UN's World Data Forum to open in late April

The fourth United Nations World Data Forum is scheduled to take place from April 24 to 27 in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, Kang Yi, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said during a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Entitled "Towards Data That Empowers Our World", the forum will be held both online and offline this year.

Six plenary meetings and 72 parallel sessions will take place during the forum, covering topics related to fields including maximizing the value of data, innovation and cooperation on data, forming a better data ecosystem and enhancing data credibility, Kang said.

He added the forum will provide a platform for exchanges among global data providers and users, and will also help in the implementation of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

More than 1,600 representatives from international organizations, governments, universities, research institutions, enterprises and non-governmental organizations from over 130 countries and regions will attend the forum in-person. Among them, over 900 people are international representatives.

Citing previous forums, he said over 7,000 online attendees are expected to watch this year.

During the conference, Xu Wenguang, executive vice-governor of Zhejiang, said the forum will also help deliver the voice of China in terms of data and statistics and showcase Zhejiang's achievements.

Covering 1 percent of China's land area, Zhejiang accounted for 6.4 percent of the national GDP and has 4.6 percent of China's population.

The province has been ramping up efforts to boost its digital economy in recent years; the added value of core industries of its digital economy accounted for 11.6 percent of the province's GDP in 2022.