Global Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures - Afristat

xiiPrefaceand compiling the PPPs and related statistics for each ofthe regions. We also want to thank Eurostat and OECD forproviding their experience, expertise, and overall supportfor the regional and ring comparisons.When the United Nations Statistical Commission gavethe go-ahead to this ICP round at its 2002 meeting, itemphasized that the project had to have a strong governancestructure. The Executive Board was set up to providethis governance. The Board and its members have had amajor impact on the program, and we would like to thankthem all for their contributions.The project would not have been such a success withoutthe invaluable inputs from members of the TechnicalAdvisory Group. We appreciate the wholehearted andenthusiastic manner in which they conducted their variousdiscussions—both at meetings in Washington and viaemails.Our special thanks go to the major donors, whose contributionswere so important in bringing the program tofruition. Contributors to the Global Trust Fund includethe U.K. Department for International Development, theInternational Monetary Fund, the Australian Agency forInternational Development, and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme. The World Bank made significant contributionsto both the global and regional programs, as didnumerous regional agencies.We would like to congratulate the global office teamat the World Bank. They have faced many challenges andobstacles over the past four years or so, but their perseveranceand unwavering commitment to the project haveultimately helped them overcome all the odds. They havesucceeded not only in producing a very important set ofstatistical indicators but also in refining important conceptsunderlying international comparisons, developing new toolsto make data collection and compilation easier and moretransparent, and setting up a firm basis on which futureICPs can be launched.We hope that users will find the report useful. Thesedata represent the most comprehensive survey of pricesever undertaken. As with any statistical exercise, there arelimitations to the data, and these are highlighted in thereport. We welcome any comments and suggestions fortheir improvement.Finally, to everyone involved in this enormous task,thanks very much for a job well done!Dennis TrewinChairmanICP Executive BoardShaida BadieeDirectorDevelopment Data GroupWorld Bank