On February 16, a large board meeting devoted to activities of statistical bodies in 2023 and forthcoming duties for 2024 was held with participation of the departments of the Administration of the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, top management of the State Statistical Committee of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and local and regional statistical offices.

Mr. Tahir Budagov, Chairman of the Board, emphasized that in 2023, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, systematic and consistent reforms were executed across all sectors. There was a modernization of political and economic management methods, and the nation’s sovereignty was fully restored as a result of a one-day anti-terrorist operation. Consequently, the global standing of our country has strengthened significantly.

Mr. Tahir Budagov provided a comprehensive overview of the reforms undertaken by the Committee in alignment with tasks of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan aimed at improving official statistics in line with international standards and highlighted the activities of the organization throughout 2023. Additionally, Mr. Tahir Budagov noted that in 2023, the State Statistical Committee placed a strong emphasis on preparing official statistical information in accordance with modern requirements and dedicated its efforts to the development of the national statistical system, aligning its activities with the objectives outlined in the approved Program of Statistical Works for 2023, which has been endorsed in agreement with the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Committee took essential measures to fulfill the tasks outlined in the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on approval of “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development”, the National Action Plan to Strengthen the Fight Against Corruption for 2022-2026, Socio-economic development strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2022-2026, State Program on Improvement of Official Statistics in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2018-2025, State Program on Socio-Economic Development of the Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019-2023, the Action Plan on declaring 2023 as the “Year of Heydar Aliyev” in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the establishment of the Steering Committee in connection with the conduction of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)”, Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On preparation and conduction of agricultural census in the Republic of Azerbaijan, other normative legal acts, the “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” adopted by UN General Assembly, as well as to meet the demand for accurate and comprehensive statistical data, providing continuous information support.

To ensure the development of the National Statistical System in response to modern challenges, the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan focused on enhancing statistical information provision for the country’s sustainable development. This involved expanding the use of administrative data, strengthening the material and technical infrastructure, and building the capacity of statistical staff. All 16 activities outlined in the “State Program on Improvement of Official Statistics in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2025” for the year 2023 were successfully implemented. Additionally, the Committee acted as an executive for other state programs, ensuring the effective execution of the associated measures.

In connection with the declaration of 2023 as the “Year of Heydar Aliyev”, the Committee issued a publication “Heydar Aliyev - 100 Eternity of Life”, and organized the first-ever Statistical Olympiad senior pupils and high school students in the country.

The production of data obtained through official statistical observations and sample statistical surveys continued throughout the year. 21 surveys on various topics were conducted through interviews with households. The collected data were then summarized, published, distributed to users, and made available on the Committee’s website.

The next supply and use tables were built according to the requirements of the system of national accounts, staff structure of the Baku city statistical office was improved considering reduction of burden on price registrars a result of the use of innovative approach in the data collection in the field of price statistics within the framework of the reforms carried out by the Committee in the direction of modernization of official statistics.

In 2023, one of the main activities of the Committee was the strengthening of the methodological base, 72 methodological materials were developed or supplemented and amended in accordance with the methodologies of the UN, Eurostat, IMF, OECD, ILO and other international organizations, as well as taking into account the changes in national legislation. During the year, 3 new reporting forms were approved, 5 reporting forms were canceled, and 48 forms were revised with the removal of indicators that have lost their relevance and the addition of new ones to meet demand by agreement with relevant government agencies.

The work on the development of the national system of statistical classifications continued, and a new edition of the “Statistical Territorial Classification of Municipalities” was developed.

Based on the results of the next certification audit conducted by the local representative office of the Swiss company SGS in the structural units of the Committee and a number of local statistical bodies, where the quality management system is applied, the Administration of the Committee and 45 local statistical bodies were awarded the ISO 9001:2015 international certificate of compliance in the field of “Production and dissemination of official statistical data”. In order to study and solve the problems faced by entrepreneurs in relations with statistical bodies, the opinion poll “7 questions for entrepreneurs” was conducted on the website of the Committee each quarter, and the answers were summarized and analyzed for future consideration of the proposals made.

The work in the field of expanding the possibilities of application of information technologies used in statistical data collection, processing and publication, development of statistical information system continued, as a result of the measures taken for the respondents to submit report data in electronic form without visiting regional statistical bodies, the reception of official statistical reports in electronic form online exceeded 97.0 percent, during the year 5.6 million applications were received to submit statistical reports in electronic form via the internet, thereby minimizing the level of citizen-official contacts, as well as increasing the possibilities for processing and analyzing statistical data.

In the ranking compiled by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of “E-services Assessment”, the Committee ranked 3 among 28 institutions (including 24 central executive authorities) with a result of 79.37%.

The work on the execution of the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the establishment of the Steering Committee in connection with the conduction of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)” dated August 17, 2022, No. 526s continued, the survey was conducted in May-August 2023, and the final tables were developed based on the data obtained.

On December 15, during a meeting of the Steering Committee established by the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On preparation and conduction of agricultural census in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, dated October 4, 2025, No. 357, the progress of the preparation for the census was discussed, and as an execution of the decision, a calendar plan on preparation and conduction of agricultural census, the census questionnaire and guideline on its filling in, were approved. The census documents were prepared by considering recommendations from the FAO, national characteristics, opinions and suggestions of relevant government agencies, and insights from a foreign expert.

The works aimed to expand the statistical database on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators continued, the preparation of data on additionally 9 new indicators was achieved together with relevant government agencies, and thus the number of SDGs indicators provided for data production was increased to 121, of which 89 are indicators defined as national priorities. “Sustainable Development Goals: Statistical Review-2023” was prepared and published, presented to users, its electronic version was posted on the website of the Committee, as well as on the National Information Portal on Sustainable Development Goals of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

At the Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19, held in Baku on March 2, 2023, Mr. Ilham Aliyev advocated for the promotion of the 18th SDG on demining. This initiative was undertaken in execution of the resolution of the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development dated April 18, 2023. The Committee, in collaboration with relevant institutions, developed the methodology for 15 indicators related to the national 18th SDG ('Actions to combat the threat of mines'). The methodology was subsequently approved in the Scientific and Methodological Council, and data production was initiated.

In accordance with the “Work plan with methodological and data users for 2023”, 13 meetings were held with the participation of 170 statistical data users.

The Committee’s website (www.stat.gov.az) was regularly enhanced and updated to meet users’ interests. The databases featured numerous tables on key socio-economic indicators, along with analytical and methodological materials. In 2023, 94.5% of users accessed the website within the country, while 5.5% were from foreign countries, averaging 10.9 thousand persons per day.

32 annual statistical yearbooks and other publications on various topics were published, 49 analytical reports and 122 press-releases were prepared. Electronic versions of statistical yearbooks and bulletins were posted on the Committee’s website. Local statistical bodies also issued annual statistical publications on regions and cities, and prepared 264 analytical reports.

The Committee actively engaged in collaborative efforts with international organizations, such as the United Nations and its affiliated bodies, the European Union, IMF, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OECD, OIC, Eurostat, the Interstate Statistical Committee of the CIS, and other global and regional entities. This involved ongoing partnerships with national statistical services worldwide, as well as close coordination with international organizations and their representative offices in Azerbaijan. These collaborations focused on aligning national methodologies with international standards, sharing experiences, and implementing best practices to enhance the effectiveness of statistical processes.

The State Statistical Committee continued its collaborative efforts within the framework of the “Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of statistics between the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Statistics Korea”, approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dated February 11, 2020. It involved organized visits by Korean experts to the Committee and the establishment of a training room with 16 seats equipped with modern information technology in Ganja City Statistical Office, facilitated with the participation of Korean experts.

91 employees of the Committee participated in 74 online events organized by various international organizations and national statistical institutions of foreign countries, 60 employees participated in 53 in-person events, as well as the Committee’s specialists continued their activities as part of international expert and working groups.

Finally, Mr. Tahir Budagov, Chairman of the State Statistical Committee charged the relevant structures of the organization with concrete tasks for quality and timely execution of set duties.   

At the conclusion of the board meeting, Chairman of the State Statistical Committee, Mr. Tahir Budagov, issued specific instructions to the relevant organizational structures for the timely and high-quality implementation of upcoming tasks.