Today in Vilnius, the three-day 20th Conference of the International Association for Official Statistics, which brought together members of the academic community and experts from international organizations from around the world, has ended. The Conference, held on 12–14 May, focused heavily on topics such as data innovation, the impact of artificial intelligence on statistics, data ethics, and the role of official statistics in modern society.
On the final day of the Conference, the main discussions centered on the communication of statistics, the use of data in policymaking, the competencies of statistical professionals, and the resilience of official statistics systems to future challenges.
During the sessions, discussions focused on how effective communication on statistical topics, data visualization, and statistical literacy can help strengthen public trust in official statistics in the age of disinformation and artificial intelligence. Speakers discussed new digital data portals, AI-driven communication solutions, and innovative methods that make it possible to present complex statistics to the public clearly and understandably.
The Conference also placed significant emphasis on the use of data in public policy decision-making. Participants discussed how synthetic data, geospatial data analysis, and modern data flows can support more accurate and effective decision-making across various policy areas.
A separate session was dedicated to the competencies of official statistics professionals and data ethics. The discussions emphasized that modern statistics require not only methodological knowledge but also the ability to work with new data sources, artificial intelligence tools, and an understanding of the ethical boundaries of data use.
“This Conference demonstrated that official statistics today are much more than numbers or indicators – they are the foundation of trust, responsible decision-making, and societal resilience. International cooperation and the sharing of experience are becoming especially important in ensuring that statistics remain reliable and relevant in a rapidly changing world”, noted Dr Jūratė Petrauskienė, Director General of the State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania).
On the final day of the Conference, discussions also covered the integration of long-term global change analysis into national statistical systems, the use of mobile data in official statistics, and the role of international statistical organizations in strengthening the importance of statistical science in society.
A session on the use of mobile data in statistics attracted significant interest. It presented practical applications for analyzing tourism, migration, and population mobility. Participants discussed how alternative data sources can complement traditional statistics and enable faster responses to societal and economic changes.
In recent years, official statistics have faced extremely rapid technological changes, but this has also opened up new opportunities to build more modern, flexible statistical systems that better meet the needs of society. The 2026 IAOS Conference once again demonstrated that innovation and collaboration are key factors in strengthening data quality and trust in statistics”, mentioned Inga Masiulaitytė-Šukevič, Deputy Director General of the State Data Agency.
During the Conference closing ceremony, the main highlights of the three days of discussions were reviewed, emphasizing the importance of official statistics in developing data-driven decision-making, strengthening democracy, and building public trust.
The 2026 IAOS Conference in Vilnius became one of the largest international meeting platforms for the official statistics community, fostering discussions on the role of innovation, technology, and reliable data in modern society.
About the Author
