The challenges of statistics for development in Africa
Statistics aims to collect, and process data describing attributs of an observed phenomenon. Statistical methods are then used to analyse the data in order to better understand the underlying processes and to predict their future course. The field of statistics is applications-oriented.
Statistics and stochastic modeling play an important role in industrial processes and quality control. Statistics deal with all areas that involve observations and experiments: biology, medicine, (psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, pharmacology, etc), agronomy, food science, environmental and social studies such as sociology, political science, law, management, economics and finance, etc.
Statistical methods are routinely used to provide useful data to citizens and decision-makers. For several decades now, surveys have been used to shed light on the development of Africa. The data collected is used to compare different populations and track various phenomena through time. Such studies provide decisions-makers with valuable and objective insights into all aspects of society. Unfortunately the use of statistical methods for decision-making purposes is still limited in Africa. African citizens are not sufficiently educated about statistical methods and the training of statisticians is wanting.
Because they often involve large amounts of data, statistical methods rely more and more on computers. Statistics and computer science are closely related fields today.