1.1. Contact organisation
The National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Population Census and Demographic Statistics Department
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
30, Tsotne Dadiani Str., 0180, Tbilisi, Georgia
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
18 June 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
18 June 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
18 June 2025
3.1. Data description
Data on causes of death (CoD) provide information on mortality patterns and form a major element of public health information.
CoD data refer to the underlying cause which - according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) - is "the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury".
CoD data are derived from death certificates. The information provided in the medical certificate of cause of death is mapped to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
3.2. Classification system
Eurostat's CoD statistics build on standards set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
The regional breakdown is based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2).
Classification and updates applied by years
| Data year | ICD classification used (ICD-9, ICD-10) (3 or 4 chars) | For ICD-10: updates used |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-2023 | ICD-10 | 2019 |
3.3. Coverage - sector
Public Health
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Concepts and definitions are described in the Commission regulation (EU) No 328/2011 in articles 2 and 3.
3.4.1. National definition used for usual residency
Usually resident population - all persons having their usual residence in Georgia:
- those who have lived in their place of usual residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months before the reference time; or
- those who arrived in their place of usual residence during the 12 months before the reference time with the intention of staying there for at least one year.
3.4.2. Stillbirth definition and characteristics collected
Stillborn - A fetus, whose death is prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the fetus does not breathe or show any other signs of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or contraction of certain groups of skeletal muscles. Definition
The following data is published on the Geostat web page:
Number of stillbirths by region and self-governed units
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical units are the deceased persons and the stillborns, respectively.
Neonatal mortality - A death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days).
Stillborn - A fetus, whose death is prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy;
3.6. Statistical population
Please refer to 3.6.1-3.6.3
3.6.1. Neonates of non-resident mothers
All deaths registered in Georgia and deaths of Georgian citizens registered in the Georgian representations abroad in a given year.
3.6.2. Non-residents
Please refer to 3.6.1
3.6.3. Residents dying abroad
Please refer to 3.6.1
3.7. Reference area
Covers the whole country except the occupied territories distributed by regions, municipalities and self-governing cities and urban-rural settlements based on the classification of administrative-territorial units of Georgia.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Neonatal deaths by sex - since 1995;
Stillbirths at national level by urban-rural - since 1960;
Stillbirths by regions and sex - since 1969.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
The unit is number.
A calendar year in which the events occurred;
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
CoD data was submitted to Eurostat on the basis of a gentleman's agreement established in the framework Eurostat's Working Group on "Public Health Statistics" until data with reference year 2010.
A Regulation on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work (EC) No 1338/2008 was signed by the European Parliament and the Council on 16 December 2008. This Regulation is the framework of the data collection on the domain.
Within the context of this framework Regulation, a Regulation on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work, as regards statistics on causes of death (EU) No 328/2011 was signed by the European Parliament and the Council on 5 April 2011.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
NSO Geostat:
•According to the Article 5, Paragraph 5 of the Resolution N262 of 31 March 2014 by the government of Georgia on „Approval of the State Program for the Promotion of Demographic Improvement“, Geostat annually provides the Social Service Agency with the data in a mutually agreed format; •Memorandum of Cooperation between LEPL L. Sakvarelidze National Center for Disease and Public Health and the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
1. The Law of Georgia on Official Statistics:
- According to the article 5 of the law Statistical confidentiality and exclusive use for statistical purposes – individual data collected or received by the producer of official statistics, relating to natural or legal persons, must be strictly confidential and used only for statistical purposes.
- According to the article 34 (Observing Confidentiality of Statistical Data) of the law 1. Data collected, processed, and stored to produce official statistics are confidential if they enable the direct or indirect identification of a statistical unit. In addition, aggregated data are subject to statistical confidentiality: a) Aggregates composed of 1 to 3 units, when the unit is a natural or legal person if one of these units could be identified indirectly, thereby disclosing individual data about this unit. Aggregates composed of more than 3 units may be declared confidential by the Executive Director if required to ensure statistical confidentiality; b) Information declares as a state secret on the basis of the „Law of Georgia on State Secrets“. 2. Confidential data shall be used exclusively for the purposes of producing statistics in accordance with this law. 3. Statistical data about the administrative body cannot be considered confidential information, except for the information determined by the Law of Georgia „On State Secrets“. 4. Individual data obtained from publicly available sources, which are defined as public information in accordance with the legislation of Georgia, shall not be considered confidential information. 5. Confidential (individual) data may be published if there is written 3 consent from the statistical unit regarding the publication of such data. 6. It is not allowed to disseminate and distribute confidential data or use it for non-statistical purposes.
- According to the article 38 (Confidentiality commitments) of the law the confidential statistical data collected and processed for statistical purposes shall not be used or disseminated either for personal, academic, research or any other activities, by the employees of the producers of Official Statistics.
2. Data Confidentiality Policy at Geostat
3. Procedure for providing access to confidential data for research purposes
4. The Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
- Confidentiality guidelines.
- Written undertakings by an employee of Geostat on ensuring confidentiality of gained/collected data as a result of official duties.
(Information on the Geostat web site: Data-Confidentiality-Policy-at-Geostat_En.pdf
8.1. Release calendar
Data dissemination dates are defined by the calendar developed on the basis of the Statistical Work Programme, which is published on the website of Geostat and is publicly available.
8.2. Release calendar access
Release calendar is available.
8.3. Release policy - user access
The general policy is that before publishing statistics on the Geostat web site a press release is available, also on the web site, to inform users and media.
All users get access to data at the same time.
Summary vital statistics - 2 times a year;
Detailed demographic data – yearly.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Data is provided in press-releases
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Online annual publications are available
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
No databases on births/deaths are published online.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Data is available in Geostat Statistics Database Geostat Statistics Database
Data publication is also provided in MS Excel, PDF format and for iOS or Android application.
For the regional data the special portal is available.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Microdata is available upon request (confidentiality is maintained)
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not Available.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Not available
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Not available.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Quality documentation is available here.
11.1. Quality assurance
To ensure the quality of the statistical processes and products Geostat follows Chapter 10 – Quality of official statistics – of the Law of Georgia on Official Statistics, as well as the European Statistics Code of Practice, the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF).
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Methodology and Quality Management Division of Geostat, along with the sectoral departments, is responsible for the quality of the produced statistical products and processes. The Division carries out quality audit, self-assessment of statistical processes and assesses the risks for the quality of statistical processes and products. Geostat has developed policy documents, guidelines and standard routine descriptions. These documents ensure the standardization of statistical processes and products and the establishment of a unified quality assurance system.
Data quality - National Statistics Office of Georgia
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
- State Bodies
- Local and international experts and researchers
- Students
- NGOs
- Research Institutions and Organizations
- International Organizations (IOM, UN, EUROSTAT, WHO, etc.)
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
In 2023 user satisfaction survey was conducted, the target of the survey was to analyze the assessment of quality of statistical data by users and explore ways to improve user services. The survey report is available on the website of Geostat
12.3. Completeness
In 2023 90.8 percent of cases months of live births and registration do not differ from each other.
(Publication link)
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Data on stillbirth and deaths is available by various disaggregation. For more details, please see the publication link.
1. For mandatory variables:
Neonatal deaths are available by sex, age (# of days), date of occurrence, causes of deaths. All the data are available by regions, self-governing units and urban-rural settlements.
Stillborn data is available by date of occurrence, age of mother, parity, length, and weight of the stillborn.
2. For voluntary variables:
Please see table 25 for more details on stillborn.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
- Improvement in data quality was greatly facilitated by the introduction of the online registration system.
- Also the use of personal identification numbers and introduction of the electronic system eliminated duplicates and improved quality of personal information (name, surname, sex, date of birth).
- Starting from 2017, NCDC is actively working to improve the quality of data. The availability of personal information has made it possible to carry out various activities effectively, such as “verbal autopsy” - the method recommended by WHO. This is performed with the help of regional public health centers. At the same time, the databases are compared with different alternative sources. As a result of the implemented actions, the share of ill-defined causes of death (Chapter XVIII) has been decreasing. Despite this, there are still some variables in birth and death databases that require further qualitative processing and control.
- The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, via the new system, performs logical checks of birth and death certificates sent from the medical institutions. In case of missing information and/or inconsistencies within variables the certificates are sent back to respective medical institutions for correction or filling up.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable. Data collection is from administrative sources.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not applicable
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not applicable
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable. Data collection is from administrative sources.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not available
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not available
13.3.4. Processing error
Not available
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
| Year | Number of months between the end of the reference year and the publication at national level |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 days |
| 2022 | 90 days |
| 2023 | 90 days |
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Not applicable.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Not applicable.
14.2. Punctuality
From data collection with reference year 2011 onwards, Eurostat asks for the submission of final data at national and regional level and related metadata for the year N at N+24 months, according to the Implementing Regulation (EC) No. 328/2011, Article 4.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
| Reference year | Time between the end of the reference year and the delivery of final data to Eurostat |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Data for RY2023 (SBNAGG and GENAGG) have been first submitted by the end of 2024 - beginning of 2025 |
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Data are collected and processed using the same methodology and definitions for regions and self-governing units (selfgoverning cities and municipalities).
No NUTS division available yet.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The data are comparable across time.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
Assessment not available
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Not available
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable, only annual data are available.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The outputs of the statistical activity are coherent.
Data is provided by the administrative source and does not require additional costs
17.1. Data revision - policy
Statistical data revision policy is available on the website of Geostat
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data in the inter census period is recalculated based on the census results and the demographic data of the respective years.
The 2014 General Population Census results revealed the necessity of re-estimation of basic demographic data of previous years.
In 2018, the Retro-projected results of the main demographic indicators for the period 1994-2014 became available.
The detailed information is available on the Geostat website
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
| Births | PSDA; NCDC |
|---|---|
| Deaths | PSDA; NCDC |
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Births and deaths data is received quarterly;
Final data is published annually.
18.3. Data collection
Please refer to 18.3.1-18.3.5
18.3.1. Certification
The medical death certificate includes the following information:
I. Name of a self-governing unit;
II. Name of a medical institution;
III. Information on a deceased person:
- Name, surname
- PIN
- Date of birth (hour and minutes indicated only in case of infant death)
- Date of occurrence (hour and minute is indicated only in case of death in 24 hours)
- Place of birth
- Citizenship
- Place of registration
- Usual place of residence
- Source to complete personal information
- Marital status (married, single, divorced, widow)
- Attained level of education
- Sex (female, male)
- Place of occurrence (medical institution, house, other)
- Causes of death (disease or pathological process, which directly led to the death)
- Other important diseases
- Cause of death (illness, accident, murder, suicide, iatrogenic disease, unknown causes of death);
IV. Information on violence death:
- Place of occurrence (educational institution, house, road, workplace, sport event, other)
- Date of occurrence of violence death
- Place
- Circumstances of violence death;
V. The death of a pregnant, parturient (maternity, obstetric) or puerperal:
- Duration of gestation (number of weeks, unknown) of a pregnant, parturient (maternity, obstetric) or puerperal death
- Pregnancy in the last 12 months (yes, no, unknown)
- Death is related to complications of abortion, intraperitoneal pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth, puerperium – including 42 days, other;
VI. Under-5 mortality:
- Gestational age (22-27 weeks, 28 weeks and more)
- Type of birth (i.e. single, twin or higher-multiple delivery)
- Height at birth (more or less than 47 cm);
VII. Death was established by a doctor, pathologist, forensic expert, other independent medical staff;
VIII. The cause of death was established by corpse examination, on the basis of medical documentation, autopsy.
The medical certificate on births includes the following information:
| Mother
|
Child
|
Father
|
In the case of a stillbirth, only a medical birth certificate is filed, indicating the relevant status.
18.3.2. Automated Coding
Since 1998 Causes of death are coded according to the ICD-10 (the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems). The IRIS software recommended by the WHO for determining causes of death is used in Geostat since 2012. NCDC is also using IRIS.
18.3.3. Underlying cause of death
The IRIS software automatically selects the main cause of death and assigns a code according to the ICD-10. Additional quality checks for causes of death are performed using the ANACONDA software, also recommended by the WHO.
18.3.4. Availability of multiple cause
Information stored in the national CoD database contains MC (Multiple cause) and underlying cause assigned.
18.3.5. Stillbirths and Neonatal certificates
Information on the stillbirths is in the births database and birth certificate.
Information on neonatal mortality is in the death database and death certificate.
18.4. Data validation
Please refer to 18.4.1-18.4.4
18.4.1. Coding
Description of coding procedure (central level, distributed among other bodies, etc.):
The medical death certificate includes all the necessary information for coding. In case it is needed, additional information might be retrieved from the health system registries. Assigning the underlying cause of death is performed by NCDC.
Description of the procedures to detect errors (i.e.errors such as potential inconsistency in the death certificate or error due to mistake when filling the deaths certificates):
The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, via the new system, performs logical checks of birth and death certificates sent from the medical institutions. In case of missing information and/or inconsistencies within variables the certificates are sent back to respective medical institutions for correction or filling up.
Autopsy:
- Starting from 2017, NCDC is actively working to improve the quality of data. The availability of personal information has made it possible to carry out various activities effectively, such as “verbal autopsy” - the method recommended by WHO. This is performed with the help of regional public health centers. At the same time, the databases are compared with different alternative sources.
- The medical death certificate contains information on whether the cause of death was established by corpse examination, on the basis of medical documentation, autopsy.
- 2015-2017 data have been revised based on verbal autopsies (Verbal Autopsy, Cancer Registry and Stationary Electronic System) by the the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC)
Other details:
- The current registration system of births and deaths divides functions among the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs and the Public Service Development Agency. NCDC has been obliged to fill in the medical certificates of birth and death facts and control the quality of the data. For this purpose, NCDC became the owner of the electronic system and the database of the medical certificates. However, the electronic notification about each birth and death fact is sent to the PSDA (territorial offices), which is responsible for the registration of facts. At the same time, PSDA is obliged to provide NCDC with the cases registered by the non-medical entities on a monthly basis, except for the cases registered by the competent authorities of other countries outside Georgia, which were re-registered in Georgia. Geostat receives the electronic data on births and deaths on a quarterly basis from both sources. Afterwards, the information obtained is compared, merged, processed and aggregated statistical data are disseminated.
- A medical certificate is filled in electronically by an institution providing obstetric inpatient services or by a primary healthcare provider with the independent medical practice. The system is administered by the PSDA.
- The head of any medical, anatomic pathology (clinical pathology), or forensic institution, or his/her authorized representative, as well as a person authorized to issue a medical certificate of death, not being, however, employed by any of the above-mentioned institutions is required to submit a medical certificate of death to the PSDA in electronic form for the further registration.
- An entity/person sending a medical certificate of death to the PSDA shall be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the medical certificate sent except when it is impossible to fully complete the certificate due to failure to obtain relevant information. Any non-receiving or late notifications of death to PSDA envisages penalty of 500 Lari.
18.4.2. Unspecified CoD code
ICD codes for the underlying cause (% of the Total)
| Year | Unspecified CoD (for ICD10: R00-R99 codes) |
Unknown CoD (for ICD10: R98-R99 codes) |
Deaths due to senility (for ICD10: R54 code) |
Deaths due to exposure to unspecified factor (for ICD10: X59 code) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24.2% | 23.9% | 0% | 0.4% |
18.4.3. Unknown country or region
NUTS classification is not available yet.
18.4.4. Validation of the coverage
Geostat receives the electronic data on births and deaths on a quarterly basis from both sources. Afterwards, the information obtained is compared, merged (it ensures coverage), and processed.
18.5. Data compilation
Not applicable.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
No further comments.
Data on causes of death (CoD) provide information on mortality patterns and form a major element of public health information.
CoD data refer to the underlying cause which - according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) - is "the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury".
CoD data are derived from death certificates. The information provided in the medical certificate of cause of death is mapped to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).
18 June 2025
Concepts and definitions are described in the Commission regulation (EU) No 328/2011 in articles 2 and 3.
The statistical units are the deceased persons and the stillborns, respectively.
Neonatal mortality - A death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days).
Stillborn - A fetus, whose death is prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy;
Please refer to 3.6.1-3.6.3
Covers the whole country except the occupied territories distributed by regions, municipalities and self-governing cities and urban-rural settlements based on the classification of administrative-territorial units of Georgia.
A calendar year in which the events occurred;
- Improvement in data quality was greatly facilitated by the introduction of the online registration system.
- Also the use of personal identification numbers and introduction of the electronic system eliminated duplicates and improved quality of personal information (name, surname, sex, date of birth).
- Starting from 2017, NCDC is actively working to improve the quality of data. The availability of personal information has made it possible to carry out various activities effectively, such as “verbal autopsy” - the method recommended by WHO. This is performed with the help of regional public health centers. At the same time, the databases are compared with different alternative sources. As a result of the implemented actions, the share of ill-defined causes of death (Chapter XVIII) has been decreasing. Despite this, there are still some variables in birth and death databases that require further qualitative processing and control.
- The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, via the new system, performs logical checks of birth and death certificates sent from the medical institutions. In case of missing information and/or inconsistencies within variables the certificates are sent back to respective medical institutions for correction or filling up.
The unit is number.
Not applicable.
| Births | PSDA; NCDC |
|---|---|
| Deaths | PSDA; NCDC |
Summary vital statistics - 2 times a year;
Detailed demographic data – yearly.
| Year | Number of months between the end of the reference year and the publication at national level |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 days |
| 2022 | 90 days |
| 2023 | 90 days |
Data are collected and processed using the same methodology and definitions for regions and self-governing units (selfgoverning cities and municipalities).
No NUTS division available yet.
The data are comparable across time.
