Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1973 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, ESCWA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Arab development.
ESCWA (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) was initially located in Beirut (1974-1982), moved to Baghdad (1982-1991) and Amman (1991-1997), and subsequently returned to Beirut, its permanent headquarters, where it has remained to this day.
The Statistics, Information Society and Technology Cluster is the regional United Nations hub and leader in the area of official statistics, innovation and technology, focusing on building the capacity of national statistical systems and providing services to national authorities for telecommunication, research and development.
ESCWA comprises 20 Arab countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, the State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
