INSTAT, Institute of Statistics

Household Consumption Statistics Unit, Directory of Social Statistics

St. Vllazën Huta ,Building 35, Entrance 1, Tirana, ZIP Code 1017, Tirana

The EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is an annual survey conducted since 2002. In Albania, it has been conducted since 2018.

In 2022, the survey collects data on the access to information and communication technologies (ICT), on the use of the internet, e-government, e-commerce, internet of things, as well as green ICT.

National language: ANKETA PËR PËRDORIMIN E TEKNOLOGJISË SË INFORMACIONIT DHE KOMUNIKIMIT (TIK) NË FAMILJE 2022

English: SURVEY ON ICT USAGE IN HOUSEHOLDS AND BY INDIVIDUALS 2022

Questionnaire(s) in national language(s) and the translation in English are available in the annex.

The following common concepts and definitions apply under the Integrated European Social Statistics (IESS):

• the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 published in the following breakdowns: low (ISCED levels 0-2: no formal education, primary education or lower secondary education), medium (ISCED levels 3-4: upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education) and high (ISCED levels 5-6: tertiary programmes which normally need a successful completion of ISCED 3 or 4, or second-stage tertiary education leading to an advanced research qualification);
• the International Standard Classification for Occupation ISCO-08 at the 2-digit level;
• the Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev.2-2008), at section level;
• the Common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 1) – finer granularity of NUTS 2 is provided on optional basis by some Member states;
• the SCL - Geographical code list;
• information about household income is provided at lower level of detail. 

Additional classifications used in the national questionnaire:  none

The ICT survey in households and by individuals covers those households having at least one member in the age group 16 to 74 years old. Internet access of households refers to the percentage of households that have an internet access, so that anyone in the household could use the internet.

The ICT survey in households and by individuals in Albania covers all households and the individual questionnaire is interviewed for all members in the household in the age group 16 to 74 years old. Internet access of households refers to the percentage of households that have an internet access, so that anyone in the household could use the internet.

The survey is collecting data of internet users, individuals who have used the internet in the three months prior to the survey. Regular internet users are individuals who used the internet, on average, at least once a week in the three months prior to the survey.

This annual survey is used to benchmark ICT-driven developments, both by following developments for core variables over time and by looking in greater depth at other aspects at a specific point in time. While the survey initially concentrated on access and connectivity issues, its scope has subsequently been extended to cover a variety of subjects (for example, the use of e-government and e-commerce) and socio-economic analysis (such as regional diversity, gender specificity, differences in age, education and the employment situation). The scope of the survey with respect to different technologies is also adapted so as to cover new product groups and means of delivering communication technologies to end-users.

Deviations from standard ICT concepts:  none

Households and Individuals

In the ICT usage survey, the target population for the different statistical units is:

- individuals: all individuals aged 16 to 74;

- households: all (private) households with at least one member aged 16 to 74. 

Target population composed of households and/or individuals:

• Number of households:  7200

Non-compulsory age groups also included in the target population:

The sample of the survey covers all the territory of Albania. The sample represents the whole population as well as its most typical groups. Collective households are not included in this survey. Elderly homes, nursing homes for disabled children, student hostels, hotels, soldier’s barracks, hospitals, sanatoriums, imprisonment institutions, etc, are excluded from the survey.

Year 2022

Not applicable

Percentages of ‘Households’ and Percentages of ‘Individuals’

The reference period is the last three months before the interview till last 12 month prior the interview date. 

September - November 2022

The legal basis for the 2022 EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals is the Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples (OJ  L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1), as implemented by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1223 of 27 July 2021 specifying the technical items of the data set, establishing the technical formats for transmission of information and specifying the detailed arrangements and content of the quality reports on the organisation of a sample survey in the use of information and communication technologies domain for reference year 2022 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 2269, 27.07.2021, pp. 1-45).

Complementary national legislation constituting the legal basis for the survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals:

The legal basis on which is based the annual survey of ICT in households consists of:

• Law No.17/2018 on Official Statistics 
• Official Statistics National Program, 2022 - 2026 

Statistics on ICT usage in Households and Individuals are colleted by INSTAT and also the main results are published by INSTAT.

The data collected are considered as strictly confidential and used only for statistical purposes and scientific research in accordance with the national Statistical Law No. 17/2018 "On Official Statistics" date 10.3.2018, and Law No. 9887, dated 10.03.2008, "Personal Data Protection". Article 31 of the Law No. 17/2018 “On Official Statistics” clearly define that all statistical information collected by INSTAT are confidential and may only be used or published in such summary tables that do not identify the information of the unit. The direct identification is called when a statistical unit is directly identified by the name, address or any officially recognized identification number. When data processing is performed in such a way as to enable the data subject to be identified, the data must be coded immediately so that the entities are no longer recognized.

Albanian Institute of Statistics protects and does not disseminate data it has obtained or it has access to, which enable the direct or indirect identification of the statistical units. Albania Institute of Statistics takes all appropriate preventive measures so as to render impossible the identification of individual statistical units by technical or other means that might reasonably be used by a third party. Statistical data that could potentially enable the identification of the statistical unit are disseminated by Albania Institute of Statistics if and only if:

a)      These data have been treated, as it is specifically set out in the Regulation, in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality or

b)      The statistical unit has given its consent, without any reservations, for the disclosure of data.

The confidential data that are transmitted to Albania Institute of Statistics are used exclusively for statistical purposes and the only persons who have the right to have access to these data are the personnel engaged in this task. Issues referring to the observance of statistical confidentiality are examined by the staff working in Albania Institute of Statistics. The responsibilities of this staff are to recommend on: which detailed level the statistical data can be disseminated, so as the identification, either directly or indirectly, of the surveyed statistical unit is not possible; the anonymization criteria for the microdata provided to users; the access granting to researchers on confidential data for scientific purposes.

Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on the website. The announcements and delays are pre-announced in this calendar. In the case of delays, the date of the next publication and the explanation of the reasons for the delays are specified.

Access to the release calendar is granted through the following link: Publications Calendar.

In accordance with article 34 of Law No. 17/2018 "On Official Statistics", official statistics are disseminated so that all users have an immediate and equal right and all possible forms of media are used. INSTAT and statistical agencies, having in the program the responsibilities of dissemination, seek to meet every requirement of any organization or individual for unpublished data or specific analysis. The following dissemination channels are used to release the results of the ICT Usage in households and by individuals:

1. Press Release;
2. Written requests;
3. The data in tabular form;

Data request via the form on the INSTAT website.

Annual

The press release contains information on key indicators provided by the survey. The format of press release is defined by publication sector as well as the date of release. Press releases of ICT usage in households and by individuals are published online at INSTAT's website.

Results of ICT usage in households and by individuals are published on the INSTAT website.

All the information is available in both Albanian and English language.

The data on ICT usage in households and by individuals are not located in the statistical database, but detailed data can be found in Excel format. These tables can be found at the following link.

Tables 

Databases at micro level are not published due to confidentiality reasons. Aggregated data is the only type of data that is provided to external users. Even the micro data are not published they can be accessed based on the article 34 of Law No. 17/2018 on Official Statistics.

Users can submit specific requests for “Usage of ICT in households and by individuals” survey data through a dedicated section.

Users can submit specific requests for “Usage of ICT in households and by individuals” survey data through a dedicated section: 

A short explanation related to the definitions of the main concepts and methodological explanations are provided to users in the end of press releases and publications. Additional support information is given to internal users when needed or required. Also in the link users can find a brief information on the methodology.

100 %

Household Consumption Statistics Unit documents all the work process and procedure for the ICT usage in households and by individuals for internal purposes.

INSTAT is committed to ensure the highest quality with respect to the compilation of statistical information. In accordance with the Statistics Law, INSTAT use statistical methods and processes in compliance with internationally recognized scientific principles and standards conduct on-going analyses of the statistics with a view to quality improvements and ensure that statistics are as up to-date. In performing its tasks it follows the general principles of quality management from the European Statistics Code of Practice. INSTAT for quality assurance is guided by the following principles: impartiality, quality of processes and products, user orientation, employee orientation, effectiveness of statistical processes and reduction of response burden.

ICT usage in households and by individuals data are compared with previous year's data and checked for any large changes in the data, especially due to large deviations in the main variables concerned. 

Users of ICT usage in households and by individuals are classified as external and internal.

1. External users are

• Public administration institutions;
• Universities;
• National and international NGOs;
• Private firms;
• Researchers, students and other similar groups.

2. With internal users, means other sectors within INSTAT which use ICT usage in in households and by individuals’ results as input into their work.

 Publications of results of ICT usage in households and by individuals are sent annually to a specific group of users. Some key indicators are sent by filling in various questionnaires to the European Commission, Eurostat, International telecommunication Union (ITU).

 During 2022, INSTAT conducted the user satisfaction survey. The results of the survey show that the quality of the theme "Information and Communication Technology" was rated 3.65 (73%) on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). INSTAT organizes every year User Satisfaction Survey.

Completeness of ICT data in households and by individuals is judged by comparing the quality and quantity of indicators covered by INSTAT with those of the regulations followed. ICT usages in households and by individuals’ statistics, in order to be comparable to those of European countries, are produced by applying the new REGULATION (EU) 2019/1700 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC).

The degree of completeness of the data for the survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals for 2022 is 100%. This calculation is based by taking into account the ratio of requirements met by INSTAT to what is required by European regulations.

Overall, the data is checked with previous years to identify any significant changes in the data. Where changes occur, the survey data is checked with alternative sources, if any. When there is no information from alternative sources, INSTAT corrects or confirms the data using emails or by calling the respondents. Measures taken by INSTAT each year, to increase response rates or to reduce the impact of nonresponse by imputing them are as follow:

Data are collected directly from households and individuals. 

The error due to probability sampling is estimated for more important indicators. All indicator values are weighted to represent the population.

The estimation method for the random variation of an estimator due to sampling is Taylor linearisation.

The estimation formula is the following:

with 

X: proportion of individuals (16-74) who bought goods last year

Y: population 16-74 years old

The method used to assess the standard errors takes into account unit non-response and calibration. For more references see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/pdfs/SPSS_Complex_Samples_22.pdf

Precision estimates for the question "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Number of respondents (absolute value for ‘Yes’ answers):  2685

Estimated proportion (in %):  34.7

Standard error (in percentage points):  0.8

Details of the breakdowns are available in the Annex below. 

See more details on non-sampling error below.

The HH response rate, calculated as a ratio of the number of HHs that completed the survey to the number of selected HH, expressed in percentage resulted 66.7%.
The error due to probability sampling is estimated for more important indicators, which you may find on Table A1 in Annex. 

Over-coverage shows the percentage of households that should not be part of the survey, as they are out of the scope of the survey. Over coverage rate for “ICT usage in households and by individuals for 2022” is 4.9%.

Not requested in the ICT survey.

1)       Measurement errors: not applicable

2)       Questionnaire design and testing: not applicable

3)       Interviewer training:  not applicable

4)       Proxy interview rates:  not applicable

Information about non-respondents:  Not available

The unit response rate is the ratio of the number of in-scope respondents (= the number of achieved interviews or the net sample size to the number of eligible elements selected from the sampling frame).

Unit non-response rate for

• Households:  33.3%
• Individuals (aged 16-74):  not applicable

Comments, if any:

1)       Methods used for dealing with unit non-response: not applicable

2)       Methods used for minimizing unit non-response: not applicable

3)       Substitution permitted: not applicable

4)       Substitution rate (in %): not applicable

Items with low response rates (observed rates in %):

Item non-response at variable level for “ICT usage in households and by individuals for 2022” is 0%. Usually when the households accept to answer the survey they respond to all questions as the interviewers are instructed to ask.

None

Not requested for ICT Survey

Results of ICT usage in enterprises are published on INSTAT website 62 days after the end of the reference period (T+ 62 days). The reference period of the results of ICT 2022 is November 15, 2022.

The data of the ICT Survey are disseminated according to the publication calendar. The publication of ICT usage in households has been delayed for 33 days.

The data of the ICT Survey are disseminated according to the publication calendar. The publication of ICT usage in households has been delayed for 33 days.

Data on ICT usage in households and by individuals are collected according to Regulation (EC) No. 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on the Information Society, as well as annual implementing regulations setting out the monitored variables for each year. Since the questionnaire used is the same as required by EUROSTAT and Eurostat Regulations are followed, statistics on the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in households and by individuals may be comparable to those of the member countries.

The data are comprehensive and produced at country level.

Not relevant

Possible limitations in the use of data for comparisons over time:  Not relevant

ICT usage in households and by individuals data were first produced in 2018. They are comparable over the years for most indicators, providing a good 10 comparability of 5 years, (CC2 = Jlast - Jfirst + 1 = 5).

Restricted comparability over time for some variables is a consequence of the necessary changes in definitions and/or questions in the model questionnaire in order to measure the development of ICT (e.g. mobile internet, skills).

The length of comparable time series depends on the module and variable considered within each of the modules of the survey.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

The internal consistency of the data is checked before it is finalised. The linkage between variables is checked and coherence between different data series is checked before publication.

MANDATORY questions in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the annex lists the questions that do not reflect the coverage of subjects and characteristics of Annex 2 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1898 of the 20 July 2021. 

Adoption of OPTIONAL questions and items in the Eurostat model questionnaire 2022:

The table in the annex lists the optional questions from the annual Eurostat model questionnaire 2022 included in the national questionnaire and their coverage for age groups beyond the standard scope. 

Additional questions introduced in the national questionnaire: None

Effects of deviations from the routing used in the Eurostat model questionnaire: No deviations from Eurostat’s routing 

Revision policy of usage ICT usage in households and by individuals is done in accordance with general revision policy and errors treatment policy introduced by INSTAT which can be found:

• Statistical revision policy
• The Errors Treatment Policy

No reviews of data on “ICT usage in households and by individuals” for 2022 have been conducted, subject to this report. 

Not relevant

The source of the raw data is described with more details in the paragraphs below.

Name and short description of the sampling frame or register used: 

The sample frame was done by Housing and Population CENSUS 2011. The sampling is done according to a two-step procedure. The first step units (PSUs) are homogenized Census areas, with proportional probability with the size of the Census area. In the second step, within each of the selected areas in the first step, a fixed number of 8 households are selected by the systematically equal probability method. The choice in both steps was made randomly.

The survey vehicle is a stand-alone survey.

Survey participation: participation was voluntary.

Shortcomings: none

The sampling design is a probability design: 2 sampling stages where systematic sampling with probabilities proportional-to-size with stratification effect.

The sampling is done according to a two-step procedure. The first step units (PSUs) are homogenized Census areas, with proportional probability with the size of the Census area. In the second step, within each of the selected areas in the first step, a fixed number of 8 households are selected by the systematically equal probability method. The choice in both steps was made randomly.

No longitudinal component.

Number of individuals interviewed in the household: All the individuals aged 16-74 in the households are interviewed

Annual

1) Methods used to gather data: 

PAPI method with face to face interviews using paper questionnaires 

2) Short description of the survey method: 

Households or individuals need to be identified to be interviewed, the sample is divided among enumerators; the enumerators are selected and trained.

3) Variables completed from an external source: Not applicable

In terms of data validation, data editing procedures generally refer to micro level:

1. Quantitative and qualitative control of the questionnaire.

• Control of incoming questionnaires, completeness checks, valid values checks, range checks, logical control of the questionnaire. The number of incoming questionnaires should be equal with the number of distributed questionnaires in the prefectures.
• Individual checks are done for the cases of refusal and no contacts.

2. Arithmetic corrections, logical corrections and verification of coherence between the different answers of the questions in the questionnaires which is done in the SPSS software.

For the data compilation there are three basic procedures:

    1.  Data quality analysis: To analyse the data quality have been applied some rules:

• Mathematical control of the survey
• Logical control of survey data
• Comparison of time series data
• Compare data with other available files in INSTAT

    2.  Treatment of non-responses: All non-responses cases are considered as:

• No contact
• Full Refusal
• Partial Refusals (for variables or special indicators).

    3.  An appropriate weight is calculated for each unit that reported its data: This weight is calculated for various reasons: unequal probability of selection, non-response adjustment, households that result out of scope, calibration techniques.

For the target indicator "Individuals having ordered goods or services for private use over the internet in the last 12 months" (individuals who ticked 'Within the last 3 months' or 'Between 3 months and a year ago' in question D1 of the 2022 model questionnaire):

Imputation rate (% of observations): 0%

Imputation rate (share of estimate): 0%

Methods used to impute item non-response: No additional issues on imputation methods

Grossing up procedures have been applied to: Individuals and Households 

Description of the weighting procedures:

1) Sampling weights for households:

Since the ICT-HH 2022 sample is a two-stage stratified cluster sample, sampling weight will be calculated based on sampling probabilities separately for each sampling stage and for each cluster. We use the following notations:

P_1hi:     first-stage sampling probability of the i^th cluster in stratum h

P_2hi:     second-stage sampling probability within the i^th cluster (households)

P_hi:       overall sampling probability of any households of the i^th cluster in stratum h

Let a_h be the number of clusters selected in stratum h, M_hi the number of households according to the sampling frame in the i^th cluster, and the total number of structures in the stratum h.

The first stage’s probability of selecting the i^th cluster in stratum h is calculated as follows:

Let M_hi be the number of households listed in the household listing operation in cluster i in stratum h, let  be the number of households selected in the cluster.

The second stage’s selection probability for each household in the cluster is calculated as follows:

The overall selection probability of each household in cluster i of stratum h is therefore the production of the two stages selection probabilities: 

The sampling weight for each household in cluster i of stratum h is the inverse of its overall selection probability: 

Design weight will be adjusted for household non-response and as well as for individual non-response to get the sampling weights for households.

2) Sampling weights for individuals: 

The integrated calibration on the level of household for 2022 projection population is used to calculate the final weight. This calibration adjusts for total population in different age size groups and as a result estimates the number of households having 16-74 age persons. This weight is used also for all members of the household.

Not relevant

Not relevant