On the occasion of the European Statistics Day, October 20, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHAS) want to draw the attention of all policy makers, the private sector, civil society and the population in general to the importance of updated and easily accessible statistical data for socioeconomic development. This is especially important in today’s era of rapid demographic change, in which low fertility rates and large migrations are recorded throughout the developed world, leading to significant structural changes in demography, as well as an aging population. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a little more than 50 years ago, there were almost 10 young people for every person over 65 years old, while today it is approximately one young person for one elderly person. Such rapid changes require constant monitoring of development measures and adjustments in order to provide appropriate public services to different population groups.
In order to provide experts and policy makers with faster access and dissemination of the statistical data they need for timely and relevant statistical analysis, UNFPA and BHAS have been working in joint partnership over the past few years to create a statistical portal for easy access to existing statistical data in order to provide a clear picture of demographic changes in the country and enabled relevant partners to conduct analyzes and make recommendations for demographic development measures that will improve the lives of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In recent years, more than ever, statistical data have become so important to understand where we are today and in which direction we are moving further in terms of demographic development and achieving the goals of sustainable development. UNFPA is a vocal advocate and support for statistical institutions in the country with adequate human and financial resources for regular data collection through household surveys and population and household censuses. By strengthening the capacity of BHAS to collect, analyze and disseminate data, we will enable many researchers, policy makers and the media to use data in their daily work. We are grateful and appreciate the work of BHAS and entity statistics institutes and we promise to continue to support their work,” said the representative of UNFPA in BiH, John Kennedy Mosoti.
Vesna Ćužić, director of the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointed out: “Official statistics retain their indispensable role as a reliable source of data, providing valuable insights into trends, patterns and behaviors, which ultimately leads to an improved decision-making process and better public policy at all levels authorities, and promotes social and economic development, while helping to combat misinformation. Accordingly, the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to strengthening the role of official statistics. Fulfilling its mission of producing and disseminating statistical data, the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in cooperation with UNFPA created a portal on “demographic resilience” that provides valuable data on the demographic situation and human capital (data on the population, natural population movement, population projections, education, the state of the labor market, etc.). We believe that the presented data will be useful to the creators of development and demographic policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a wider range of users.”
