The Parliament of Georgia has adopted the Law of Georgia on Official Statistics which will enter into force on August 30, 2023.
The new law aims the fulfilling the obligations provided under the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union, in particular, the approximation of the current legislation in the field of official statistics to the international standards and European legislation.
The drafting of the law was preceded by the Global Assessment of the National Statistical System of Georgia, which was carried out by Eurostat, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). About 20 recommendations of the Global Assessment mission emphasized the need for substantial changes to the legislation.
Accordingly, the new law fully reflects the recommendations of the Global Assessment of the National Statistical System of Georgia, it is based on the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Generic Law on Official Statistics (GLOS), which was adopted under the guidance of the UNECE. It was launched in 2016 and is intended for the countries of Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.
Moreover, the new law is in fully inline with Article 286 of Chapter 4 of the Association Agreement and ensures the production and dissemination of independent, objective and reliable official statistics in Georgia based on internationally recognized statistical methodologies.
Geostat will have an increased level of professional independence under this new law. The law consists of 14 chapters, providing a more detailed presentation of the fundamental principles of official statistics. It also clarifies the role and significance of Geostat as the coordinator of the national statistical system, establishes the procedure for determining other bodies responsible for producing official statistics, and outlines the role and responsibilities of the executive director and the Board of Geostat, as well as the Advisory Board.
The development of this new law started began in 2020, and throughout the process, consultations were conducted with various stakeholders, including the National Bank of Georgia and business associations. Moreover, during the development process, the experience of advanced European countries, such as Italy, France, Lithuania, Hungary and Denmark, was taken into consideration.
The development of the new law was carried out with the support of one of the projects of the European Union, in which experts hired by Eurostat were involved.
