The Lithuanian Delegation at the 57th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in New York
On 2–6 March 2026, Dr Jūratė Petrauskienė, Director General of the State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania), and Dr Inga Masiulaitytė Šukevič, Deputy Director General, are participating in the events of the 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in New York. This is one of the most important international official statistics events, bringing together heads of national statistical offices, representatives of international organisations, and experts to discuss the directions of statistical development and strategic challenges.
The session devotes considerable attention to the role of official statistics in making data‑driven decisions and responding to rapidly changing global processes. The discussions address issues related to improving methods for measuring societal progress and well‑being, data governance, ensuring quality and accessibility, as well as strengthening international cooperation to enhance the comparability and reliability of statistics.
One of the session’s events is a high‑level meeting dedicated to the “Beyond GDP” initiative, where participants discussed expanding the assessment of societal progress by complementing traditional economic indicators with broader well‑being measurement metrics. The event also reviews well‑being measurement methods and their practical application in shaping public policy.
The meetings also examined technological innovations in statistics, particularly the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence in the production and dissemination of official statistics. Discussions were held on how advanced AI solutions can help analyse, interpret and use statistical data more effectively – both for people and for automated systems.
Dr Inga Masiulaitytė‑Šukevič, Co‑Chair of the Friends of the Chair (FoC) Group on Social and Demographic Statistics, presented an assessment of the state of social and demographic statistics carried out over the past three years, the identified challenges, and the strategic recommendations prepared to strengthen this area of statistics.
Among the proposed directions is the creation of a centralized population and social statistics system, which would facilitate the consistent integration of different statistical domains and improve the representation of societal changes and their links with economic and environmental processes.
Participation in the United Nations Statistical Commission session provides Lithuania with the opportunity to actively contribute to the development of international statistical standards, strengthen cooperation, and ensure the advancement of reliable and comparable data that decision‑makers around the world can rely on.