Relations with the Fund

(As of September 30, 2015)

Membership Status: Joined: July 10, 1963

Article VIII

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Membership Status: Joined: July 10, 1963

Article VIII

General Resources Account:

	SDR Million	%Quota
Quota	61.90	100.00
Fund Holdings of Currency	59.52	96.15
Reserve Tranche Position	2.40	3.88
Notes Issuance
Holdings Exchange Rate

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	SDR Million	%Quota
Quota	61.90	100.00
Fund Holdings of Currency	59.52	96.15
Reserve Tranche Position	2.40	3.88
Notes Issuance
Holdings Exchange Rate

SDR Department:

	SDR Million	%Allocation
Net Cumulative Allocation	59.17	100.00
Holdings	47.20	79.77

View Table

	SDR Million	%Allocation
Net Cumulative Allocation	59.17	100.00
Holdings	47.20	79.77

Outstanding Purchases and Loans:

	SDR Million	%Quota
ECF Arrangements	90.21	145.74

View Table

	SDR Million	%Quota
ECF Arrangements	90.21	145.74

Latest Financial Arrangements:

Type	Date of Arrangement	Expiration Date	Amount Approved (SDR Million)	Amount Drawn (SDR Million)
ECF	Jun 14, 2010	June 03, 2014	74.28	74.28
ECF1	Aug 05, 2005	Jun 30, 2009	24.77	24.77
ECF1	Jul 17, 2000	Mar 31, 2004	27.00	27.00

View Table

Type	Date of Arrangement	Expiration Date	Amount Approved (SDR Million)	Amount Drawn (SDR Million)
ECF	Jun 14, 2010	June 03, 2014	74.28	74.28
ECF1	Aug 05, 2005	Jun 30, 2009	24.77	24.77
ECF1	Jul 17, 2000	Mar 31, 2004	27.00	27.00

Projected Payments to Fund:²

(SDR Million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):

	Forthcoming
	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Principal	2.35	7.96	11.94	14.95	14.82
Charges/Interest	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.12
Total	2.35	7.96	11.95	14.96	14.94

View Table

	Forthcoming
	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Principal	2.35	7.96	11.94	14.95	14.82
Charges/Interest	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.12
Total	2.35	7.96	11.95	14.96	14.94

Implementation of HIPC Initiative:

¹Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence, these two amounts cannot be added.

²Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.

I. Commitment of HIPC assistance				Enhanced Framework
	Decision point date			July 2000
	Assistance committed
		by all creditors (US$ million)1		265.00
		Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million)		24.30
		(SDR equivalent in millions)		18.40
	Completion point date			March 2003
I. Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR million)
	Assistance disbursed to the member			18.40
	Interim assistance			11.04
	Completion point balance			7.36
	Additional disbursement of interest income2			1.66
			Total disbursements	20.06

¹Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence, these two amounts cannot be added.

²Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.

View Table

I. Commitment of HIPC assistance				Enhanced Framework
	Decision point date			July 2000
	Assistance committed
		by all creditors (US$ million)1		265.00
		Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million)		24.30
		(SDR equivalent in millions)		18.40
	Completion point date			March 2003
I. Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR million)
	Assistance disbursed to the member			18.40
	Interim assistance			11.04
	Completion point balance			7.36
	Additional disbursement of interest income2			1.66
			Total disbursements	20.06

¹Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence, these two amounts cannot be added.

²Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.

Implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI):

¹The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.

I. MDRI-Eligible Debt (SDR million)1		36.06
Financed by: MDRI Trust		34.11
Remaining HIPC resources		1.95
II. Debt Relief by Facility (SDR million)
		Eligible Debt
Delivery Date	GRA	PRGT	Total
January 2006	N/A	36.06	36.06

¹The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.

View Table

I. MDRI-Eligible Debt (SDR million)1		36.06
Financed by: MDRI Trust		34.11
Remaining HIPC resources		1.95
II. Debt Relief by Facility (SDR million)
		Eligible Debt
Delivery Date	GRA	PRGT	Total
January 2006	N/A	36.06	36.06

¹The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.

Decision point - point at which the IMF and the World Bank determine whether a country qualifies for assistance under the HIPC Initiative and decide on the amount of assistance to be committed.

Interim assistance - amount disbursed to a country during the period between decision and completion points, up to 20 percent annually and 60 percent in total of the assistance committed at the decision point (or 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively, in exceptional circumstances).

Completion point - point at which a country receives the remaining balance of its assistance committed at the decision point, together with an additional disbursement of interest income as defined in footnote 2 above. The timing of the completion point is linked to the implementation of pre-agreed key structural reforms (i.e., floating completion point).

Implementation of Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief (PCDR): Not Applicable.

Exchange Arrangement:

Benin is a member of the WAEMU and has no separate legal tender. The union’s common currency, the CFA franc, is pegged to the Euro at a rate of CFAF 655.957 = EUR 1, consistent with the official conversions rate of the French franc to the Euro and the previous fixed rate of the CFA franc to the French franc of CFAF 100= F 1. Effective January 1, 2007, the exchange arrangement of the WAEMU countries has been reclassified to the category of conventional pegged arrangement from the category of exchange arrangement with no separate legal tender. The new classification is based on the behavior of the common currency, whereas the previous classification was based on the lack of a separate legal tender. The new classification thus only reflects a definitional change, and is not based on a judgment that there has been a substantive change in the exchange regime or other policies of the currency union or its members. As of June 1, 1996, Benin and other members of WEAMU accepted the obligations of Articles VIII, section2, 3, and 4 of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement. Benin’s exchange system has no restrictions on making payments or transfers for current international transactions and the country does not engage in multiple currency practices.

Article IV Consultations:

The last completed Article IV consultation discussions were held in Cotonou during July 16–30, 2012. The staff report (Country Report No 13/9; 1/11/13) and selected issues paper were discussed by the Executive Board, concluding the 2012 Article IV consultation on November 9, 2012.

ROSC Assessment:

A Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) mission conducted the fiscal module of a Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) in May 2001. The mission recommended the adoption of a three-year action plan containing measures to improve expenditure management. The mission also identified a list of actions to be taken quickly to ensure that the authorities were able to monitor budget execution. The ROSC fiscal transparency module for Benin was circulated to the Board on June 6, 2002 (Country Report No. 02/217). In 2009, the World Bank conducted an Accounting and Auditing ROSC, for which the report was published on April 18, 2009.

Technical Assistance for the Last Five Years:

A. Headquarters

Department	Type of Assistance	Time of Delivery	Purpose
FAD	Technical assistance	December 1–12, 2011	Improving the tax system and reviewing the modernization reforms of the tax and customs administrations.
MCM	Technical assistance	December 8-21, 2011	Conducting a diagnostic of the financial system.
MCM	Technical assistance	September 6-17, 2012	Conducting a pilot review of financial sector issues to reinforce regular financial sector surveillance.
FAD	Technical assistance	April 25-May 10, 2013	Assessing progress in customs administration modernization, reviewing a new customs reform concept and providing advice on the management of a comprehensive reform program.
FAD	Technical assistance	March 23–April 5, 2014	Conducting a diagnostic of revenue administration.
FAD	Technical assistance	April 22–May 5, 2014	Conducting a diagnostic of the expenditure chain with a focus on capital expenditure.
FAD	Technical assistance	September 27–October 10, 2014	Following-up of previous recommendations and reviewing the mining taxation regime.
FAD	Technical assistance	June 1–June 14, 2015	Advising the authorities on a reform strategy for overseeing public agencies and SOEs.

View Table

Department	Type of Assistance	Time of Delivery	Purpose
FAD	Technical assistance	December 1–12, 2011	Improving the tax system and reviewing the modernization reforms of the tax and customs administrations.
MCM	Technical assistance	December 8-21, 2011	Conducting a diagnostic of the financial system.
MCM	Technical assistance	September 6-17, 2012	Conducting a pilot review of financial sector issues to reinforce regular financial sector surveillance.
FAD	Technical assistance	April 25-May 10, 2013	Assessing progress in customs administration modernization, reviewing a new customs reform concept and providing advice on the management of a comprehensive reform program.
FAD	Technical assistance	March 23–April 5, 2014	Conducting a diagnostic of revenue administration.
FAD	Technical assistance	April 22–May 5, 2014	Conducting a diagnostic of the expenditure chain with a focus on capital expenditure.
FAD	Technical assistance	September 27–October 10, 2014	Following-up of previous recommendations and reviewing the mining taxation regime.
FAD	Technical assistance	June 1–June 14, 2015	Advising the authorities on a reform strategy for overseeing public agencies and SOEs.

B. Afritac West

Department	Type of Assistance	Time of Delivery	Purpose
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Customs Administration (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Tax Administration
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Public Expenditure Management
FAD	Technical assistance	2012	Public Expenditure Management
FAD	Technical assistance	2012	Tax Administration
FAD	Technical assistance	2013	Customs Administration (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Tax Administration (2)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Public Financial Management (5)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Customs Administrations (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Customs Administrations (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Tax Administration (2)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Public Financial Management (3)
MCM	Technical assistance	2011	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability
MCM	Technical assistance	2012	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability
MCM	Technical assistance	2015	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2011	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2011	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2012	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2012	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2013	Real Sector Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2014	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2015	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2015	Real Sector Statistics

View Table

Department	Type of Assistance	Time of Delivery	Purpose
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Customs Administration (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Tax Administration
FAD	Technical assistance	2011	Public Expenditure Management
FAD	Technical assistance	2012	Public Expenditure Management
FAD	Technical assistance	2012	Tax Administration
FAD	Technical assistance	2013	Customs Administration (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Tax Administration (2)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Public Financial Management (5)
FAD	Technical assistance	2014	Customs Administrations (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Customs Administrations (3)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Tax Administration (2)
FAD	Technical assistance	2015	Public Financial Management (3)
MCM	Technical assistance	2011	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability
MCM	Technical assistance	2012	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability
MCM	Technical assistance	2015	Public Debt and Debt Sustainability (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2011	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2011	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2012	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2012	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2013	Real Sector Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2014	Real Sector Statistics (2)
STA	Technical assistance	2015	Government Finance Statistics
STA	Technical assistance	2015	Real Sector Statistics

Resident Representative:

Mr. Moers assumed his position in Cotonou as Resident Representative on July 6, 2014.

Joint World Bank-IMF Work Program, 2015–16

Title	Products	Timing of Mission	Expected Delivery Date
A. Mutual information on relevant work programs
Bank work program in the next 12 months	1. PRSC-10 2. PFM/PPP/Governance Technical Assistance 3. Customs Reform Technical Assistance	Semi-annually June 2013 2016	September 2013 March 2014 Ongoing August 2013 December 2015 2016 Ongoing
IMF work program in the next 12 months	1. Staff Visit 2. Staff Visit	June 2016 December 2016
B Requests for work program inputs
Fund request to Bank	Provide authorities with best practice guidance on cotton sector models to further improve performance of the sector.		Ongoing
Bank request to Fund	Regular updates on macroeconomic performance and assessment letters for PRSC operations.		Ongoing
C. Agreement on joint products and missions
Joint products in the next 12 months	Coordinated assistance on Customs reform. Joint mission on medium-term debt management Research project on microfinance and poverty.	November 2015	Ongoing 2016 2016

View Table

Title	Products	Timing of Mission	Expected Delivery Date
A. Mutual information on relevant work programs
Bank work program in the next 12 months	1. PRSC-10 2. PFM/PPP/Governance Technical Assistance 3. Customs Reform Technical Assistance	Semi-annually June 2013 2016	September 2013 March 2014 Ongoing August 2013 December 2015 2016 Ongoing
IMF work program in the next 12 months	1. Staff Visit 2. Staff Visit	June 2016 December 2016
B Requests for work program inputs
Fund request to Bank	Provide authorities with best practice guidance on cotton sector models to further improve performance of the sector.		Ongoing
Bank request to Fund	Regular updates on macroeconomic performance and assessment letters for PRSC operations.		Ongoing
C. Agreement on joint products and missions
Joint products in the next 12 months	Coordinated assistance on Customs reform. Joint mission on medium-term debt management Research project on microfinance and poverty.	November 2015	Ongoing 2016 2016

Statistical Issues

Benin: STATISTICAL ISSUES As of October 2015
I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance
General: Data provision has some shortcomings, but is broadly adequate for surveillance. Weaknesses exist in the areas of national accounts, public finance, monetary statistics, financial sector prudential indicators, and balance of payments.
National Accounts: Inadequate resources and weaknesses in data hamper the accuracy and reliability of the national accounts. Efforts to address these shortcomings are ongoing. Benin participated in WAEMU’s harmonization of statistical methodologies and in the GDDS project for AFRITAC West countries to implement the 1993 SNA, and now intends to move to the 2008 SNA (by 2018). The West AFRITAC missions in 201115 sought to accelerate the process and support the compilation of the revised accounts, and assisted in rebasing the national accounts from 1985 to 2007.
Price Statistics: Consumer price data, measured using the WAEMU harmonized consumer price index, are adequate for surveillance. The methodology for the WAEMU harmonized consumer price index has been revised to be consistent with other WAEMU countries with the assistance of AFRISTAT. The current index covers the capital city only, but Benin is participating in a regional project aimed at extending the coverage of the CPI to the whole country.
Government Finance Statistics: The quality of fiscal data is broadly adequate for surveillance, but has some shortcomings in coverage, periodicity, timeliness, and accessibility. The authorities report budgetary central government’s “statement of government operations” for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook one year after the reference year and report quarterly data for publication in the International Financial Statistics. Benin is working toward implementing the new TOFE directive based on the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001). Currently this TOFE is produced on a trial basis along with the TOFE based GFSM 1986. The new TOFE will be implemented in January 2016. To that end, three tables are being prepared: i) TOFE based GFSM 2001, ii) Statement of sources and uses of cash, and ii) statement of public debt (at face value). The authorities are working as well to produce the TOFE using the Trial Balance as the source data. The authorities have yet to expand the coverage of the TOFE to include all the subsectors of the general government.
Monetary and Financial Statistics: Monetary and financial statistics (MFS) are compiled and disseminated by the regional Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The BCEAO does not report MFS data in the IMF-recommended format of standardized report forms (SRFs). Despite recent improvements, monetary statistics continue to have shortcomings. These include inconsistencies in source data and lack of proper sectorization of the domestic economy to ensure that the BCEAO adheres fully to the methodology of the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual. The 2011, 2013, and 2014 STA missions to the BCEAO’s headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, made a number of recommendations for addressing the above shortcomings. The missions also assisted BCEAO staff in developing SRFs for the central bank accounts and initiated work on the SRF for reporting the data of other depository corporations (ODCs).
Financial sector surveillance: Financial sector indicators are available with a significant lag, which makes evaluating the state of the financial sector difficult. The BCEAO is participating in a three-year TA project on financial soundness indicators (FSIs) for selected African, Asian, and Pacific countries funded by the Government of Japan. The main objective of the JSA-FSI Project is to strengthen capacities of the participating countries to compile and disseminate FSIs.
External sector statistics: Benin reports balance of payments and international investment position (IIP) statistics to STA using the methodology of the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) since 2011. The authorities have submitted 2013 balance of payments and IIP data for publication in the 2015 Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook (BOPSY). However, despite the recent improvements in applying the guidelines of BPM6, external statistics are still affected by shortcomings that prevent an accurate and timely assessment of current account transactions and capital and financial flows. In November 2004, a STA technical assistance mission noted that the human resources devoted to balance of payments statistics by the national agency of the BCEAO were inadequate, and highlighted a series of methodological problems including the use of untested hypotheses and reference bases, the limited coverage of direct investment, and shortcomings in the compilation of net external assets and international investment position. Balance of payments statistics are also disseminated with a lag of almost one year and the international investment position data with a lag of 18 months. Some progress has been achieved in the reconciliation of regional trade data with those of regional partners, and the compilation of trade statistics has been enhanced by the installation of the ASYCUDA++ customs computer system in all main border customs houses, the port, the airport, and some regional offices, which was further improved by the implementation of ASYCUDA World with some improved features. Effective implementation of ASYCUDA World would further enhance external trade statistics. However, the overall improvement depends largely on the sincerity of data that reporters provide and the integrity of customs officers as regards recording correct information. Progress is also needed in improving contacts with reporting bodies and enhancing the management of human and technical resources. Financial account data can be improved by extending the coverage of foreign assets of the private non-banking sector, expanding the surveys of residents’ foreign assets, and using other data source, such as Bank of International Settlements (BIS) statistics. The BCEAO has updated the compilation of commercial bank data on payments involving nonresidents; however, these data are not used to produce annual balance of payments statistics. External debt data are broadly adequate for surveillance, but are comprehensive only for central government public debt. Data are collected by the Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement (CAA), which is responsible for signing international loan agreements and servicing the government’s external debt obligations. The CAA’s database is fairly comprehensive and up-to-date, and contains accurate stock data, but does not produce projections of debt-service flows on a loan-by-loan basis. Regular statements are not received from creditors.
II. Data Standards and Quality
The country is an e-GDDS participant. However, most of its metadata, with the exception of the real sector and socio-demographic meta data, have not been updated since October 2002.	No data ROSC is available.

View Table

Benin: STATISTICAL ISSUES As of October 2015
I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance
General: Data provision has some shortcomings, but is broadly adequate for surveillance. Weaknesses exist in the areas of national accounts, public finance, monetary statistics, financial sector prudential indicators, and balance of payments.
National Accounts: Inadequate resources and weaknesses in data hamper the accuracy and reliability of the national accounts. Efforts to address these shortcomings are ongoing. Benin participated in WAEMU’s harmonization of statistical methodologies and in the GDDS project for AFRITAC West countries to implement the 1993 SNA, and now intends to move to the 2008 SNA (by 2018). The West AFRITAC missions in 201115 sought to accelerate the process and support the compilation of the revised accounts, and assisted in rebasing the national accounts from 1985 to 2007.
Price Statistics: Consumer price data, measured using the WAEMU harmonized consumer price index, are adequate for surveillance. The methodology for the WAEMU harmonized consumer price index has been revised to be consistent with other WAEMU countries with the assistance of AFRISTAT. The current index covers the capital city only, but Benin is participating in a regional project aimed at extending the coverage of the CPI to the whole country.
Government Finance Statistics: The quality of fiscal data is broadly adequate for surveillance, but has some shortcomings in coverage, periodicity, timeliness, and accessibility. The authorities report budgetary central government’s “statement of government operations” for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook one year after the reference year and report quarterly data for publication in the International Financial Statistics. Benin is working toward implementing the new TOFE directive based on the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001). Currently this TOFE is produced on a trial basis along with the TOFE based GFSM 1986. The new TOFE will be implemented in January 2016. To that end, three tables are being prepared: i) TOFE based GFSM 2001, ii) Statement of sources and uses of cash, and ii) statement of public debt (at face value). The authorities are working as well to produce the TOFE using the Trial Balance as the source data. The authorities have yet to expand the coverage of the TOFE to include all the subsectors of the general government.
Monetary and Financial Statistics: Monetary and financial statistics (MFS) are compiled and disseminated by the regional Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The BCEAO does not report MFS data in the IMF-recommended format of standardized report forms (SRFs). Despite recent improvements, monetary statistics continue to have shortcomings. These include inconsistencies in source data and lack of proper sectorization of the domestic economy to ensure that the BCEAO adheres fully to the methodology of the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual. The 2011, 2013, and 2014 STA missions to the BCEAO’s headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, made a number of recommendations for addressing the above shortcomings. The missions also assisted BCEAO staff in developing SRFs for the central bank accounts and initiated work on the SRF for reporting the data of other depository corporations (ODCs).
Financial sector surveillance: Financial sector indicators are available with a significant lag, which makes evaluating the state of the financial sector difficult. The BCEAO is participating in a three-year TA project on financial soundness indicators (FSIs) for selected African, Asian, and Pacific countries funded by the Government of Japan. The main objective of the JSA-FSI Project is to strengthen capacities of the participating countries to compile and disseminate FSIs.
External sector statistics: Benin reports balance of payments and international investment position (IIP) statistics to STA using the methodology of the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) since 2011. The authorities have submitted 2013 balance of payments and IIP data for publication in the 2015 Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook (BOPSY). However, despite the recent improvements in applying the guidelines of BPM6, external statistics are still affected by shortcomings that prevent an accurate and timely assessment of current account transactions and capital and financial flows. In November 2004, a STA technical assistance mission noted that the human resources devoted to balance of payments statistics by the national agency of the BCEAO were inadequate, and highlighted a series of methodological problems including the use of untested hypotheses and reference bases, the limited coverage of direct investment, and shortcomings in the compilation of net external assets and international investment position. Balance of payments statistics are also disseminated with a lag of almost one year and the international investment position data with a lag of 18 months. Some progress has been achieved in the reconciliation of regional trade data with those of regional partners, and the compilation of trade statistics has been enhanced by the installation of the ASYCUDA++ customs computer system in all main border customs houses, the port, the airport, and some regional offices, which was further improved by the implementation of ASYCUDA World with some improved features. Effective implementation of ASYCUDA World would further enhance external trade statistics. However, the overall improvement depends largely on the sincerity of data that reporters provide and the integrity of customs officers as regards recording correct information. Progress is also needed in improving contacts with reporting bodies and enhancing the management of human and technical resources. Financial account data can be improved by extending the coverage of foreign assets of the private non-banking sector, expanding the surveys of residents’ foreign assets, and using other data source, such as Bank of International Settlements (BIS) statistics. The BCEAO has updated the compilation of commercial bank data on payments involving nonresidents; however, these data are not used to produce annual balance of payments statistics. External debt data are broadly adequate for surveillance, but are comprehensive only for central government public debt. Data are collected by the Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement (CAA), which is responsible for signing international loan agreements and servicing the government’s external debt obligations. The CAA’s database is fairly comprehensive and up-to-date, and contains accurate stock data, but does not produce projections of debt-service flows on a loan-by-loan basis. Regular statements are not received from creditors.
II. Data Standards and Quality
The country is an e-GDDS participant. However, most of its metadata, with the exception of the real sector and socio-demographic meta data, have not been updated since October 2002.	No data ROSC is available.