The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Summary Statistics provides a special kind of understanding that enables well‐informed decisions. As citizens and consumers we are faced with an array of choices. Statistics can help us to choose well. Our statistical brains need to be nurtured: we can all learn and practise some simple rules of statistical thinking. To understand how statistics can play a bigger part in our lives today we can draw inspiration from the founders of the Royal Statistical Society. Although in today's world the information landscape is confused, there is an opportunity for statistics that is there to be seized. This calls for us to celebrate the discipline of statistics, to show confidence in our profession, to use statistics in the public interest and to champion statistical education. The Royal Statistical Society has a vital role to play.

Strong statistical capacity is a prerequisite for producing reliable statistics that helps monitor a country’s governance and economic performance. This is particularly relevant for a large number of poorer countries, which have weaker statistical capacity but have to rely more on these statistics for various objectives such as monitoring poverty reduction or reporting to international donors. We present the Statistical Performance Indicators and Index (SPI) as the World Bank’s new official tool to measure country statistical capacity. The SPI is conceptually motivated, builds on a mathematical foundation, and significantly expands the number of indicators and the number of covered countries compared to its predecessor. The new index has a strong correlation with other common development indicators such as GDP per capita, governance, human capital, poverty, and inequality. It can also accommodate future improvements as the global data landscape evolves.

A new Office for National Statistics was created in the United Kingdom in 19% following a series of developments designed to strengthen the relevance and integrity of statistics. This paper describes these fundamental changes and sets out a blueprint for future progress. It also sets current developments in the United Kingdom in an historical and international context.

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