The United Nations has endorsed a new global statistical framework for disaster-related statistics to help countries better understand and reduce growing disaster risks.

The Global Disaster-Related Statistics Framework (G-DRSF) establishes internationally agreed guidance on how governments produce statistics on disasters from their frequency and intensity, economic losses and infrastructure damage, population and environmental risk and impacts, to efforts we make in reducing disaster risk. Its endorsement comes at a critical moment, as countries face increasingly frequent and severe hazards that strain public finances and threaten to reverse development gains.

For the first time at the global level, the G-DRSF brings together the work of National Statistical Offices and National Disaster Management Offices under one coordinated approach. By aligning data systems across institutions, it is expected to strengthen national disaster data governance and improve the consistency and reliability of information used in policy decisions.

The G-DRSF responds to longstanding calls to look beyond gross domestic product as the primary measure of progress. It provides governments with a more comprehensive evidence base for planning and budgeting by better equipping them to measure not only direct damage from disasters, but also exposure, vulnerability and capacity to cope. 

The development of the G-DRSF has been coordinated by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Disaster-related Statistics, co-chaired by UNDRR, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in response to a 2019 UN Statistical Commission decision to advance a common statistical framework on disaster-related statistics.

The G-DRSF aligns with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and supports reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Goal on Adaptation. 

“The Global Disaster-Related Statistics Framework shows how regional innovation can shape global progress. It consolidates and scales up the Asia-Pacific framework endorsed in 2018 and sets a strong example of a bottom-up pathway toward internationally coherent disaster-related statistics,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. 

“Cooperation to prevent disasters relies on having a shared understanding of risks, both within countries and across borders. The Global Disaster-Related Statistics Framework is a major milestone in creating a common language to drive disaster prevention. This is a success for multilateralism, and I am grateful to all partners whose commitment made this possible,” shared Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

As climate-related and other hazards intensify, the endorsement of a shared statistical foundation is expected to strengthen risk analysis, inform safer infrastructure and investment decisions, and support efforts to protect vulnerable communities worldwide.