Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Business Statistics Sector – Department for Industry and Construction Statistics

Zelenih beretki 26, 71 000 - Sarajevo

Data on issued building permits are collected by using Monthly questionnaires on Issued Building Permits (M KPS GRAĐ-OG).

• Classification of Types of Constructions in BiH (KVGO BiH) which is identical to the Classification of Types of Constructions - CC

Constructions are used for coverage based on the Classification of Types of Constructions in BiH (KVGO BiH) (which is identical to the Classification of Types of Constructions – CC), instead of activities. This survey covers all issued building permits for all types of constructions - building constructions and for civil engineering works (whole population).   

A building permit is a document issued by a relevant administrative body in charge for the issuance of building permits, and it is a permit for the commencement of construction of a new building or reconstruction of the existing one.  Building permits are to define changes of the dynamics of the construction activities and a plan of future construction works at both national and local self-government level.  Data on issued building permits are used as basis for planning the production of the construction material and other components, including other industrial products to be built into the buildings and dwellings, etc.  Data are collected and published on a monthly basis.  All building permits issued during the reference month are covered. 

The main variables include: the number of issued building permits for all types of construction works (new constructions, extensions, rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings, etc.), number of buildings by the type of building (in accordance with KVGO BiH - CC classification), size of the buildings (m² and m³), number of buildings and useful floor area (m²), number of dwellings (variable 150101 in accordance with EBS Regulation 2019/2152) and their useful floor area (m²) (Variable 150102 in accordance with EBS Regulation 2019/2152), number and useful floor area (m²) of dwellings by number of rooms.  Detailed definitions for issued building permits data are described in the EBS Manual 2021: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/12453409/KS-GQ-21-001-EN-N.pdf/f67631e8-c728-e650-d777-de0d9079bf18?t=1614247963543  as well as in Methodological document on Issued building permits on the following link:

https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/Metodologije/CON_03_2014_MD_0_BS.pdf .  

The observation units are all issued building permits for construction of all types of constructions and types of works.  The reporting units are competent administrative bodies on the Entity, cantonal or municipal level in BiH, which are responsible for issuing building permits for construction.

Statistical population covers all issued building permits for all types of constructions and works which cover construction size of buildings (gross floor area and gross volume) and square meters of useful floor area of buildings, number of dwellings by type of construction works and number of rooms and useful floor area of dwellings. There are 156 reporting units – administrative bodies competent for issuing building permits on different administrative levels, out of which:

- Entity level - total: 91 in Federation of BiH, 64 in Republika Srpska and 1 in Brčko District BiH, out of which:

- Entity level – ministries: 1 in Federation of BiH and 1 in Republika Srpska

- Cantonal level in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: 10 ministries in Federation of BiH

- Municipal and city level: 80 in Federation of BiH, 63 in Republika Srpska and 1 in Brčko District BiH.

The whole territory of BiH (includes two Entities – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, one district - Brčko District BiH)

Data on the issued building permits in BiH have been gathered monthly (under a Single methodology used in all three statistical institutions in BiH) since 2013. Currently, data are published in monthly periodicity. For the period 2013 - 2019, data were published quarterly.

Not relevant for this statistics.

Not applicable (however, the number of building permits, number of buildings, number of dwellings, and number of rooms and floor area of the dwellings are used for dissemination)

The reference period is a calendar month. The reference year of this report is 2022.

• Law on Statistics of BiH (Official Gazette of BiH No. 26/04 and 42/04), as well as laws on statistics of the entity statistical institutions. Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for data collection, data processing and data publishing for the state level (BiH level) as well as for implementation of methodologies in all three statistical institutions in BiH in a unique way;
• Multi-annual statistical work programmes for BiH (2021-2024) and Annual work plan for BiH;
• Strategy for development of statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2030;
• Methodological guidelines for Issued building permits in BiH

Data delivery/sharing between the Institutes of Statistics from the entities (Republic of Srpska Institute for Statistics and the Institute of Statistics of the Federation of BiH) and the Agency for Statistics of BiH is regulated by Laws on statistics as well as Agreement on data sharing between all three statistical institutions;

• Data sharing to external users -  state institutions in the country is regulated by the Law on Statistics and other laws which regulate the work of state institutions;
• Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat);
• External users – international organizations based on their requests;
• Other users (students, academic community, individual users, etc. in accordance with special procedures defined by the Agency together with the individual agreements signed)

Confidentiality of statistical data has been regulated by law, and personnel conducting statistical surveys are obliged, under the same legislation, to protect confidentiality.  The Law on Statistics of BiH (Official Gazette of BIH 26/04 and 42/04 - Chapter XI - Articles 23-29) sets forth the principle of confidentiality as one of the main principles.  The Agency of Statistics of BiH distributes statistics in accordance with the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice, and especially with the principle of statistical confidentiality.

The document titled “Book of Rules on Protection of Statistical Data in the Agency for Statistics” contains the procedure to secure confidentiality during data gathering, processing and dissemination - which includes protocols securing individual data to which access is allowed, rules defining confidential cells in the output tables and procedures for detection and prevention of subsequent disclosures, as well access to micro-data for the survey purposes.

The release calendar for Statistical Press Releases in BiH is published in advance for the entire year and it contains detailed information about all publications planned to be published. In December every year, the Agency for Statistics of BIH publishes on a website a calendar with accurate dates and time of publication of statistics for the next year.  The calendar is published on the website in four language versions (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and English languages) and in pdf format. For Issued Building Permits – data are published regularly monthly, on 25^th in the month for the previous month.

The release calendar for Statistical Press Releases in BiH for 2022 is available at the following link: https://bhas.gov.ba/Calendar/ 

All publications are published in accordance with the defined release calendar on exactly specified date, at 11 o’clock, on the Agency’s website.  If publishing of the press release will be delayed, the relevant information shall be posted on the website and a new date/time shall be published. All publications intended for users are available in 4 languages, that is, 3 local languages plus an English version.  Users shall not have access to new data prior to their official publication on the Agency’s website, nor is it possible for them to be granted access to data earlier. The principle that all users should have equal access to statistical data on an unbiased base is stipulated in Article 8, paragraph (2), subparagraph h) and Article 19, paragraph (2) of the Law on Statistics of BiH, and the Agency for statistics of BiH strictly comply with it in practice.

Data on issued building permits for BiH are collected and disseminated monthly. Monthly data are delivered to Eurostat. 

 -  Issued building permits in BiH  - Monthly press release, i.e.

https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/Saopstenja/2023/CON_03_2022_12_1_BS.pdf

-  BiH in figures – section “Construction”

     https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/Bilteni/2023/NUM_00_2022_TB_1_EN.pdf

The online database is available in Excel at the following link: 

Number of issued building permits – Total

Number of issued building permits - Building constructions,

Number of issued building permits - Civil engineering,

Number of dwellings planned for construction

Useful floor area of dwellings planned for construction, m²

https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/VremenskeSerije/CON_02.xls

Micro-data are not disseminated and users have no access to them.

Data on issued building permits are transmitted to Eurostat monthly: number of dwellings (variable 150101 in accordance with EBS Regulation 2019/2152) and useful floor area for the dwellings (m²) (Variable 150102 in accordance with EBS Regulation 2019/2152).

Short Methodological information on the compilation of Issued building permits data for BiH is available in a published document which is available on web site of the Agency for statistics of BiH:

https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/Metodologije/CON_03_2014_MD_0_BS.pdf  

Methodological information on the compilation of Building permits variables is provided in the EBS Manual: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/12453409/KS-GQ-21-001-EN-N.pdf/f67631e8-c728-e650-d777-de0d9079bf18?t=1614247963543

Development of the Quality Report is in progress.

Agency for statistics of BiH (BHAS) follows the recommendations for quality management provided in the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) and implements the guidelines provided in the European Statistics System Quality Assurance Framework (QAF).  More details about quality assurance and all procedures describing the BHAS’s quality policy are contained in the document:  BHAS Quality management policy and mechanisms available at website:

http://bhas.gov.ba/Content/Read/92?title=Kvalitet&lang=en   

Data on issued building permits are collected from all reporting units (full coverage), covering all issued building permits in BiH (for all constructions and the whole territory of BiH).  The published data are reliable because the gathered data are subjected to detailed quality verification. The quality of the data corresponds with the requirements of relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, and comparability.

User needs are fulfilled because this survey is based on full coverage of reporting units and covers all issued building permits. The following users are identified for issued building permits data: business entities, the Directorate for Economic Planning of BiH with the Council of Ministers of BiH, Central Bank of BiH, associations of employers, researchers and students, media, and the general public. 

The Agency for Statistics of BiH is conducting a user satisfaction survey, carried out in 2020. This survey is conducted in 3-annual periodicity.  The total of 242 users were asked to respond to the questionnaire and 107 users provided their responses. Most interviewees visit the internet site and use the Agency’ statistical data occasionally (37.0%) or monthly (24.0%), at the same time, our website is daily visited by 7.0% interviewees. Most interviewees are interested in the statistical field of population statistics (64.0%), employment and salaries (56.0%). Report on the survey conducted is posted on the Agency’s website and is available to the users:

https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Dokumenti/Kvalitet/AZK2020_BS.pdf

Users’ main needs for data pertain to the website notification format.  Namely, for the purpose of easier data management and analysis, the pdf format of the notification does not suit the users’ needs and efforts are being made for Excel tables to also be posted.

All key indicators are calculated for this statistics, those that are required under the international standards, and the Eurostat requirements concerning the level of details on issued building permits have also been met. 

M KPS GRADJ OG survey is conducted in monthly periodicity as a census survey. In that sense, there is neither statistical error nor bias. Considering a very high rate of responses, the overall accuracy is very good. The cases of delayed permits are very rare and insignificant. 

It does not exist because all reporting units in charge of the issuance of the building permits have been included (a census survey has been conducted).

The response rate is 100%. All data are available according to deadlines. As for delayed or missing data, units are contacted by phone and asked to provide the missing data. Revoked building permits are not taken into account because there are no reliable sources for this kind of data.

Data on issued building permits for BiH are published in monthly periodicity, 25 days after the end of the month. Usually, one day after publishing the data for BiH, or the same day, the data for BiH are transmitted to Eurostat. Questionnaires for 12 months are sent out to the reporting units by the end of the previous year (in advance). The deadline for reporting units to fill in the questionnaires and submit the data is the 10^th in the month for the previous (reference) month.

There is no difference between the announced and actual date of the publication (according to the Release Calendar).  All 4 press releases for Issued building permits for BiH are published on the date of publication as foreseen in the Release Calendar.  

Classification by types of constructions used in BiH – KVGO BiH is fully harmonized with CC classification. All variables on issued building permits for BiH are defined in accordance with the Commision Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics and EBS Manual (2021).

Building permits data have been published since 2014.  A data series is available since January 2013, on a monthly basis. The time series of issued building permits are calculated under a unique methodology between three statistical offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data are mutually comparable.  There are no breaks in the series.

Data collected through the Issued building permits survey are highly correlated with data on completed dwellings (in quarterly periodicity). 

Data are comparable internally. Variables 150101 and 150102 in accordance with EBS Regulation are coherent for all types of buildings.

Currently, data on issued building permits are collected by using paper questionnaires which requires a lot of money and human resources. Data are collected by three statistical institutions: the Republic of Srpska Institute of Statistics for the territory of Republika Srpska, the Federal Institute of Statistics of FBIH for the territory of Federation of BIH, and the Agency for Statistics of BiH for the Brcko District of BiH territory. Approximately, 5 people are involved in the data collection process and data compilation process on an annual basis (40% of their work time). In addition, one IT expert per institution is responsible for the development and maintenance of IT application (30% of their working time). All three statistical institutions have very high costs of printing the questionnaires, postal and telephone costs.

The response burden is not very high, with approximately 15 minutes needed for fulfilling the questionnaires per respondent.

There is no officially defined revision policy except in the case of an error, wherein the corrected data shall be marked as "corrected data" and accompanied by an explanation to all users of the reasons for the data correction. This is published in the official publication as well as on the website of the Agency. The same revision policy has been applied in data transmissions to Eurostat. After publishing corrected data on the website of the Agency, these data are also transmitted to Eurostat.  

Usually, big revisions are done in a way that representatives of all three statistical institutions have to discuss together and agree on new proposed Statistical Standards/methodologies which will require data revision. Main changes in the methodology shall be published on the Agency’s website.  All methodology changes are thoroughly explained in the Press release, in the section Methodological Notes. Corrections of Press releases resulting from errors have been published automatically by releasing a revised/corrected Press release including a note and explanation to users concerning the reason for the revision/correction. Revised/corrected data are also transmitted to Eurostat on the same date when revised/corrected data are published on the website of the Agency.  Data on issued building permits are published every month as preliminary data, including a note that, when publishing the data for the next month, preliminary data from the previous month shall become final.  Data on issued building permits are published 25 days after the end of the month (on the 25^th in the current month for the previous month). For the number of new dwellings and floor area in square meters for new buildings the Mean Revision (MR) and Mean Absolute Revision (MAR) is calculated and is shown in the table below. 

Monthly statistical survey, by mail, using the M KPS GRADJ OG questionnaire

Data are collected in monthly periodicity

Data on issued building permits are collected by using the M KPS GRADJ OG statistical survey conducted by mail and by using paper questionnaires. Data are collected through the cantonal/regional offices of the Entities – for the Entity level and through the Brčko District Branch Office of the Agency for statistics of BiH for the territory of the Brčko District

The Entity Institutes/Offices for Statistics perform entry and validation of data for their Entity territory, while the Agency performs that for the territory of the Brčko District. The Entity Institutes/Offices provide the Agency with all data required for the compilation of issued building permits data at the BiH level, in agreed formats.

Data cross-checking controls are applied. If “Suspicious” data are found, they are sent back to the Entity statistical institutions for checking and verification. The Entity Institutes/Offices for Statistics recheck data and, if required, a phone call-back procedure is applied or pays a visit to them, if it is necessary.  This is a standard procedure that has been applied for a long period of time, enabling the Construction Statistics departments to obtain data of good quality.  Data validation is done automatically by applying predefined data controls through IT applications. All verifications are performed through the IT application for Construction.  For the data transmission to Eurostat, a file format has been developed in the IT application. A new SDMX-ML format is used for data transmission to Eurostat. No validation controls and checking are applied to this file because the national validation rules have already been applied.

The survey includes all building permits issued throughout BiH because the survey covers the entire territory of BiH.  The survey is conducted by the Entity Institute/Office for their respective territory and the Brčko District Branch Office.  The Entity Institute/Office aggregates data for all of its municipalities and publishes data related to its Entity.  Properly formatted data are submitted to the Agency by each Entity, while the Agency holds data for the Brčko District, through a web application. Data for BiH are aggregated and published

No, absolute figures for Variable 150101 on Building permits - number of dwellings and 150102 on Building permits - square meters for Bosnia and Herzegovina are not adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects. 

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