Anu Peltola is the Director of UNCTAD Statistics, Data and Digital Service overseeing the statistical, digital transformation and information technology work of the UN Trade and Development. She supports countries in measuring Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators on trade, maritime transport, investment, illicit finance, South-South cooperation, and enterprise sustainability. Anu brings over 25 years of experience in official statistics at both the national and international levels.
She serves as the UNCTAD Chief Statistician coordinating internal, UN system-wide and international statistical and data efforts, including initiatives such as beyond GDP and the cost of SDG transitions. She is the co-chair of the UN system Chief Statisticians (CCS-UN) and the Committee for the Coordination of international Statistical Activities (CCSA) consisting of 45 international organizations. Her team also contributes to the development of new statistics and methodologies and supports UNCTAD programs in creating and delivering innovative, AI-assisted data management platforms for diverse domains such as non-tariff measures, informal cross-border trade, international investment policies, laws and regulations. It helps enhance countries' statistical capacity in measuring trade and development, for instance through the Trade-in-Services Statistics information system (TiSSTAT), a modern tool for national statistical authorities, as well as through a new set of indicators on gender equality in trade and the inclusive growth index (IGI). UNCTAD's statistics are released in UNCTAD Data Hub and Data Insights always reflecting the latest data in UNCTADStat and SDG Pulse sharing the latest data-driven analysis.
Before joining UNCTAD, Anu was engaged in preparing Chief Statisticians’ meetings under the Conference of European Statisticians in UNECE and coordinated international efforts to develop guidance for instance on modernising statistical legislation and enhancing the value of official statistics. She established a new joint work stream for climate and statistical communities. Previously, she worked in Statistics Finland serving as Head of Statistics and Head of Development in short-term economic, business and household statistics.