Overview
The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) is the emirate’s official statistical authority, responsible for the collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of statistical data across all economic, social, demographic, and environmental domains. Established as an independent government entity, SCAD provides the data infrastructure upon which evidence-based policy making, economic planning, and performance monitoring in Abu Dhabi depend.
Establishment and Development
SCAD was established to professionalise Abu Dhabi’s statistical capacity and bring it into alignment with international standards. The centre’s development involved substantial international cooperation, notably a partnership with Statistics Sweden (Statistiska centralbyran) — the Swedish national statistical agency — which was specifically referenced in the Economic Vision 2030 document as a model for building world-class statistical capability.
This partnership reflected Abu Dhabi’s recognition that credible economic planning requires credible data. The collaboration with Statistics Sweden transferred methodological expertise, quality assurance frameworks, and institutional best practices to SCAD, accelerating the centre’s development toward international standards.
Functions and Outputs
SCAD conducts regular surveys and censuses covering population, labour force, household expenditure, economic establishments, and social conditions. The centre compiles and publishes Abu Dhabi’s GDP estimates, consumer price indices, trade statistics, and other key economic indicators.
Key statistical products include:
National accounts data including GDP by sector, expenditure, and production approach — essential for measuring the emirate’s economic diversification progress.
Labour force surveys capturing employment, unemployment, wages, and workforce composition — critical for monitoring Emiratisation objectives and labour market reform.
Consumer price indices measuring inflation across goods and services categories.
Population and demographic statistics from census and administrative data sources.
Trade statistics covering imports, exports, and re-exports by commodity and trading partner.
International Standards
SCAD adheres to international statistical methodologies, including those prescribed by the United Nations Statistics Division, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Compliance with these standards ensures that Abu Dhabi’s data is comparable with international benchmarks and accepted by global institutions for analytical and reporting purposes.
Role in Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
The Economic Vision 2030 is fundamentally a data-dependent strategy. Every pillar, objective, and target requires measurement, monitoring, and evaluation. SCAD provides the measurement infrastructure that makes this possible.
Without credible statistical data, the vision’s targets — GDP diversification percentages, private sector employment ratios, productivity metrics, education outcomes — cannot be tracked or verified. SCAD is the institution that converts the vision’s aspirations into measurable, monitorable indicators.
The cooperation with Statistics Sweden, highlighted in the vision document itself, underscores the strategic importance Abu Dhabi places on statistical credibility. The emirate’s leadership recognised that a vision without data is merely an aspiration.
Institutional Significance
SCAD operates in the background of Abu Dhabi’s institutional architecture, but its function is indispensable. Every policy decision, investment evaluation, and performance assessment in the emirate depends on the quality and availability of SCAD’s data. The centre is the information foundation upon which the entire Economic Vision 2030 framework operates.