United Nations Statistical Commission

The United Nations Statistical Commission is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council establish in 1946; it oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division. Its 24 member states are elected by the Economic and Social Council on the basis of the following geographical distribution: African states (5), Asian States (4), Eastern European States (4), Latin American and Caribbean States (4), Western European and other States (7). Since July 1999 the Commission meets every year. As set forth by the Economic and Social Council, in the terms of reference, the Commission shall assist the Council:

• "In promoting the development of national statistics and the improvement of their comparability;"
• "In the coordination of the statistical work of specialized agencies;"
• "In the development of the central statistical services of the Secretariat;"
• "In advising the organs of the United Nations on general questions relating to the collection, analysis and dissemination of statistical information;"
• "In promoting the improvement of statistics and statistical methods generally."

One of the best known subunits of the Statistics Division is the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), also known as the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN). This unit attempts to standardize the names of locations across languages, alphabets, and cultures.

The sixth UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names was in 1992 (New York), the seventh in 1998 (New York), the eighth in 2002 (Berlin), and the ninth in 2007 (New York). One issue addressed at these conferences was the Sea of Japan naming dispute.

The Bureau

The officers are the Chairman, 3 Vice-chairmen and the Rapporteur, elected for a one year period by the members of the Commission at the beginning of a session. Since 1999, its role is more of a steering one; the Chairman may seek for complementary assistance from other members (Friends of the Chair).

Chairmanship

Year	Session	Chair (Country)
2013	44th	Hungary
2012	43rd	Hungary
2011	42nd	Oman
2010	41st	Oman
2009	40th	South Africa
2008	39th	South Africa
2007	38th	Mexico
2006	37th	Mexico
2005	36th	USA
2004	35th	USA
2003	34th	Hungary
2002	33rd	Hungary
2001	32nd	Japan
2000	31st	Botswana
1999	30th	Botswana
1997	29th	Mexico
1995	28th	United Kingdom
1994	Special session	Poland
1993	27th	Netherlands
1991	26th	Netherlands
1989	25th	Argentina
1987	24th	Ghana
1985	23rd	Ireland
1983	22nd	Hungary
1981	21st	USA
1979	20th	USSR
1976	19th	India
1974	18th	United Kingdom
1972	17th	France
1970	16th	France
1968	15th	Australia
1966	14th	Norway
1965	13th	Norway
1962	12th	Ireland
1960	11th	Ireland
1958	10th	New Zealand
1956	9th	India
1954	8th	India
1953	7th	United Kingdom
1951	6th	United Kingdom
1950	5th	Netherlands
1949	4th	Netherlands
1948	3rd	Canada
1947 (August)	2nd	Canada
1947 (January)	1st	Canada
1946	Nuclear session	USA

Further reading

• Hausner, Isolde: Die „United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names“ (UNGEGN) und die Standardisierung geographischer Namen. In: Kainz, W. / Kriz, K. / Riedl, A. (eds.): Aspekte der Kartographie im Wandel. Festschrift für Ingrid Kretschmer zum 65. Geburtstag. Wien 2004 (= Wiener Schriften zur Geographie und Kartographie).
• Kerfoot, Helen: Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names: some fifty years on. In: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division (ed.): Manual for the standardization of geographical names. United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names. New York 2006: 83-97. ISBN 92-1-161490-2

See also

• United Nations Statistics Division
• List of national and international statistical services
• Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)

External links

• Home page for Statistical Commission
• Home page for Statistical Division
• Official home page for UNGEGN
• Website for UNGEGN Working Group on Romanization Systems