The presentation of the Strategy for the Development of the National System of Official Statistics of Georgia for 2020-2023 years

Date: 5 December 2019

TBILISI. 5 December 2019 – Quality, relevance and professionalism are the three priority areas outlined in Georgia’s first-ever strategy for the national statistical system, which was shared with the public by the National Statistics Office, GEOSTAT, today. 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).

“The strategy aims to promote the national statistical system of Georgia, with a focus on improving data collection, processing and dissemination,” said GEOSTAT Director Gogita Todradze. “This national policy document, developed in close partnership with the stakeholders, envisions strengthening of the national statistical system in the midterm and long-term perspective.”

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

“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,” said UNDP Head Louisa Vinton. “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.”

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 into 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 2020-2023 strategy for Georgia’s national statistical system is now available on the GEOSTAT and UNDP websites.