Awareness of the significance of statistics and statisticians among workers in the organizations of SNNPR,Ethiopia

Abstract

This study investigated awareness of the significance of statistics and statisticians among workers in government and non-government organizations in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia. Using a multistage random sampling technique, data were collected from 1408 respondents (990 males, 418 females) and analyzed through descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Results revealed that 47.6% of male workers and 31.1% of female workers reported awareness of the significance of statistics and statisticians. Logistic regression identified gender, age, marital status, education, work position, organizational practices, and field of specialization as significant predictors. Female, younger, married, and professional workers were less likely to recognize the significance of statistics, whereas workers with MSc degrees and above and those in leadership positions were more likely. Limited access to research resources, lack of awareness training, and affiliation with agriculture, business, or social science fields further reduced awareness. Conversely, awareness was higher among workers who acknowledged statistics as a field of study and those in natural and computational sciences. These findings underscore the importance of targeted awareness training, improved access to statistical resources, and greater integration of statisticians in organizational decision-making.