The Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) in Sharjah has announced the launch of its annual Economic Survey Project 2020 which will collect economic performance data across the entire spectrum of industries in the emirate as well as that of public and private sector companies. The project will ultimately help boost Sharjah’s planning and development policies.

Launched this July, this ongoing project seeks to cover the administrative community areas and free zones across Sharjah.

The survey’s objective is to measure the overall economic performance and sector-by-sector growth in the emirate, assess the requirements of quality products and services, number of workers, average wages, the volume of investments, primary and secondary production, and operating revenues. In addition, it will accurately identify each sector’s contributions to the emirate’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and identify the number of companies and entities operating in each sector.

Announcing the launch of the new survey, Sheikh Mohamed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of DSCD, said: “The Economic Survey Project 2020 has a pivotal role in spotlighting the macroeconomic indicators in the emirate, identifying growth rates of businesses, measuring investment levels, changes in consumer habits, and assessing the overall growth of the emirate. It also provides an insight into the impact of government policies on the economy and its different sectors, helps forecast future growth, and provides accurate data for government bodies to use for both analytical purposes and local, regional, and international comparisons.”

The Chairman also said that by monitoring the economic realities and providing decision-makers with comprehensive, reliable data and indicators to prioritise development programmes in Sharjah, DSCD is facilitating the sustainable community development journey of the emirate and the UAE. Al Qasimi added that DSCD’s data collection and analysis adhere to the highest international standards.

Three mechanisms for data collection

The data collection process will be implemented either by sending all entities a link to the survey via email and setting up a dedicated call centre for the project. Personal visits will be made to those entities that cannot respond to the survey via email or phone.

The department pointed out that all data collected will be kept confidential according to law No. 4 of 2014 which regulates the department’s objectives, powers, and competencies, and Article 10 which protects the data of establishments and companies operating in the emirate by permitting its use only for statistical work. DSCDhas called on all respondents in the emirate to cooperate with its field teams and provide them with the required information for the study.