Data Sources.
Authoritative documentation of the institutional feeds, government agencies, and development banks that power Souvera intelligence. For the technical source registry used in ingestion pipelines, see the source registry.
Last updated: July 2026
This page is the public data-sources documentation. The source registry lists internal ingestion keys and attribution metadata used by the data foundation pipeline.
Understanding Data Vintage
International trade statistics have an inherent publication lag of 12-24 months. This is industry standard across all major trade intelligence platforms including ITC, Bloomberg, and S&P Global.
What's Current (2026)
- • Souvera analysis and scoring algorithms
- • Trade preference status (AGOA, CBTPA eligibility)
- • Policy context and regulatory environment
- • Investment thesis and strategic recommendations
- • Risk assessments and opportunity ratings
Source Data (Latest Available)
- • Trade flow volumes (typically 2023)
- • Market share calculations
- • Bilateral trade statistics
- • Competitor positioning data
- • Infrastructure and capacity indices
Why this matters: Structural trade patterns—market shares, competitive positioning, infrastructure scores—change gradually over time. Data from 2023 remains highly relevant for strategic decision-making because trade relationships are inherently stable. Our analysis layer adds current policy context and forward-looking insights.
Primary Data Sources
ITC Trade Data Monitor
International Trade Centre's comprehensive trade statistics platform. Primary source for bilateral trade flows, market access indicators, and export potential analysis.
UN Comtrade
United Nations international trade statistics database. Authoritative source for HS-coded trade flows between countries, used globally by governments and institutions.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Official US government trade statistics. Source for US import/export data, trade balances, and bilateral trade relationships.
USDA Global Agricultural Trade System
US Department of Agriculture trade data for agricultural commodities. Essential for food security and agricultural trade analysis.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Primary source for macroeconomic indicators including GDP, inflation rates, fiscal balances, and economic projections.
World Bank
Development indicators, foreign direct investment data, infrastructure scores, and sector-specific analysis for emerging markets.
UNCTAD
United Nations trade and investment statistics, FDI flows, commodity prices, and global value chain analysis.
African Development Bank
Regional economic outlook, country assessments, and sector analysis specific to African markets.
Caribbean Development Bank
Caribbean economic reports, regional development data, and country-specific analysis.
US Census Bureau — International Trade
Official US merchandise trade statistics used in dual-source reconciliation with USITC for AGOA flows and preferential trade analysis.
US International Trade Commission
Source for AGOA and trade preference program data, tariff schedules, and trade remedy information.
GDELT Project — News Pulse
Global event and news signal feed for market-moving headlines, policy shifts, and regional risk context across African and Caribbean markets.
Data Confidence Tiers
Confirmed
Official published figures from institutional sources with established methodologies.
Estimated
Modelled or benchmark-derived values where official gaps exist — always labelled in the UI.
Projected
Forward-looking IMF/WEO and similar projections — never presented as confirmed actuals.
Data Quality Standards
We prioritize official sources with established methodologies and regular publication schedules. Our data pipeline continuously monitors source updates and incorporates new data as it becomes available.
Souvera clearly distinguishes between curated data (hand-verified from primary sources), estimated data (derived from regional benchmarks), and projected data (forward-looking estimates). This tiered approach ensures transparency about data confidence levels.
For emerging markets where official data may be limited, we apply conservative estimation methodologies and clearly indicate data quality tiers (A, B, C) throughout the platform.