Working Breakfast with the Media
The Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) organised a working breakfast with media representatives on the occasion of the end of the year, titled “Chapter 18 (Statistics): Achievements, Next Steps and the Path towards Closure”, which was held on Friday, 26 December 2025, at the Hotel Podgorica.
The working breakfast was opened by the Director of the Statistical Office of Montenegro, Miroslav Pejović, who thanked the media representatives for their attendance and emphasized the importance of open and continuous dialogue between the Statistical Office and the media, as well as the role of the media in informing the public and facilitating the understanding of topics based on reliable and official data. He underlined that the Statistical Office produces a wide range of data in the fields of economic, demographic, labour market, social, business and agricultural statistics, which form the basis for understanding social and economic developments in Montenegro.
“We are aware that the media are one of our key partners, as well as important users of statistical data. The way these data are interpreted, contextualised and communicated to citizens largely depends on you. Therefore, it is important for us to build a relationship based on trust, professional understanding and mutual accessibility,” Director Pejović stated.
The process of compiling the key macroeconomic indicator – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – was presented by the Acting Assistant Director, Ms Branka Šušić Radovanović, MSc. She pointed out that MONSTAT is the official producer of GDP and that the process of its compilation is highly complex and extensive, as GDP calculation is underpinned by demanding methodological and analytical work. GDP compilation is based on internationally prescribed methodology - ESA 2010, i.e. the methodology of the European System of National and Regional Accounts - and is carried out using three mutually independent approaches: the production, expenditure and income approaches.
She particularly highlighted the importance of establishing Government Finance Statistics in accordance with ESA 2010 methodology, which plays a significant role in the European integration proces.
Activities in the field of demographic and social statistics were presented by the Assistant Director, Ms Snežana Remiković, who highlighted the completion of key activities related to the Population, Households and Dwellings Census, as well as upcoming preparations for the next population census. She also referred to the implementation of the MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey) in cooperation with and according to the methodology of UNICEF, further development of labour market statistics and the EU-SILC survey, as well as preparations for new surveys in the field of lifelong learning.
Agricultural statistics were presented by the Acting Assistant Director, Ms Nataša Vojinović, who emphasised that, in 2025, the results of the Agricultural Census were published and transmitted to Eurostat, including recalculations and the publication of final time series. She also announced a round table on the Agricultural Census planned for the first quarter of 2026.
Activities related to modernisation and IT aspects were presented by the Assistant Director, Ms Branka Raičević, who highlighted improvements in the field of information security, the application of modern data collection methods, and plans to integrate data from administrative sources through the establishment of automated data links. Special emphasis was placed on the development of the data dissemination database and the establishment of a new, dynamic website, with the aim of improving the accessibility and use of official statistical data.
The upcoming Peer Review mission of the National Statistical System, planned for June 2026, was presented by Ms Majda Savićević, MSc, Head of Unit at the Statistical Office and Coordinator of the Peer Review process, who emphasised the important role of the media in assessing the professional independence, transparency and accessibility of official statistics. The working breakfast concluded with questions from media representatives and an open discussion on topics related to official statistics.ss and constitutes an integral part of the benchmarks for the closure of Chapter 18: Statistics.
