Thematic areas / Trade Statistics
Trade Statistics
The TRAINFORTRADE programme in collaboration with UNCTAD/STAT (SDG Pulse) works on the subject of trade statistics with the two topics addressing :
The TrainForTrade programme, in collaboration with UNCTAD/STAT, WTO, and UNSD, works on the subject of trade statistics, addressing two topics: Statistics on International Trade in Services (SITS) and International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS).
Statistics on International Trade in Services (SITS)
It is our pleasure to invite you and your colleagues who are responsible for the compilation and analysis of Statistics of International Trade in Services (SITS) to the forthcoming annual TrainForTrade e-learning courses and webinars on SITS. These courses will be jointly organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The e-learning courses will be held from 19 October to 29 November 2026 with follow-up webinars on 8 and 9 December 2026. The courses will be delivered in both English and French.
Follow these steps to register for the courses before 18 October 2026
For the English course:
- Go to https://tft-reg.unctad.org/en
- Select “Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 (SITS)”
- Use the access code "SITS.2026"
For the French course:
- Go to https://tft-reg.unctad.org/fr
- Select “Statistiques du Commerce International des Services 2026 (SCIS)”
- Use the access code "2026"
The objective of the course is to enhance the capacity of trade statisticians to apply the internationally agreed recommendations as contained in the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 (MSITS 2010); to define the best possible data sources; to set up or enforce collection systems; and to strengthen statistical production processes. Furthermore, the course would raise awareness of SITS and its concepts, enhance statisticians’ capacity, and help them to better understand the MSITS 2010.
Please note that the international recommendations were revised in 2026 and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 (MSITS 2026) was formally adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its 57th session in March 2026. The white-cover version of MSITS 2026 is available at: https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_57/documents/BG-3h-2-MSITS_2026_white_cover_version-Rev-E.pdf. Therefore, this course will be updated to incorporate the latest recommendations set out in MSITS 2026. The revised course is expected to be launched in 2027. Further information will be provided when it becomes available.
The courses are offered free of charge, and there is no limit on the number of participants from a given entity or country.
The main objectives of the course are to raise awareness of Trade in Services’ Statistics and its concepts, enhance statisticians’ ability to do their work, and to help them better understand the manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services (MSITS 2010).
- Compilers and producers of data
(Statistics on International trade in services, Balance of Payments (BoP), Business statistics, etc): BoP Statisticians (from Central Banks or National Statistical Institutes); Statistical Officers in Trade and Services; National Accountants; Business statisticians
- Data users
Ministries (Tourism, Trade, Economy, Finance); Other industry players (economists, lawyers, etc.)
At the end of this modules, participants are able to:
Module 1
Importance of Statistics on International Trade in Services & main concepts
- Recognize the scope of international trade statistics in general and trade in services specifically
- Distinguish between goods and services, develop awareness of main services items within EBOPS, understand concepts of modes of supply
- Describe various uses of Statistics on International Trade in Services
- Get familiar with MSITS 2010
Module 2
Setting up pre-requisites for data collection and compilation
- Evaluate data needs
- Compare existing statistics with the needs recognized
- Develop a sustainable system for SITS compilation and dissemination
- Organise responsibilities at a national level
Module 3
Data sources and collection
- Identify and analyse the use of data sources
- Recognize limits in existing data sources
- Explore and evaluate other potential sources
- Acquire knowledge of data collection tools
- Extend existing data collection to improve quality and detail
Module 4
Data Compilation (BOP STIS)
- Recognize EBOPS concepts/definitions
- Define services items based on data collected
- Classify transactions by item, partner and mode of supply
- Compile services items that require specific approaches
Module 5
Data Compilation (FATS)
- Discriminate FATS and FDI concepts
- Define FATS variables
- Relate FATS to statistics on the international supply of services
- Classify variables by product, activity and country
- Compile specific variables
Module 6
Dissemination and Analysis
- Publish trade data timely
- Analyse Statistics on the international supply of services
- Relate data to modes of supply
- Disseminate relevant metadata
- Implement an effective and user-friendly dissemination platform
- Advocate the development and promote the use of Statistics on the international supply of services
Delivery 2025 English and French
The e-learning course was delivered from 15 September to 26 October 2025 with follow-up webinars on 11 and 12 November 2025. The course was delivered in both English and French.
Delivery 2025 English and French
The e-learning course was delivered from 15 September to 26 October 2025 with follow-up webinars on 11 and 12 November 2025. The course was delivered in both English and French.
Delivery 2024 English and French
The SITS e-learning course with the follow-up webinars was delivered from 16 September to 25 October 2024 (e-learning) and in December 2024 (webinars) in both English and French.
Delivery 2023 English and French
The SITS e-learning course with the follow-up webinars was delivered from 11 September to 31 October 2023 in both English and French.
Detailed Delivery Report
Delivery 2022 English and French
SITS delivery was delivered from 12 September to 21 October 2022 for the blended learning course in English and French and for the blended learning course in French.
Delivery 2021 English and French
Le cours en ligne SCIS est diffusé du 6 Septembre au 28 Octobre 2021.
Présentation des résultat de cette diffusion : SCIS 2021
Delivery 2020 English and French
UNCTAD/TRAINFORTRADE, UNCTAD/STAT, UN Statistics Division in New York and the World Trade Organization. It was delivered from 21st September to 30th October 2020, in response to demands for technical assistance in the compilation of trade-in-services statistics. This course will be available in English and French.
The course addresses the aims of Goal 17 of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
A total of 987 participants (419 women – 42%) from 153 countries registered to the e-Learning courses and webinars (see Figure 1. A total of 769 participants (326 women – 42%) registered to the e-Learning courses and among these, 529 successfully completed it and received an electronic certificate. The overall satisfaction rate for the final opinion questionnaire for the courses delivered in English and French was 80% and 91% respectively. A total of 218 participants (93 women – 43%) registered to the follow-up webinars. The satisfaction rate for the webinars was 91%.
Participants and certificates of the e-Learning courses
| Language | Participants | Women | Women (%) | Certificates | Women | Women (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | 173 | 46 | 27 | 113 | 28 | 25 |
| English | 596 | 280 | 47 | 416 | 208 | 50 |
| Total | 769 | 326 | 42 | 529 | 236 | 45 |
Delivery 2019 English
The distance learning course on Trade in Services Statistics was successfully organized by the UNCTAD/TRAINFORTRADE, UNCTAD/STAT, UN Statistics Division in New York and the World Trade Organization. It was delivered from 21st October to 29th November 2019, in response to demands for technical assistance in the compilation of trade-in-services statistics. The face-to-face follow-up was organized from 2nd to 6th December 2019 in WTO, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The course addresses the aims of Goal 17 of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
Registration and participation to the online course was free of charge. The total of 703 representatives (444 women – 63%) from 126 countries registered to the course (see Figure below). Among these, 587 participants started the course and 526 successfully completed it and received an electronic certificate. Overall satisfaction rate for the final opinion questionnaire for the online course was 77%.
Full report of the 2019 delivery: Report SITS blended learning 2019
Delivery 2019 French
In the framework of the UNCTAD-UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) project to put in place statistics on international trade services, an online workshop has been organized by UNCTAD/Stat in collaboration with UNCTAD/TRAINFORTRADE from 20 June to 30 July 2019.
79 Statisticians (20% women) registered to the eLearning course. 55 (20% women) received their certificate after 6 weeks of online sessions. The workload of this programme is around 4 hours a week. During the eLearning, participants exchanges on forums and contributed to the harmonization of the SITS data at regional level.
Delivery 2017 English
The distance learning course on Statistics on International Trade in Services, was successfully organized by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Secretaría de Integración Económica Centroamericana (SIECA) and UNCTAD. It was delivered from 1st March to 10th April 2016, in response to a number of demands for technical assistance in the compilation of trade-in-services statistics.
Delivery for LDCs in preparation for the WTO face-to-face Course on Statistics on International Trade in Services in October 2016. The online course was very useful to the participants in achieving a common ground and same level of understanding on the subject. The WTO face-to-face workshop gives the opportunity for participants to delve into the details of Trade in Services Statistics and identify gaps in the national statistics in order to be compliant with the international standard on this topic. WTO has renewed its interest to deliver the course in 2017 in collaboration with TrainForTrade and UNCTAD/Stat.
From September to October 2017, more than 80 participants from 40 countries have started the on-line course on Statistics on International Trade in Services.
International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS)
The objective of this e-learning course on IMTS is to provide more easily accessible and rather complete training material for those involved in the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of IMTS.
The main goals are to enhance statisticians ability to apply the most recent internationally agreed recommendations on IMTS, define best possible data sources, set up adequate collection systems, and enhance statistics compilation processes. Furthermore, the course would communicate the importance of quality, metadata, timely dissemination, and links to economic analysis and national policy objectives. The training would guide trainees on how to better use the internationally available guidance, especially the IMTS Concepts and Definitions 2010 and the related Compilers Manual.
Trade data compilers from (depends on countries):
- National Statistical Office (NSO) [i.e., Zambia, Malaysia]
- Central Bank [i.e., Paraguay, El Salvador]
- Ministry of Trade [i.e., Thailand, India]
- Customs Administration [i.e., China, Korea]
It represents a limited number of people by countries
Secondary Target
- Trade negotiators
- Trade statisticians
- Trade analysts / Economist (reporting indicators)
From
- Ministries of Foreign affairs, Agriculture, Transport, Energy, etc.
- Chamber of Commerce, Industry
- NGOs
- Academics
Delivery 2026 English and French
The e-learning course was held from 16 March to 3 May 2026 with follow-up webinars on 5-6 May 2026. The courses and webinars will be delivered in both English and French.
Delivery 2025 English and French
The e-learning course was delivered from 3 March to 13 April in both English and French with follow-up webinars on 23 and 24 April.
Delivery 2024 English and French
The IMTS e-learning course with the follow-up webinars was held from 18 March to 7 May 2024. The course was delivered in both English and French.
Detailed delivery report English & French
Delivery 2023 English and French
Summary of the results, 1433 Participants from 143 countries
Detailed delivery report
Delivery 2022 English and French
Online course and webinar on International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS)
28 February to 10 April: 6 weeks asynchronous moderated e-learning course
12 April: 90 minutes webinar
Presentation (PPT) of the result of the delivery: IMTS 2022
Delivery 2020 English and French
eLearning course on International Merchandise Trade Statistics 2020
The distance learning course on “International Merchandise Trade Statistics” was successfully organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD/TRAINFORTRADE & UNCTAD/Stat), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was delivered from 16 March – 24 April 2020, in response to several demands for technical assistance in the collection, compilation, quality assurance and dissemination of international merchandise trade statistics.
The participants had the opportunity to learn with the various multimedia tools available in the TrainForTrade eLearning platform and interact in the online forums with peers and experts from the UN agencies. A total of 948 participants (504 women – 53%) from 138 countries registered to the course. Among these, 641 participants started the course and 551 successfully completed it and received an electronic certificate. The overall satisfaction rate for the final opinion questionnaire for the course was 89%.
United Nations Trade Statistics
Final report on IMTS distance learning 2020
Delivery 2020 French
Cours en ligne sur les statistiques du commerce international des marchandises 2020
The distance learning course on International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS) was successfully delivered in French (Cours en ligne sur les statistiques du commerce international des marchandises (SCIM) from 1st June to 10 July 2020, in response to demands for technical assistance in the compilation of IMTS. It was organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). The delivery of this course was financed by the 10th tranche of the United Nations Development Account Programme on Statistics and Data.
Registration and participation in the online course were free of charge. A total of 299 participants (97 women) from 44 countries (80% from Africa) registered to the course. 255 participants completed at least one module of the course. A total of 240 participants (75 women) successfully completed the course (with a total average for the six modules above 50%) and received an electronic certificate. The overall satisfaction rate for the final opinion questionnaire of the course was more than 80%.
The full report of the 2020 delivery in French with English summary: Report SCIM 2020 (IMTS French)-Final
Delivery 2019 English
ELEARNING COURSE ON INTERNATIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE STATISTICS 2019
The distance learning course on “International Merchandise Trade Statistics” was successfully organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD/TRAINFORTRADE & UNCTAD/Stat), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World Trade Organization. It was delivered from 25 March – 3 May 2019, in response to several demands for technical assistance in the collection, compilation, quality assurance and dissemination of international merchandise trade statistics.
Registration and participation of the course was free of charge. 783 representatives (53% women) from 112 different countries registered in the course. Out of the initially 783 registered participants, 377 completed the course. The average grade for all modules was 78/100. An electronic certificate was awarded to all participants with average grades equal or higher than 50/100. 377 participants received their electronic certificate.
The course was met with enthusiasm from the participants. Overall, 86% of participants were satisfied or very satisfied with this course. The results of the Overall Opinion Questionnaire indicate that 92% of participants felt that the course was well organized and 86% that the training method was effective.
Full report of the 2019 delivery: FINAL REPORT IMTS 2019
The Regional Validation Workshop was successfully organized by UNCTAD and UNSD in cooperation with the ACS General Secretariat from 15 to 18 May 2018 in ACS’s HQ for 24 participants (21 women) statistics compilers and users from Caribbean countries with the participation of representatives from UNCTAD, UNSD, ACS, CARICOM, Statistics Canada. The workshop was organized as a follow-up activity to TrainForTrade’s distance-learning course on International Merchandise Trade Statistics, delivered for more than 130 participants from 28 countries, to contribute to enhance the knowledge and the capacity IMTS professionals, mainly from the English-speaking countries from the Caribbean region and Asia. Co-financed by United Nations Development Account Tranche 10, UNSD and ACS.
The main goals of the workshop were to enhance statisticians’ ability to apply the most recent internationally agreed recommendations on IMTS, define best possible data sources, set up adequate (or enforce existing) collection systems, and enhance statistics compilation processes. Moreover, the course communicated the importance of quality, metadata, timely dissemination, and links to economic analysis and national policy objectives.
The workshop guided trainees on how to better use the internationally available guidance, especially the IMTS Concepts and Definitions 2010 and the related Compilers Manual.
- To revise and assess the training material produced for the IMTS course
- To identify eventual learning gaps to adapt the training material
- To enhance the knowledge and the capacity of trainees through group exercises
- To present country activities in the area of trade statistics To report the conclusions and recommendations
Quotes from participants of the Regional Validation Workshop on IMTS 2018
“Keep steadfast with these training initiatives that are geared towards Member States to further increase their capacity and dynamic in this regard”.
“The knowledge gained during the online course and the workshop would enable the preparation of better quality data and support to countries.”
“The group assignment was interesting as participants shared their experiences with the trade e-learning program, its benefits and how it can be improved.”
“I have recommended the training to other persons and, will continue to do so. The course is comprehensive, the manuals are a good read. The program is user-friendly. The topics have good coverage and current information about IMTS”.
“It was good to have both compilers and users participating in the training”.
“The country cases served as excellent examples of the efficiency of data compilation and dissemination and the various challenges to met. Participants seemed quite versed in their respective fields and imparted their knowledge well allowing for greater understanding of IMTS usage regionally.”