearbook, a first draft of which is now available.
The Lomé meeting is the stage at which the sectoral directorates review that draft, verify the consistency of the indicators, supplement the available data and provide the feedback needed before the document is consolidated and submitted to the RTC for validation.
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