Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that the Open Data Platform (ODP) – which increases data accessibility – is now operational for the entire African continent.

This follows the completion in July of the last phase of the project for the remaining 14 African countries which included Benin, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Kenya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, and Togo.

The initiative provides all 54 African countries with social and economic statistical data in a single and unique platform, while offering additional data on key development topics such as climate change, food security, infrastructure, and gender equality which can be accessed by researchers, analysts and policymakers worldwide.

According to an official statement, users can visualize time series development indicators, perform comprehensive analysis at country and regional levels, utilize presentation-ready templates or create their own visuals, blog, share their views and work with others. The website also provides new users with an introductory video on how maximize their use of the Open Data Platform, tailored to their own specific needs.

Following the announcement, international development agencies, including the IMF, will now upload their statistics on African countries onto the AfDB’s Open Data and regularly update it for Africa’s use.

In addition, the IMF and AfDB have formed a partnership to provide joint technical assistance to African countries to assist in their data submission and reporting.

The Platform will function as a central hub for data-sharing with international development partners.

The AfDB initiative is expected to revolutionize the collection, analysis and sharing of information on Africa, bringing the continent to the forefront of the global information economy.