Field Missing: Discrepancies and Gaps Plague Kosovo’s Public Data

Data differences

Outdated statistics complicate efforts to identify patterns and trends in a sector, hindering the efforts of policymakers, researchers and analysts to draw conclusions and draft recommendations or policies. Often, such "analyses are incomplete," said Olluri.

Experts often rely on different methodologies to produce more realistic data, which is time-consuming and often results in flawed analyses.

Trying, for example, to agree development projects with foreign donors, experts are left to produce their own surveys or rely on raw data from international bodies or non-governmental organisations.

Economic expert Agon Nixha, who helped develop the 2018 Tourism Strategy for the city of Prizren, gave one example, citing the city's popular documentary film festival Dokufest: "On the one hand, according to KAS, in 2017 Prizren was visited by around 18,000 visitors (locals and foreigners); on the other hand, around 16,000 movie tickets were sold during Dokufest, which lasts less than 10 days."

Nixha cited estimates by the Dokufest team that the festival draws around 60,000 visitors, including locals.

Methodologies differ

BIRN also identified huge discrepancies in trade data used by the three main state bodies in Kosovo that publish data and report it to international organisations and platforms such as EUROSTAT, the EU statistics database.

Raw data on imports and exports from the Customs service differs considerably from the processed data used by KAS and the Central Bank of Kosovo. KAS and the Bank also differ in their data.

For example, in 2018 and 2019, the customs service said Kosovo's imports were worth twice the value cited by the KAS, while there is a 27 million...