The Central Bank of Cyprus has announced that Cyprus has joined the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with effect from 1 December 2009.

The SDDS was established by the IMF in order to provide guidance to member countries on the provision of economic and financial data to the public.  By enhancing the availability of timely and comprehensive statistics, the SDDS contributes to the achievement of sound macroeconomic policies and the efficient functioning of financial markets.

By subscribing to the SDDS, Cyprus has undertaken a commitment to observe the requirements of this Standard and provide information to the IMF about its practices in disseminating to the public economic and financial data. 
 
Data will be available to the public on specified dates, in respect of the following sectors of the economy:

• Real Sector   
• Fiscal Sector
• Financial Sector
• External Sector
• Socio-demographic Data (Population)

With the adoption of the SDDS, Cyprus has committed itself to transparency in the dissemination of statistics and the application of internationally recognised statistical standards, developments which are expected to reduce the cost of government borrowing from external sources and enhance the flow of foreign investment.