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The digital economy needs to become more “statistically visible”, particularly in developing countries, for evidence-based policymaking and inclusive development.
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently launched a new global database on e‑commerce value, the first of its kind to consolidate available national estimates to reveal new insights as well as where major information gaps persist.
The launch took place during sixth meeting of the UN Trade and Development Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy, with representatives from 42 countries participating in attendance.
The working group said that improving such measurements is essential to policies on taxation, competition, digital trade agreements, support to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, consumer protection and digital inclusion.
“You cannot govern what you cannot measure,” the meeting heard, emphasizing that data gaps undermine policymaking, hide inequalities in digital access and prevent countries from fully benefiting from digital transformation.
E-commerce: Rapid growth and measurement gap
E-commerce and digitally delivered services are among the fastest-growing segments of the global economy.
Experimental figures from UN Trade and Development indicate that e‑commerce sales are expanding significantly faster than GDP, highlighting their growing centrality to economic activity.
Yet most countries still lack statistics capturing the value of online transactions, cross-border digital trade and the rapid expansion of social-media-based commerce.
Emerging technologies prompts need for methodological review
The working group recommended that UN Trade and Development undertake a full review of core indicators in 2026, which could incorporate emerging elements in today’s digital landscape, such as artificial intelligence, platform-based business models, remote work and fully digital services.
It also encouraged the Task Group on Measuring E-commerce Value, which is convened by UN Trade and Development with the participation of experts from around 30 countries and partner international organizations, to finalize guidelines and recommendations for measuring e-commerce value.
These guidelines and recommendations should then be promoted by UN Trade and Development via expanded capacity-building programmes, delivered through partnerships with international and regional organizations.
Support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will help scale up this technical assistance.
Stronger collaboration all the more necessary
The meeting heard concerns over a decline in international development financing, which threatens many countries’ efforts to keep pace with the digital transition.
It underscored that cooperation among governments, the private sector and international organizations is crucial to avoid duplication and ensure coherent global measurement practices.
Experts at the meeting called for simple, technology-neutral and globally comparable statistical frameworks, alongside innovative data-collection tools such as electronic payment records and data mining.