The European Union has included Albania and the region in the ninth annual European report on the maturity level of open data throughout Europe.

The Open Data Maturity Report 2023 records the progress made by EU Member States as they advance the publication and use of open data, as well as the various priorities set to enable this.

The annual report is based on a self-assessment survey that was completed by 35 countries. The drafters estimate that while it remains a mechanism focused on the EU, the 2023 report has also included 5 candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine.

The evaluation of the report focuses on four indicators.

Countries’ open data policies and strategies, their impact, the quality of the national portal in terms of access and interaction within the open data community, and the quality of the data itself. Based on these dimensions and the grouping into four groups from the most mature to the least mature, the report helps to make recommendations for each of them.

Last year, Albania recorded an entry of 40% of the European level of the data system, while this year’s increase is found to be 42%.

Albania’s current level in relation to the other 34 countries of the report is challenging, while in one of the data quality indicators, it exceeds the European average.

This year, the EU-27 Member States have increased the average maturity of open data from 79% in 2022 to 83%, with outstanding performances by Slovakia and Latvia.

Among the candidate countries, Montenegro has achieved the most significant increase from year to year in the overall result.

/k.s/