Under the patronage of the Minister of Economy and Planning, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) Faisal Bin Fadhel Al-Ibrahim, and in the presence of GASTAT's President Dr. Konrad Pessendrofer, GASTAT launched the (statistical database) platform, which is a unified channel to publish all statistical data produced by GASTAT Wednesday. The platform uses advanced search techniques with advanced features such as (API) technology to provide an interactive experience, metadata, and graphs. It also allows different groups of users to access the data and statistics provided by GASTAT and viewing its descriptions as well. It was designed to assist and support data users by offering them the option to download and extract graphs according to the users' preferences in addition to supporting and helping decision and policy makers in government agencies and the private sector. The platform also supports and helps researchers and general users to access data, and provides the statistical requirements to regional and international organizations. Moreover, the (statistical database) platform provides statistical reports and summaries designed by GASTAT to the public. As a unified and comprehensive database, the platform contains statistical tables and descriptive data covering various areas, such as: demography, society, economy, environment, knowledge, and technology. The platform will be launched in stages until it contains (151) statistical topics, (618) statistical tables, and (280) statistical indicators. It will be updated periodically to provide the user with the latest developments according to the available time series. Statistical data of various fields will be also updated automatically to avoid any delays in publication. During the launch event, GASTAT's President Dr. Pessendrofer presented a presentation where he explained GASTAT's efforts to develop and govern the statistical work to meet the requirements of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 during the transformation journey they are currently experiencing. He also highlighted Saudi Arabia heading towards a promising future to be at the forefront of the world, and to make GASTAT one of the leading modern statistical institutes worldwide in accordance with the highest international standards and scientific foundations. The launch of the (statistical database) platform comes within the important role of GASTAT, which aims to utilize statistics in order to integrate the roles between government agencies and individuals. In other words, the platform provides all segments of users with an easy access to statistical indicators and metadata through a user-friendly interface, and by adapting international standards that meet users' specifications. — SPA
