The National Statistics Office of Georgia presented a new interactive portal – “Regional and Municipal Statistics Portal”. Representatives of the government, donor organizations, local governments and self-governments, as well as non-governmental organizations attended the presentation.

The portal was prepared within the framework of the project supported by the European Union, Denmark and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and aims to develop statistical capacity at the municipal level, improve the production of statistics and increase the availability of information, which in turn will contribute to the planning and monitoring of development programs at the local level.

“The Regional and Municipal Statistics Portal will be available to all categories of users and will enable them to easier and faster find the statistical information they need, both at the regional and municipal levels”, said Gogita Todradze, Executive Director of Geostat.

The portal provides an opportunity to compare key indicators both at the regional and municipal level. About 80 indicators on the portal cover the areas such as: population and demography, healthcare and social protection, education, culture, construction, tourism, business register, business sector etc.

“The European Union supports Georgia to collect reliable and diverse municipal data. A new Geostat service assists policy-makers and local authorities to identify existing economic, social or environmental issues that need addressing”, - said Colombe de Mercey, Governance and Human Capital Team Leader at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

“Municipalities need reliable and transparent statistical data to assess their needs and develop responsive policies and programmes. Denmark helps improve municipal data collection as part of our broader support for decentralization and good governance in Georgia”, - said Anne Toft Sørensen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark in Georgia.

“UNDP welcomes cooperation with the EU and Denmark to support GEOSTAT in its vital work, respond to the national data needs, and assist Georgia to achieve its sustainable development priorities”, - said Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia.