Uzbekistan: Statistics and journalism

Amazing how far Uzbekistan has come in terms of statistics. For the longest time we, journalists, experts and the public in general both at home and abroad, struggled to obtain the basic information and data about the country's economic and social state.

Stat.uz is a pretty solid official source now. I highly recommend to check it out if you haven't done so yet, and challenge the committee for more if you don't find what you are looking for.

But getting the numbers is not enough to produce a reliable content. You always need context. You need to be able to read those numbers.

We were thrilled that the State Statistics Committee welcomed the U.S. Agency for Global Media's invitation to do a special session with our business journalism trainees in Tashkent this week. We were expecting just the Chairman, Bahodir Begalov, but he dispatched a special team, consisting of his deputies as well as the heads of each department, his press officer (12 people!) and then showed up himself in a casual wear, returning from a business trip. Our colleagues from around the country had these officials and experts at their disposal for more than two hours. (Pictures below via Facebook)

Intense exchanges involving the basics of statistics; on how it is collected, analyzed, and disseminated; and about the committee's expertise and lack of specialists. We also debated about expertise in the media, including the lack of knowledge on statistics and economics among reporters, editors, and producers. Journalists don't have to be experts but they must have skills to collect, analyze and present reliable information based on quantitative data.

We were happy to hear that the State Statistic Committee leadership is on the same page with us. They obviously want their output to be covered accurately. So, we must continue building professional channels of engagement.