- Funding Programme
- Year
- 2024
Slovenia—Review of methods, data sources, and processes of quarterly GDP calculations
The European Commission funded a project, implemented by the IMF Statistics Department, to support the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) with the purpose to provide an independent expert review of data sources and methods used by SURS to calculate quarterly GDP and understand if revisions could be reduced by methodological improvements, additional or improved use of data sources, and enhanced analytical assessment.
Context
There is evidence that during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic shocks, several statistical agencies around the world faced more significant revisions in macroeconomic statistics due to shortcomings of available source data. SURS was no exception to this trend, and the reliability of GDP estimates was questioned by the media when the results for 2022 were revised downwards by almost three percentage points as a result of the incorporation of the first annual estimate. Given this public scrutiny, SURS requested support from the European Commission, and the IMF was selected as the implementing partner through the Statistics Department.
Support delivered
The project delivered in-person and online activities, complemented by peer-learning for SURS staff. The in-person activities of October 2024 and April 2025 comprised a stocktaking assessment of compilation practices and delivered a combination of technical assistance and tailored training and implementation tools. The in-person activity of October 2025 shared tools for the implementation of recommendations previously provided and future improvements. Peer-learning activities facilitated the exchange of good practices in the EU context (January 2025 - Statistical Office of Germany and October 2025 - Statistical Office of the Netherlands). Monthly online activities included project management and technical discussions.
Results achieved
The recommendations provided and implemented during the project focused mainly on Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) compilation, and addressed areas related to the use of data sources, methods, analysis of results, and compilation system. The project produced a set of compilation tools and technical assistance reports including detailed information on key findings, recommendations, and ways forward. The project activities aimed at enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the national accounts estimates and reducing the expected average revisions. The excellent collaboration of SURS staff and management contributed to the success of this project.
More about the project
You can read the documents related to the project here: