About UNICEF Data and Analytics
Smart use of data saves and transforms lives. With the right data in the right hands at the right time, decisions become better informed, more equitable and more likely to protect children’s rights.
UNICEF’s Data Team is the global go-to for data on children. It leads the collection, validation, analysis, use and communication of the most statistically sound, internationally comparable data on the situation of children and women around the world. These data, upheld for quality and integrity, are accessible as a global public good on data.unicef.org.
The Data Team generates data-driven thought products, including flagship reports and global databases, to inform evidence-based programme strategy and advocacy. These products identify emerging issues, track progress and highlight gaps in children’s well-being, equipping governments, other UN agencies, international NGOs, think tanks and academics, media and individuals with insights to drive action.
UNICEF’s Data Team strengthens countries’ capacities to make informed decisions and lead initiatives based on the best available data. Key to this role is the work done by UNICEF’s global household survey programme, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), which leads global standard setting in measuring and monitoring data. This includes providing technical workshops and capacity-building support, such as survey design, data processing and advanced analysis to strengthen national statistical systems.
As a leader in monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children, UNICEF serves as a custodian for 19 SDG indicators as they relate to children. In this role, the team supports countries in generating, analysing and using data for these indicators. Flagship publications, such as The State of the World’s Children and its corresponding Statistical Compendium, reflect this work, providing essential insights for global policy and advocacy.
Additionally, timely subnational data are essential for targeting, monitoring and designing policies and programmes that reach every child, especially in humanitarian contexts. To this end, the Data Team is working with partners to generate and leverage the use of frontier data — including artificial intelligence, big data and geographical information systems — in ways that are responsible, ethical and equitable, while fully respecting child rights.
The Data Team is the lynchpin of a data-driven transformation within UNICEF and with partners. This transformation fosters a culture of data use, builds coherence in UNICEF’s data work and embeds robust governance to ensure the safe, ethical and responsible use of data.
Within this overall framework, the Office of the Chief Statistician, led by João Pedro Azevedo, ensures that UNICEF remains the trusted global authority on child-focused data. It oversees key efforts such as MICS, frontier data initiatives, reports, database work and SDG monitoring. In tandem, the Office of the Chief Data Officer (CDO), led by Carina Kabajunga Wangwe, focuses on maximizing the potential of data while safeguarding against risks by establishing robust data governance frameworks. The CDO supports safe and ethical digital transformation, ensuring responsible data use that minimizes potential harms to children, staff and donors.
UNICEF is the world’s leading source of data on children, used by over 6 million people annually.