Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Department for Industry, construction and business tendencies
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Dame Gruev N.4, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
3 June 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
3 June 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
3 June 2025
3.1. Data description
The data that are collected with this survey are - The number of issued building permits (by type of construction - buildings and civil engineering works), number of predicted dwellings for building, the useful surface area of the dwellings in m2, and also of the other types of buildings - residential and non - residential, and also the predicted value of the objects.
3.2. Classification system
The breakdown of the indicators for the issued building permits for building and civil engineering objects is made according to the Nomenclature of type of constructions and construction works, which is prepared according to the Classification of types of constructions - CC, prepared by EUROSTAT. This breakdown is used for division of the building objects, and concerning the construction works the CPA Classification (Classification by types of products) is used.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Data for this Survey are obtained from the Departments in the munucipalities that are responsible for urban planning, from the project documentation suplied by the private investors. The coverage is total.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Building permit is a document issued by the authorities in the municipalities (the units of local self-government) that are responisble for the urban planning issues. It is a document which alows the start of the construction activities for one object, and it is a final phase in the planning and designing procces. These authorities issue building permits for the objects from the 2-nd category, while for the objects from the 1-st category responsible is the Ministery for transport and communications. The aim for collecting these data for issued building permits is obtaining (providing) indicators for the future construction activities and investments, by type of the objects (buildings and civil engineering), by type of investor (private or bussines entities), and therefore for the residential buildings to obtain data for the predicted number of dwellings. With the data for the useful surface area an information is provided for the construction activities in terms of the volume.
3.5. Statistical unit
Statistical units are the municipalities - the units of local self-government, namely the departments responsible for the urban planning issues in the municipalities.
3.6. Statistical population
The indicators for the issued building permits are divided according to the CC Classification into CC 1 - Buidlings and CC 2 - Civil engineerings, and the indicators for the number of dwellings on level CC 11 - Residential buildings, and for the useful floor area on level CC 1 - Buidlings.
3.7. Reference area
Republic of North Macedonia
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are available from 2008 onwards.
3.9. Base period
Absolute numbers In the news releases, also an index "referent month of the current year / referent month of the previous year" is calculated.
Data for the issued building permits are shown as absolute values, and for useful floor area measurement unit is m2.
Month.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National: Law on State Statistics (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 54/97, 21/07, 51/11, 104/13, 42/14, 192/15, 27/16, 83/18 and 220/18) and “Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia” No. 31/20 and Programme of Statistical Surveys 2023-2027 (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No.29/2023) and the latest version of the amendin regulation of the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics and Commission Implementing Regulation 1197/2020.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
In 2007 according to harmonisation with the STS Regulation, the survey was implemented and indicators for number of issued building permits and useful floor area in m2 were calculated as absolute values. From 2013 onwards they are calculated on 2010 as a base year, also as indices and absolute values and are regularly transmited to Eurostat. Data are not transmitted to other international institutions.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Data that are collected are individual data, protected with the Law on state statistics, and are used only for statistical purposes.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Any individual or personal data, regardless of the phase of statistical observation, are treated as confidential data and can be used only for statistical purposes. Data are published on agregated level - Total, Buildings and Civil Engineering, and on municipality level, and this ensures statistical confidentiality and prevents unauthorised disclosure.
8.1. Release calendar
Data publishing is according to the Advanced release calendar, which is displayed on the web site of the State Statistical Office.
Data are published on the web site of the State Statistical Office, and no user is treated with priviledges.
The data are published monthly, T + 45 days from the referent period as a news release and on the MAKSTAT database.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
The data are published in news release, T + 45 days after the referent period, and are available on the web site, and on the MAKSTAT database. Data are published as total, on the level of Republic of North Macedonia, and then on level of the statistical regions and then further on municipalities level.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
The data are published in news release, T + 45 days after the referent period, and are available on the web site, and on the MAKSTAT database, and also in annual publications published by the SSO. Data are published as total, on the level of Republic of North Macedonia, and then on level of the statistical regions and then further on municipalities level.
Regulated with the policy for access to microdata.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
The data are transmitted to Eurostat and are part of the Eurostat's dissemination formats.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
The number of dwellings and the useful surface area in the residential buildings are collected according to the EUROSTAT recomendations defined in the Methodology of short-term statistics, which is harmonised with the Eurostat Methodology of short-term business statistics, Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics, and it's implementing Regulation2020/1197 laying down technical specifications.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Not available.
11.1. Quality assurance
SSO commitment to providing quality products and services contained in the Law on State Statistics, Strategy of the State Statistical Office and Quality Policy of the State Statistical Office, as well as ongoing efforts to comply with the Code of the European statistics.
The main aspects and procedures for quality management in phases and sub-processes from the Statistical business process model as well as best practices and guidelines for quality assurance are documented in an internal document, "Guidelines for quality assurance of statistical processes."
The required input and output metadata and relevant quality indicators for separate sub-processes are described in the document "Guidelines for managers of statistical research."
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The calculated variables and indices are based on reliable data, they are calculated according to regulations and methodologies for short- term business statistics, and they meet users needs. Publication of results are always punctional.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
There are internal and external users. External users are the Economic Chamber, various scientific researchers, government agencies and bodies, business subjects and other various users that have needs for the short-term statistics concerning the issued building permits and the number of predicted dwellings for construction for their's policy creation. Internal user is the Department for territorial register. Also, Eurostat is an international user.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not available.
12.3. Completeness
All user needs are fulfilled, including Eurostat.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Errors are eliminated as much as possible with elimination of sampling and non-sampling errors. The statistical errors and bias are small.
13.2. Sampling error
We don't measure sampling error because the survey is with total coverage.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Unit non - response: The Survey is with total coverage, data are withdrawn from an administrative register and there isn't unit non-response. Item non - response: The Survey is with total coverage, data are withdrawn from an administrative register. If there is item non - response, the available documentation supplied while registering for a building permit, is consulted for retrieving the needed item.
The results are not biased due to response rate.
14.1. Timeliness
Indices and variables are published in T + 45 reference period.
14.2. Punctuality
Data are disseminated according to the releasing calendar of the State satistical Office and are always on time.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Data are published on the level of the Republic of North Macedonia, regions and municipalities, that is NUTS 1, 2, 3 and 4 level, and as such are comparable in geographical term on international level.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Data are available from 2008 onwards and are comparable over - time.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Data for issued building permits are withdrawn from an administrative register. They serve as a background information for analyse while calculating the Indices for new orders, Index of production in construction. In fact, the variables for the building permits show the future trends and activities that are going to be performed in the construction sector. If the predicted construction activity from the issued building permit is performed in the same reporting month that will be reflected with the same trend in the calculated IPC. And if from various reasons the predicted construction activity from the issued building permit) is not performed in the same reporting month, it will be reflected with the same trend with the new orders.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The two indicators V411 and V412 are coherent, they show similar kind of trend for common types of buildings.
In the SSO we have aplication for registering the working time used according to the activities, but the module for Cost - Burden it is not developed yet.
17.1. Data revision - policy
In accordance with the Statistical Data Revision Policy. When data were revised (mostly with new base year) in the same time they are published nationaly on the web site and sent to Eurostat.
There is no revision calendar.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data revision, according to the SSO policy, is done always when there is change in the methodology and changes in the classifications, change in the base year (every five years).
When data are published they are definitive, and no revision is done afterwards.
In case there are no revisions, the MAR-Mean = 0
18.1. Source data
Data for issued building permits are withdrawn from the electronic system for issuing building permits, with direct approach on the website of the Association of the units of local self -government, for which responsible are the Ministry for transport and communication and the Association of the units of local self -government of the Republic of North Macedonia. This statistical survey is with total coverage. For the reference year 2024 there were 80 municipalities as reporting units, according to the territorial breakdown in the Republic of North Macedonia.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
The data are collected on monthly level.
18.3. Data collection
Data for issued building permits are from an administrative register, and are withdrawn from the electronic system for issuing building permits, with direct approach on the website of the Association of the units of local self -government, for which responsible are the Ministery for transport and communication and the Association of the units of local self -government of the Republic of Macedonia, both for the objects from 1-st category and for the objects from the 2-nd category. From 01 June 2013 the building permits are issued electronically.
18.4. Data validation
Data are controlled according to the defined rules for logical controls. Data validation is done before and after data entering. Data validation is also done on the output data before their publishing.
18.5. Data compilation
Editing: After data are withdrawn they are controlled, with logical controls, imputations of missing values from the available documentation supplied while registering for a building permit, and afterwards data entering is done in appropriate application with implemented on-line controls. Weighting: The output data are no weighted and no weights are calcullated.
18.6. Adjustment
Data for the issued building permits are both seasonally and working day adjusted using JDemetra+.
Not applicable.
The data that are collected with this survey are - The number of issued building permits (by type of construction - buildings and civil engineering works), number of predicted dwellings for building, the useful surface area of the dwellings in m2, and also of the other types of buildings - residential and non - residential, and also the predicted value of the objects.
3 June 2025
Building permit is a document issued by the authorities in the municipalities (the units of local self-government) that are responisble for the urban planning issues. It is a document which alows the start of the construction activities for one object, and it is a final phase in the planning and designing procces. These authorities issue building permits for the objects from the 2-nd category, while for the objects from the 1-st category responsible is the Ministery for transport and communications. The aim for collecting these data for issued building permits is obtaining (providing) indicators for the future construction activities and investments, by type of the objects (buildings and civil engineering), by type of investor (private or bussines entities), and therefore for the residential buildings to obtain data for the predicted number of dwellings. With the data for the useful surface area an information is provided for the construction activities in terms of the volume.
Statistical units are the municipalities - the units of local self-government, namely the departments responsible for the urban planning issues in the municipalities.
The indicators for the issued building permits are divided according to the CC Classification into CC 1 - Buidlings and CC 2 - Civil engineerings, and the indicators for the number of dwellings on level CC 11 - Residential buildings, and for the useful floor area on level CC 1 - Buidlings.
Republic of North Macedonia
Month.
Errors are eliminated as much as possible with elimination of sampling and non-sampling errors. The statistical errors and bias are small.
Data for the issued building permits are shown as absolute values, and for useful floor area measurement unit is m2.
Editing: After data are withdrawn they are controlled, with logical controls, imputations of missing values from the available documentation supplied while registering for a building permit, and afterwards data entering is done in appropriate application with implemented on-line controls. Weighting: The output data are no weighted and no weights are calcullated.
Data for issued building permits are withdrawn from the electronic system for issuing building permits, with direct approach on the website of the Association of the units of local self -government, for which responsible are the Ministry for transport and communication and the Association of the units of local self -government of the Republic of North Macedonia. This statistical survey is with total coverage. For the reference year 2024 there were 80 municipalities as reporting units, according to the territorial breakdown in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The data are published monthly, T + 45 days from the referent period as a news release and on the MAKSTAT database.
Indices and variables are published in T + 45 reference period.
Data are published on the level of the Republic of North Macedonia, regions and municipalities, that is NUTS 1, 2, 3 and 4 level, and as such are comparable in geographical term on international level.
Data are available from 2008 onwards and are comparable over - time.
