Georgia’s first-ever strategy for the national statistical system presented to public

Georgia’s first-ever strategy for the national statistical system was presented to the public yesterday, on December 5 in Tbilisi by the National Statistics Office, GEOSTAT. Priority areas outlined by the strategy include quality, relevance, and professionalism.

The four-year document (2020-2023) is part of a reform package produced by GEOSTAT in close coordination with Government agencies and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden.

The strategy incorporates comprehensive recommendations received from international partners, including the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

As GEOSTAT Director Gogita Todradze said, “the strategy aims to promote the national statistical system of Georgia, with a focus on improving data collection, processing and dissemination.”

“This national policy document, developed in close partnership with stakeholders, envisions strengthening of the national statistical system in the midterm and long-term perspective,” noted Tordadze.

According to Prime-Minister’s Chief of Staff, Giorgi Sakhokia, high-quality data and a modern system of data collection, processing and dissemination are essential for expanding the scope of statistics and supporting a national implementation of the sustainable development agenda.

UNDP Head Louisa Vinton said that without objective and reliable official statistics, Georgia has no way of knowing whether it is making progress towards its priority aims of integration with the European Union and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The new strategy is designed to generate the data that Georgia needs in order to understand how well it is doing and when and where course corrections are needed,” noted Vinton.

GEOSTAT data are a reference point for many international assessments, including UNDP’s landmark Human Development Report to be released next week.

A UNDP-recruited international expert, Gerry O'Hanlon, presented a package of recommendations included in the Global Assessment of the Statistical System carried out by Eurostat, UNECE, and EFTA in 2018-2019. This was followed by a discussion on the next steps in developing the national statistical system in Georgia.

The strategy for Georgia’s national statistical system includes 12 tasks and 86 activities dedicated to three priority goals: (1) to produce high-quality official statistics based on user needs, (2) to build an effective, modern and sustainable statistical process, and (3) to build statistical infrastructure and capacity.

The development of the strategy was coordinated by an Inter-Agency Council that was formed in April 2019 and composed of eleven Government agencies under GEOSTAT leadership.

The National Strategy for the Development of Official Statistics of Georgia is a national policy document for the development of a national system of official statistics for 2020-2023 as well as an associated action plan for 2020-2021.

The document defines an overall vision for the development of the national statistical system of Georgia that includes the country’s national and international needs, addresses the data requirements of a national policy-making system, identifies the areas of priority for effective statistical development, rationalizes the conduct of statistical activities and allocation of financial resources, serves as a framework for international cooperation, includes all parts of the data production process and adheres to the latest international standards.