Regional Workshop on Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Prices Statistics

Consumer price indexes (CPI) measure changes over time in the general level of prices of goods and services 
that households acquire (use or pay for) for the purpose of consumption. In many countries, they were 
originally introduced to provide a measure of the changes in the living costs faced by workers, so that wage 
increases could be related to changing levels of prices. However, over the years, CPIs have widened their 
scope and now are widely used as a macroeconomic indicator of inflation, as a tool by governments and 
central banksfor monetary policy and for monitoring price stability, and as deflators in the national accounts. 
With the globalization of trade and production and the liberalization of the markets, national governments, 
central banks, and international organizations place great importance on the quality and accuracy of national 
CPIs, and their international comparability.
CPIs are official statistics that are usually produced by NSOs, Ministries of Finance and Labour, or central 
banks. They are published as quickly as possible, generally within four weeks after the reference period.
This face-to-face course, developed jointly by SIAP, IMF, and SPC, aims to build capacity to improve the 
compilation of consumer price indexes (CPI) that reflect international standards and best practice as 
described in the 2020 CPI Manual. Course topics will include overview of index calculation methods, 
developing weights, selecting samples, price collection, data dissemination. The program will include 
interactive discussions to share country experiences, practical exercises to apply concepts and methods 
discussed, and limited lecture.