Despite the ongoing efforts to update statistical data, reliable figures business and social activities are hard to come by in the UAE. The result of the information deficit has allowed different departments to issue their own figures which, in most cases, vary widely.
The situation has reached a point where the varying figures are being used to reinforce what, in some cases, are contradicting views. This is definitely not healthy and does not help decision-makers. Nor does it help the market or the ordinary people.
Businesses and social activities are becoming more dependant on different types of statistics for analyzing and planning.
Statistics have become essential in drawing a clear picture about the past and planning for the future in every aspect of life. No one in the world would argue about the importance of reliable statistics in different fields of life.
The government and its designated institutions are responsible for making different, updated statistics available freely for planners and decision-makers in the country.
Universities and research centres are equally responsible for the availability of reliable statistics. They should play a more active role in enhancing the credibility of statistics by continuously discussing their components.
The absence of a scientific review of certain figures at the national level has allowed the misuse of statistics in many ways to deceive consumers and give wrong impression about the country.
Only sources
More seriously, companies and commercial institutions that from time to time float certain figures in order to promote their business activities in the market have become, in many cases, the only sources of information about commerce in some sectors of the market. These figures are being used by both the media and research centres in the country.
I was alarmed by an incident I came across in the past week, when I was writing an article about the state visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to Iran and Syria. Promoting business ties with the two countries was among the many aspects of the trip we tried to highlight in our coverage.
While we were trying to stress the importance of Iran and Syria to the UAE as major business partners, we realised we don't have reliable statistics about simple business activities or import, exports and re-export between the UAE and the two countries.
The two sources of information I relied on were the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Economy.
The two institutions cover overlapping areas that make the ministry more responsible for providing a broader picture about trade activities between the UAE and the two countries.
Simple logic suggests that the statistics available with the ministry should be more comprehensive than those available with chambers of commerce in different emirates. But the reality in this particular case was different.
The 2006 figures pertaining to trade with Syria, available with the Dubai Chamber showed that the total import-export and re-export figures were 55 per cent higher than those provided by the federal ministry.
Using a basic mathematical argument, such discrepancies in the results should not happen because the ministry's figure is the sum of trade figures collected from all the seven emirates.
For the Dubai Chamber's trade figures to exceed the figures available with the ministry means that there is something wrong in the calculation, or that the figures were collected from different sources.
It is apparent that both bodies need to address this.
Inconsistency
However, the most shocking thing is that this inconsistency has been around at least since 2002. And this discrepancy in the trade figures has been growing over the years.
It was 11 per cent in 2002, 40 per cent in 2003 and 52 per cent in 2004. And in 2006 it reached 55 per cent.
Similar disparities were also seen in the figures relating to bilateral trade between the UAE and Iran.
This problem can be noticed in retail sector, real estate, and even in cases of marriage and divorce.
Unless the cabinet assigns a body to gather figures, analyse them and make them available to the public freely, the problem will continue to grow, and will entail serious implications for all concerned businesses, social stability and prosperity.
