UAE Achieves 10th Place Globally In Open Data Inventory Report For 2024/2025

The UAE has achieved a significant milestone by ranking 10th globally in the 2024/2025 Open Data Inventory (ODIN) report. This accomplishment places the UAE ahead of countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and the United States. The ODIN report, released biennially by Open Data Watch (ODW), evaluates the openness and comprehensiveness of data published on national statistical office websites across 197 countries.

Open data is a collection of freely accessible data and statistics that individuals or organisations can use, reuse, distribute, or share without restrictions. Governments worldwide provide these datasets online for public access. In this year's ODIN report, the UAE scored 92 points for data openness and 74 points for data coverage, achieving an overall score of 84 points.

The UAE's success in the ODIN report underscores its leadership in digital government and open data adoption. The report assesses various sectors such as economic, financial, social, and environmental statistics. It uses 64 indicators to measure the availability of statistical data through official open data platforms and evaluates if they meet international standards of openness.

The UAE excelled globally in several indicators including monetary and banking statistics, food security and nutrition, and prices and inflation index. It advanced by 45 ranks in these areas. Additionally, it ranked second globally in the global trade index and educational outcomes index with a leap of 54 ranks.

Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, Director-General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), highlighted that this achievement reflects the UAE's commitment to integrating digital policies with comprehensive development efforts. He noted that the UAE has established itself as a global platform for data-driven decision-making.

Al Mesmar stated: "This achievement demonstrates the UAE's enabling role in enhancing the country's digital readiness by developing legislative and regulatory frameworks, supporting national open data policies, and providing a strong digital infrastructure." He emphasised that this ensures integration between government entities while positioning the UAE as a global reference in adopting digital government concepts.

Strategic Use of Data

Hanan Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), stressed that the UAE's advancement represents a pioneering model of a future government based on transparency and strategic use of data. She noted that this achievement reflects the UAE's forward-thinking vision and continuous investment in building an advanced statistical system.

Ahli explained that this supports global competitiveness by achieving integration between entities, supporting future planning in various sectors, developing policies, promoting community participation, and positioning the UAE as a leader in digital government concepts.

The ODIN report is one of the world's leading specialised reports assessing open data practices. It covers vital sectors including economic statistics which are crucial for understanding national progress. The criteria include machine-readable data formats, unrestricted downloads, metadata availability, and comprehensive geographic coverage.

This achievement reinforces the UAE's position as a leader in adopting digital government concepts worldwide. By focusing on transparency and innovation through open data initiatives, it continues to enhance its global competitiveness while driving comprehensive development across various sectors.

With inputs from WAM