IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

Africa Renewal: Some experts say there is a major problem with how statistics are collected in Africa. What is the problem? Pali Lehohla: There is a major challenge on the continent with statistics. But in interpreting the problem, there are two major trends. There is one based less on facts and more on hype. This one gets very popular and is widely publicized. There is another that says yes, there might be difficulties, but Africa is getting its act together. There is very little of that being said. There are many publications like the one by Morten Jerven* on how Africa misleads the world with poor numbers. But when you scratch the surface of these documents, you find that little research has been done to justify what these authors are saying.

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