Lithuania has subscribed to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since May 30, 1996, and first posted its metadata on the IMF bulletin board on April 7, 1997. It first met the IMF's SDDS specifications on July 12, 1999. As per information on the IMF'S SDDS website, currently Lithuania meets all SDDS coverage specifications, and exceeds requirements for timeliness and periodicity in many datasets. Lithuania does not avail itself of any flexibility options. According to the IMF's 2007 Article IV Consultation, Lithuania's primary statistical agencies (Statistics Lithuania, Bank of Lithuania, Ministry of Finance) all have strong legislative underpinnings, including provisions governing professionalism and ethical conduct. Since accession to the European Union in May 2004, Lithuania's statistical generation and dissemination has undergone much improvement, addressing many of the issues and problems identified in the IMF's 2002 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes.

General Overview

Lithuania is a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), and has been since May 30, 1996. It began posting metadata on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) on April 7, 1997, and has met SDDS specifications since July of 1999. It currently meets all coverage requirements and exceeds SDDS specifications in many datasets for periodicity and timeliness. It makes available advance release calendars for all required datasets, and avails itself of no flexibility options, according to the information posted on the IMF SDDS website. In May 2004, Lithuania acceded to the European Union (EU).

The last IMF Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) covering Lithuania's performance in the area of data and statistics was published in December 2002. According to this report, Lithuania's chief statistical agency is the Department of Statistics (DoS, now Statistics Lithuania), although the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Bank of Lithuania (BoL) are also important generators of statistical data. The DoS is responsible for compiling statistics on the national accounts, along with the consumer and producer price indices, and disseminates this data to the public. The MoF provides statistical data dealing with government operations and debt. The central bank's analytical accounts data, along with the analytical accounts of the banking sector and the data on balance of payments are generated and disseminated by the BoL. The IMF's ROSC found that Lithuania's three data producing agencies have an adequate legal framework, at the core of which is the Law on Statistics of 1999. Institutional support is appropriately developed, with a professional staff and a commitment to transparency and data quality that is reflected in both policy and practice. Expectations of ethical conduct are spelled out in explicit guidelines and adequate resources are made available for the successful conduct of statistical work. The IMF ROSC did, however, note that there could be greater coordination among the various agencies involved in statistical compilation. Also, at the time of the ROSC's publication, Lithuania was moving toward conversion to the European System of Accounts, 1995 edition (ESA95).

In 2007, the IMF published its most recent Article IV Consultation with Lithuania, and the report included a current assessment of statistical issues. In Annex II of the 2007 report it is noted that "Over the past several years, Lithuania has made good progress in establishing a macroeconomic database. Official data for all sectors are generally of sufficiently good quality to support economic analysis" (p. 6). The conversion to ESA95 had been accomplished since the publication of the 2002 ROSC, and in 2003 Lithuania began producing government statistics in accordance with the standards of the Government Finance Statistics Manual, 2001 edition (GFSM2001). For monetary data, Lithuania follows a system broadly consistent with the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual (MFSM). Because of Lithuania's accession the European Union, it has had to comply with the European Central Bank's (ECB) requirements for data categorization, sectorization, and valuation of financial instruments. It follows the format required by the Balance of Payments Manual, fifth edition (BPM5). The IMF report did note that there were still a few areas where improvements could be made. For instance, although general government data is reported on both cash and accrual bases, local governments still rely exclusively on cash-based accounting. In addition, according to the IMF, "further work is needed to clarify the treatment of public health care providers and of EU transactions, and the consolidation procedure for government operations" (p. 7).

Lithuania's data dissemination program is well developed, according to the 2007 IMF report. In addition to its postings on the SDDS website, Statistics Lithuania produces "Economic and Social Developments" and the BoL publishes its "Bulletin." Both publications appear on a monthly basis. Data is also available on the Statistics Lithuania, BoL, and MoF websites. Data on the stock exchange is available on the Vilnius Stock Exchange website. The coordination of statistical activities conducted by government ministries and other institutions falls under the purview of Statistics Lithuania, which is legally constituted as an independent public institution, according to the Statistics Lithuania website.

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

FC

Lithuania has been a subscriber to the IMF's SDDS since May 30, 1996. It first posted metadata on the DSBB in April 1997 and first met SDDS specifications in 1999. According to the current IMF SDDS posting, Lithuania meets the coverage requirements for all required datasets, and meets or exceeds the requirements for timeliness and periodicity. Lithuania does not avail itself of any flexibility options. The SDDS website also shows that Lithuania provides advance release calendars and summary methodologies for all required datasets. All data are released simultaneously to all interested parties through a variety of channels, including press releases, agency websites, and on the SDDS website. National Budget data is made available semi-annually in the publication "Government Finance." Data on the general government's budget and the national budget is published in "Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania, with revenue and expenditure statistics covering the previous five years. The annual publication employs the classification system set out in the IMF's GFSM2001. The 2002 ROSC reported that consumer and producer price indices are reported in a fashion consistent with best practices. The scope of reported statistics on national accounts and government finance is broad. According to the IMF's 2007 report, "Over the past several years, Lithuania has made good progress in establishing a macroeconomic database. Official data for all sectors are generally of sufficiently good quality to support economic analysis" (p. 6). The conversion to ESA95 had been accomplished since the publication of the 2002 ROSC, and in 2003 Lithuania began producing government statistics in accordance with the standards of the GFSM2001. For monetary data, Lithuania follows a system broadly consistent with the MFSM. Because of Lithuania's aspirations to accede to the European Union, it complies with the ECB's requirements for data categorization, sectorization, and valuation of financial instruments. It follows the format required by the BPM5.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

FC

As was noted at the time of the 2002 IMF ROSC and evidenced on the SDDS website, Lithuania has long made advance release calendars available on the DSBB. As required by SDDS specifications, approximate release dates are announced one-quarter ahead, and notification of exact release dates is made at least a week ahead of time. The BoL, MoL, and Statistic Lithuania websites also offer advance release calendars for their respective areas of statistical responsibility. Moreover, the 2006 Annual Observance Report on Lithuania by the IMF states that in 2006 "Lithuania provided an Advance Release Calendar for 12 months of 2006. Update of the ARC has been timely for releases" (p. 6).

The SDDS website reveals that all data are released simultaneously to all interested parties, either through the mechanism of press releases, or on the relevant agency's website, as well as on the DSSB. Lithuania provides simultaneous access to data to all interested parties in every dataset required by the IMF SDDS specifications. All agencies implicated in the data collection enterprise provide contact information for data users who need advice or explanations. As noted in the 2002 ROSC, national account data, price indices, government financial data, monetary data, and balance-of-payment data are broadly disseminated to the public, through the use of press releases, on the relevant agency websites, and in hardcopy. The BoL, MoF, and Statistics Lithuania websites also offer detailed publications on statistics and statistics-related issues, including the monthly Economic and Social Developments published by Statistics Lithuania and the BoL's monthly Bulletin.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

FC

The 2002 IMF ROSC noted that the DoS (now Statistics Lithuania) has practical guidelines aimed at ensuring that statistical compilation and analysis are carried out in a professional, transparent, and ethical fashion. The Law on Statistics establishes the DoS as an independent public agency, and as the principle organization charged with Lithuanian statistics, although both the MoF and the BoL are responsible for aspects of statistical generation and dissemination as well. Changes in methodology used in the compilation or analysis of all datasets specified by the IMF's SDDS are made public at the time that they are adopted, according to the SDDS website, which also discloses that all data are released simultaneously to all interested party without preview by government ministries and without the attachment of ministerial commentary. The 2002 ROSC found transparency to be generally adequate. Lithuania posts terms and conditions of data collection on the DSBB. The ROSC cautioned that, "in the case of balance of payments statistics, the data tables do not clearly indicate the compiling division and agency" (p. 11) and adds that changes in source data, techniques, or methodologies were not announced to the public. The SDDS website now offers a specific list of the contributory agencies for balance of payment data, and generally makes available to the public notification of methodological, technical, or source changes at the time that they occur. Both the BoL Law and the Law on Statistics contain provisions governing the ethical behavior of staff and officials in the conduct of their duties.

Having acceded to the European Union, Lithuania's statistical regime must harmonize with the statistical practices and methods practiced within the EU. Thus, Lithuania employs the ESA95 standards, as well as complying with the specifications of GFSM2001, BFM5, and the MFSM. The Law on Statistics specifically bars the DoS from publishing or otherwise disclosing any information that would breach an individual's rights of confidentiality. The Ministry of Finance is subject to the same constraints under the Law on Statistics, as well as provisions in the Law on Public Service. Both the MoF website and the IMF SDDS website make publicly available the legal terms and conditions governing government finance statistics, their compilation, and their dissemination. The SDDS website also discloses that changes in methodology are announced to the public at the time of the change. Similarly, the BoL is constrained by the Bank of Lithuania Law to disclose the terms and conditions under which it compiles and disseminates data. Both the BoL Law and the Balance of Payments Resolution establish the BoL's independence in its role as compiler and disseminator of monetary and balance-of-payment data. As with the DoS and the MoF, the BoL publishes notice of methodological changes at the time that changes are adopted, both on its website and on the IMF SDDS website.

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

FC

As evidenced on the IMF's SDDS website, Lithuania posts summary methodologies for every required dataset on the DSBB. The Statistics Lithuania website makes available documentation regarding methodology (and changes thereto) for nearly every dataset, along with data sources needed to conduct cross-checks and assessments of reasonableness. Statistics Lithuania compiles national statistics according to the provisions of ESA95. To arrive at quarterly GDP estimates, both production and expenditure approaches are used. According to the 2007 IMF report, "GDP estimates by production are considered to be more reliable than the corresponding estimates by expenditure, but no statistical discrepancies between these two estimates are shown in the published figures, as the discrepancies are included in the estimates of changes in inventories" (Annex II, p. 6). The IMF's 2007 report found the data sources and methods to be of generally good quality, but noted problems with the measurement of informal sector activity. Government budget execution data is provided quarterly, but revisions are common. A treasury project is currently addressing fiscal data quality. The IMF report notes that some data needs clarification, such as the way in which EU transactions and public healthcare providers are assessed. Since 2003, Lithuania has incorporated the classification standards of GFSM2001and data are made available for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook.

The IMF's 2007 report notes that banking sector data complies with ECB requirements, which call for following ESA95 standards in the classification, valuation, and sectorization of financial instruments. Compilation and dissemination of banking sector data, along with balance-of-payment data, external debt, and international reserves and investment positions are the responsibility of the BoL. The BoL follows the BPM5 format and has adopted the data template on international reserves and foreign currency liquidity. External debt data is disseminated to the World Bank's Quarterly External Debt Statistics database on a quarterly basis.

The 2002 ROSC praised Lithuania's statistics-producing agencies for their clear legislative mandate, professionalism, and commitment to high quality data. Underlying legislation regulating the operations of the MoF, Bol, and DoS (now Statistics Lithuania) has provisions governing professional and ethical standards and for the monitoring of data quality and timeliness as well as covering the liability of officials and staff legitimately engaged in the collection and analysis of statistical data.