The International Comparison Program (ICP) today released a report containing new data showing the world economy produced goods and services worth almost $55 trillion in 2005 and that almost 40 percent of the world’s output came from developing economies. Carried out with the World Bank and other partners, the preliminary global report provides estimates of internationally comparable price levels and the relative purchasing power of currencies for 146 economies. The principal outputs of the ICP are estimates of Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) benchmarked to the year 2005.

Ministers and high-level officials representing the member countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) will gather on 13-15 December 2016 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Doha, Qatar, to participate in the ESCWA 29th Ministerial Session.

The workshop will aim to achieve the following goals:
1. Presentation of the experiences of countries that conducted a population and housing census using tablets, and geospatial technologies during the preparation and completion stages;
2. Addressing the technical and logistical difficulties and problems encountered by the countries that used tablets during the various stages of the census and the measures that were taken to address them, as well as the lessons learned;
3. Determining the infrastructure needed to conduct the census;
4. Determining the training needs required for all the teams participating in the census process, including the cartographic work team, the geographic information systems team, and the team assigned to prepare the methodological and organizational approach to the census.