Politicisation of statistics : policy puzzle no. 3

Data and statistical information inform decision-making processes. They have the potential to advance business operations (within the private sector) and societies at large (within the public/governmental sector). Official national statistics play an important role in a democracy. Interaction between statistics and politics is inevitable and, under certain conditions, the latter exploits the former for its mandate. Controversial spinning or misuse of statistics for political purposes occurred in Tanzania where GDP growth figures were inflated from 2015 onward