The development of Scottish economic statistics

The economic statistics produced by the Scottish Government have evolved markedly over the last decade. As part of this, in 2008, the Scottish National Accounts Project (SNAP) was launched with the aim to develop a full set of National Accounts for Scotland. This has been a significant undertaking, and the work is only partly complete. However for the first time, there now exists a fully integrated and coherent Scottish National Accounts system which continues to expand its coverage of economic data in Scotland. This article sets out what has been put in place to date, and highlights key areas for further improvement. It shows how this work fits with an historic programme to improve Scottish economic statistics by the Scottish Government. New priorities are outlined and users – including Commentary readers - are invited to engage with the Scottish Economic Statistics Consultation network to feed in their views as to how Scotland’s vital economic statistics can be developed further to better describe, measure and analyse the Scottish economy for the public benefit.