​Foreign donors can be instrumental in building effective statistical capacity but run the risk of driving through their own agendas, rather than following a national strategy.

To make this less likely, this report considers the question: what are country priorities and how should they condition donor investments in statistcs? 

The evolution of statistical systems in three middle-income countries, South Africa, Pakistan and Mexico, is explored to highlight the key lessons learned in each case. 

The paper concludes by calling on donors and governments to step-up their investments to ensure no one is left uncounted, and therefore left behind.

Amina Khan, Joseph Wales and Elizabeth Stuart