- World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations.
- This treaty provides the basis for a worldwide coherent measurement system that underpins scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and international trade, as well as the improvement of the quality of life and the protection of the global environment.
- The seventeen nations are, Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Ottoman Empire, United States of America, and Venezuela.
- The original aim of the Metre Convention – the world-wide uniformity of measurement – remains as important today as it was in 1875.
- The theme for World Metrology Day 2021 is Measurement for Health.
- This theme was chosen to create awareness of the important role measurement plays in health, and thus in the wellbeing of every one of us.
- The World Metrology Day project is realized jointly by the BIPM and the OIML.
- The International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) develops International Recommendations, which aim to align and harmonise requirements worldwide in many fields.
- The OIML also operates the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) which facilitates international acceptance and global trade of regulated measuring instruments.
