2021 marks the final year of the second phase of the Data Gaps Initiative (DGI-2), and the twelfth year since the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors endorsed the twenty recommendations made by IMF staff and the FSB Secretariat to address the data gaps identified during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08.

The DGI-2 Progress Report highlights that:

  • Significant progress has been achieved in closing identified policy-relevant data gaps during the two phases of the Data Gaps Initiative.
  • The initiative has proved its value during the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, helping policymakers to access key information in order to assess developments and risks in the financial and nonfinancial sectors, as well as to analyse interconnectedness and cross-border spillovers.
  • Although the pandemic continues to affect the DGI-2 work programme, participating economies continue to take forward the agreed DGI-2 recommendations. However, given the limited time that remains available, it is very likely that some recommendations will not be fully completed by the end of 2021. In particular, challenges are seen in: securities financing transaction data; institutional sectoral accounts; household distributional information; data on general government debt and operations; and commercial property price indices.
  • Participating economies and international organisations also recognise the need for a new international cooperation initiative on data gaps after the conclusion of the DGI at the end of 2021.
  • Building on the DGI process, the new initiative will focus on priorities of policymakers and avoid duplication with other initiatives. Four main statistical and data priorities to be covered by a possible new DGI have been identified: (i) climate change; (ii) household distributional information; (iii) fintech and financial inclusion data; and (iv) access to private sources of data and administrative data, and data sharing. A detailed workplan for the new initiative will be developed.