Online Reporter
Ruth Butaumocho in NAIROBI, Kenya
ZIMBABWE remains committed to modernise official statistics and promote evidence-based decision-making through innovative data dissemination platforms such as open data platforms and supportive national institutions, a senior official has said.
Speaking at the Global Data Festival 2026, ZIMSTAT systems developer and open data portal administrator, Mr Leonard Katova, said that over the past few years, Zimbabwe has made significant progress in strengthening access to official statistics.
This progress has enabled Zimstat to effectively monitor frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while adopting international standards for Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange (SDMX) to enhance data sharing, reporting and interoperability.
Recognising the need for a more efficient and standardised approach to sustainable goals reporting, Mr Katova said Zimstat developed a system called the OpenSDG Platform.
The platform was designed to modernise sustainable development goals monitoring, improve reporting processes and provide easy access to development indicators for policymakers, researchers, development partners and citizens.
“Zimbabwe’s commitment to sustainable development goals reporting has yielded notable results. The country is now reporting approximately 86 percent of sustainable development goals indicators, demonstrating significant progress in strengthening national statistical systems and improving data availability for development planning”.
Mr Katova added that Zimbabwe’s open data journey gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic when Zimstat introduced open data portals to support the dissemination of timely and reliable information.
The platforms, according to Mr Katova, were initially used to track the impact of COVID-19 on households, businesses and communities, providing policymakers and stakeholders with critical evidence for response planning and recovery efforts.
Following the success of these initiatives, Mr Katova said Zimstat expanded the use of the open data portal for disseminating key socio-economic indicators, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation statistics, trade statistics and other official indicators.
“This work was made possible through technical assistance from the African Development Bank (AfDB), which has remained a strategic partner in Zimbabwe’s data modernisation agenda”.
The OpenSDG platform aligns national indicators with regional and global development frameworks, ensuring consistency in reporting and comparability across countries.
The development of the platform benefitted from collaboration with key international partners, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS-UK).
The home-grown platform, OpenSDG is free, user-friendly and supports data disaggregation. This enables users to analyze development outcomes across different population groups, geographic locations and socio-economic categories, supporting the President’s Mnangagwa’s mantra of “leaving no one and no place behind” that underpins the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The localised sustainable development goal data collection system is currently being rolled out across Zimbabwe through local authorities.
The system was developed through a citizen-led approach coordinated by Ministry of Public Services, Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Local Government and Social works and Zimstat , ensuring local ownership, sustainability and long-term institutionalisation.
Capacity-building programmes are being conducted across all districts in Zimbabwe to empower stakeholders and strengthen the effective use of the system.
Zimbabwe’s achievements in data modernisation are increasingly being recognised internationally. During the Global Data Festival 2026, Zimbabwe had an opportunity to showcase its Open Data Portal, OpenSDG Platform and shared experiences on strengthening SDG monitoring through innovative digital solutions.
Zimbabwe’s journey toward modern, sustainable and accessible statistical systems demonstrates the country’s commitment to harnessing data for sustainable development.
Through strategic partnerships, investment in digital technologies and continuous capacity building, Zimstat is transforming how official statistics are collected, managed, disseminated and utilised, particularly through the adoption of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.
Zimstat has also initiated capacity-building programmes on data dissemination for government ministries and agencies and is encouraging more institutions to participate in these efforts.
This collaborative approach will strengthen the national statistical system, improve data accessibility and enhance evidence-based decision-making across the country.
In addition, Zimstat is migrating official statistics from various platforms to a single Open Data Portal, which is expected to be launched this year. The portal will serve as a centralised platform for accessing official data, making statistics more accessible, timely and user-friendly for government institutions, development partners, researchers, the private sector, civil society organisations, academia and citizens.
This initiative is expected to enhance data sharing, transparency and the use of evidence in planning and decision-making across Zimbabwe.
As the country advances its data modernisation agenda, initiatives such as Open Data Portal, OpenSDG and localised SDG data collection systems will continue to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and support national development priorities.
These achievements position Zimbabwe as an emerging leader in statistical innovation within Africa, providing valuable lessons for countries seeking to modernise their data ecosystems and accelerate progress toward the sustainable development goals.
However, there is need to further strengthen and integrate data systems across the country to eliminate siloed reporting and promote greater coordination among institutions.
Zimbabwe can also learn from the experiences of other African countries, such as Kenya, which are making significant progress in the adoption of geospatial technologies and AI programmes to enhance data collection, analysis and decision-making.
