| Category: | Economic statistics |
| Area: | Agriculture and fishing |
| Survey / data collection: | Census of Agriculture |
| MONSTAT metadata |
|---|
| Reference metadata |
| 1. Contact |
| 2. Metadata update |
| 3. Statistical presentation |
| 4. Unit of measure |
| 5. Reference period |
| 6. Institutional mandate |
| 7. Confidentiality |
| 8. Release policy |
| 9. Frequency of dissemination |
| 10. Accessibility and clarity |
| 11. Quality management |
| 12. Relevance |
| 13. Accuracy and reliability |
| 14. Timeliness and punctuality |
| 15. Coherence and Comparability |
| 17. Data revision |
| 18. Statistical processing |
| 19. Comment |
Note: For any question on metadata, please contact MONSTAT metadata support.
| 1. Contact Vrh | |
| 1.1. Contact organization: | Statistical Office of Montenegro - MONSTAT |
| 1.2. Contact organization unit: | Department of Agricultural Statistics |
| 1.2. Contact organization unit: | IV Proleterske br. 2 , 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro |
| 2. Metadata update Top | |
| 2.1. Metadata last certified: | |
| 2.2. Metadata last posted: | 24 December 2025 |
| 2.3. Metadata last update: | |
| 3. Statistical presentation Top | |
| 3.1. Data description: | The Agricultural Census collects the data on: number of agricultural holdings, area of utilized agricultural land by categories of use, livestock by type and category, persons participating in agricultural production by sex, facilities for housing livestock, machinery, equipment, etc. |
| 3.2. Classification system: | NACE Rev. 2 |
| 3.3. Sector coverage: | Sector A - Agriculture, hunting and forestry |
| 3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions: | Agricultural holdings represents a unique technical and economic unit with single administration, which performs agricultural activity and which can be: family agricultural farms, business enteties or legal entities or entrepreneurs, production organizations, educational or scientific research institution that also engages in agricultural activities. Holder of a family agricultural holding means a person who is the owner or user (lessee for a shorter or longer period) of a family agricultural holding, that is, a person who is responsible for carrying out the agricultural activities of the holding. Manager of a family agricultural holding is a person who makes daily decisions at the holding, i.e. a person who is responsible for financial and production activities at the holding. Agricultural production means the cultivation of agricultural crops (cereals, potatoes, pulses for dry grain, industrial plants, medicinal, aromatic, and spicy plants, fodder plants, vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, seeds, planting material, fruits, and vines), mushroom cultivation, raising livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats), poultry and other animals (horses, donkeys, mules, mules, bees, rabbits), processing own grapes into wine and own olives into oil; except stables of riding horses, racehorses, galloping horses (land used for the treatment of racehorses), processing of agricultural products (excluding processing of own grapes into wine and own olives into oil), forestry, hunting, fishing or fish farming and performing agricultural services for others with their machinery. Utilised agricultural land covers arable land, kitchen gardens and/or gardens, orchards, vineyards, nurseries, meadows and pastures, regardless of the type of ownership (land owned or land taken in tenure). The livestock represents the number and type of livestock raised by category. |
| 3.5. Statistical unit: | Family agricultural farms, business entities or legal entities, entrepreneurs, production organizations and educational or scientific research institution that engaged in agricultural activities. |
| 3.6. Statistical population: | The Agricultural Census will include all agricultural holdings (family agricultural holding, and economic operator, i.e. another legal person or entrepreneur) which fulfil conditions in accordance with the Law on Census of Agriculture (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 77/24), Article 4 (Units included in the agricultural census) i.e. agricultural holdings that satisfy at least one of the following criteria: 5 000 m2 of used agricultural land; 3 000 m2 of arable land; 1 000 m2 of aromatic, medicinal and culinary plants, flowers and ornamental plants, seeds and seedlings; 1 000 m2 of fruits, berries, nuts, vineyards, olive trees, nurseries and other permanent plants; 100 m2 greenhouse; 100 m2 of mushrooms; 10 beehives; 1 Livestock Unit (LSU). |
| 3.7. Reference area: | The data collected by the census refer to the territory of Montenegro and can be displayed at the level of municipalities. |
| 3.8. Time coverage: | For the first time in Montenegro, the Agricultural Census was conducted in 2010, after that in 2016, the Farm structure survey was conducted. |
| 3.9. Base period: | Not relevant. |
| 4. Unit of measure Top | |
| The value of the data during dissemination refers to the number (agricultural holdings, livestock, labor force), and the areas are shown in ha. | |
| 5. Reference period Top | |
| Reference period of agricultural census is 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024, and refers to this data: used agricultural land by categories of use and other land, organic production, irrigation, practices land management, livestock housing facilities, manure storage methods, applications of stable and mineral fertilizers, machines and equipment, persons participating in agricultural production and other useful activities. Data on the number of livestock, poultry, rabbits and the number of beehives are collected with the balance as of 30 September 2024. | |
| 6. Institutional mandate Top | |
| 6.1. Legal acts and other agreements: | The National legal framework: Law on Official Statistics and System of Official Statistics ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", no. 18/12 and 47/19) Law on the Agricultural Census for the year 2024 ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 77/2024 of August 5, 2024). International settlement framework: Regulation (EU) no. 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and the Council of June 18, 2018 on integrated statistics at the level of agricultural holdings, Regulation (EU) no. 2018/1874 of the European Parliament and the Council of November 29, 2018 year, Regulation (EU) no. 2021/2286 of the European Parliament and the Council of December 16, 2021 year. |
| 6.2. Data sharing: | Signed agreement on cooperation with the official statistical producers: 1. Customs Administration 2. Tax Administration 3. Ministry of Finance 4. Central Bank of Montenegro 5. Trilateral agreement (MONSTAT, Ministry of Finance, and Central Bank of Montenegro) International institutions: 1. EUROSTAT 2. UN organizations 3. IMF 4. World Bank |
| 7. Confidentiality Top | |
| 7.1. Confidentiality - policy: | Articles 53-60 of the Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 18/12, 47/19) provide a framework for protection, use, and transmission of confidential data. MONSTAT has produced two comprehensive rulebooks that cover the procedures for individual data protection as well as keeping individual records. With purpose of the meeting legal framework on functioning of security system and statistical confidentiality there was adopted the Rulebook on Keeping Statistical Data by which Manner, Time, Technical Conditions and Organization of Statistical Data Storage to Prevent Their Destroying, Misappropriation, and Unauthorized Use is Regulated as well as the Rulebook on Contents and Manner of Keeping Records on Users of Individual Statistical Data by which contents and manner of keeping records on users of individual statistical data is regular. Pursuant to the Article 59, an access to the confidential data is limited to persons performing duties and tasks of official statistical producer and up to the stage the data are necessary for official statistical production. Persons that performs duties and tasks within official statistical producers must sign the statement on respecting the principle of confidentiality. Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System is aligned with the Regulation No 223/2009 and the Regulation (EU) 2015/759 from 29 April 2015 that also regulate confidentiality provisions. The Government of Montenegro adopted the Statement on Commitment of Confidence in Official Statistics (Commitment of Confidence). |
| 7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment: | According to Article 56 of the Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System, individual data on natural or legal persons shall be confidential, and represent official secret. According to Article 57, confidential data will used only for statistical purposes and will be expressed in aggregate form. |
| 8. Release policy Top | |
| 8.1. Release calendar: | The Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 18/12, 47/19) stipulates that official statistical producers prepare, update, and publish Statistical Release Calendar. It is published on the website of Statistical Office not later than 20 December for the next year, for all official statistical producers that includes date of releasing statistical data. Any change in date of releasing in the Calendar is published in advance in accordance with the Procedure on Unplanned Revisions. |
| 8.2. Release calendar - access: | https://www.monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=12&pageid=12 |
| 8.3. User access: | General aim of official statistical producer is to meet the needs of users, and to make an access to statistical data to users in an understandable manner, simultaneously and under the same conditions. Statistical Office is obliged to produce and disseminate official statistics in objective, transparent and professional manner, so that all users are equally treated. |
| 9. Frequency of dissemination Top | |
| Frequency of dissemination data is ten years old. | |
| 10. Accessibility and clarity Top | |
| 10.1. News release: | The preliminary release on the Agricultural Census for 2024 was published on 20 February 2025 and the final release on 1 July 2025. |
| 10.2. Publications: | Statistical Office publishes the following regular publications: 1. Statistical Yearbook, 2. Montenegro in figures, 3. Monthly statistical review. In addition to the above regular ones, Statistical Office publishes also additionally publications. Some of the most important additional publications are as it follows: 1. Women and Men in Montenegro, 2. The most often used statistical data. All publication published by Statistical Office are available at the following link: http://monstat.org/eng/publikacije.php. |
| 10.3. Online database: | Database for census no planned in 2024. |
| 10.4. Micro-data access: | The Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 18/12, 47/19) regulates rules under which external users can obtain an access to individual data for needs of research. Article 58 defines types of scientific and research organizations that can obtain such data. Providing individual data without identifier is possible only upon a written request of scientific and research institutions, with purpose of performing scientific and research activities as well as international statistical organizations and statistical producers from other countries. Research entity signs the agreement with Statistical Office, and it signs the statement on respecting the confidentiality principle. Official statistical producers keeps a separate records on users and purpose of using the statistical data given to these users. |
| 10.5. Other: | Not relevant. |
| 10.6. Documentation on methodology: domain: | Not available. |
| 10.7. Quality documentation: | The Law on Official Statistics and the Official Statistical System ("Official Gazette of Montenegro" No. 18/12 and 47/19) defines the commitment to quality, which ensures that producers of official statistics in Montenegro work and cooperate in accordance with international principles of quality of the statistical system. In accordance with the ESS Quality Declaration, Article 338 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Regulations 759/2015 and 223/2009 and the European Statistics Code of Practice, the following documents are adopted: 1. Quality Strategy of the Statistical Office, 2. Guide for the implementation of the Quality Strategy in the Statistical Office, 3. Implementation plan. |
| 11. Quality management Top | |
| 11.1. Quality assurance: | Statistical Office has chosen the implementation of elements of TQM (Total Quality Management) model that foster development and improvement of functioning of: - Institution, - Official statistical result production, and - Individual. Within middle-term deadline, Statistical Office has chosen the TQM implementation through the following objectives: 1. Strong commitment to users and other interested parties, 2. Quality statistical processes and products, 3. Professional orientation of staff members, 4. Constant improvements, 5. Reduction of overburden of reporting units. |
| 11.2. Quality assesment: | Quality is monitored at all stages of data production by accountable statisticians. Collecting, entering, and processing data are commonly the subject of this monitoring. One of the criteria for checking the data is administrative data sources. Data obtained through this research are checked with data obtained from the Agricultural Census, regular annual statistical surveys. |
| 12. Relevance Top | |
| 12.1. User needs: | International users: - Eurostat, - World Bank, - UN organizations, - International Monetary Fund National users: - Ministries and other public administration bodies, - Local government and other local government bodies, - Central bank, - Non-governmental organizations, - Students, - Researchers, - Media. |
| 12.2. User satisfaction: | The Statistical Office has adopted the Quality Management Strategy, the Guidebook to the Implementation of the Quality Management Strategy, as well as the Plan for the Implementation of the Quality Policy. In order to measure the degree to which fulfills obligations towards users and within the new quality policy, the Statistical Office conducted User satisfaction survey. The results of the survey are available on the Statistical Office website,link: https://www.monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=1502&pageid=1. |
| 12.3. Completeness: | All requested data are produced by Agricultural Census. International and national requirements are met. |
| 13. Accuracy and reliability Top | |
| 13.1. Overall accuracy: | Not relevant. |
| 13.2. Sampling error: | Not relevant. |
| 13.3. Non-sampling error: | Not relevant. |
| 14. Timeliness and punctuality Top | |
| 14.1. Timeliness: | According to the Annual Plan of Statistical Survey and the Statistical Release Calendar of Statistical Office, data on actual yields of early-season crops are published in July of the current year for the previous year. |
| 14.2. Punctuality: | During the year 2024, there was no deviation between the announced date in the Statistical Data Release Calendar and the actual release date. Indicator TP3 is 0, i.e. there is no difference between the planned and actual publication. |
| 15. Coherence and Comparability Top | |
| 15.1. Comparability - geographical: | Theagricultural census was conducted in accordance with international standards (Regulation (EU) No. 2018/1091, Regulation (EU) No. 2018/1874 and Regulation (EU) No. 2021/2286). |
| 15.2. Comparability over time: | Agricultural census data for 2024 are fully comparable. |
| 15.3. Coherence - cross domain: | The methodology is harmonized with Eurostat''s recommendations. |
| 15.4. Coherence - internal: | Agricultural census data are internally harmonized. |
| 17. Data revision Top | |
| 17.1. Data revision - policy: | Statistical Office has adopted the revision policy and it is available on the website http://www.monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=1411&pageid=1411. |
| 17.2. Data revision - practice: | The preliminary data of the agricultural census were published on 20 February 2025, and the final data 1 July 2025. |
| 18. Statistical processing Top | |
| 18.1. Source data: | The Agricultural Census will include all agricultural holdings (family agricultural holding, and economic operator, i.e. another legal person or entrepreneur) which fulfil conditions in accordance with the Law on Census of Agriculture (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 77/24), Article 4 (Units included in the agricultural census) i.e. agricultural holdings that satisfy at least one of the following criteria: 5 000 m2 of used agricultural land; 3 000 m2 of arable land; 1 000 m2 of aromatic, medicinal and culinary plants, flowers and ornamental plants, seeds and seedlings; 1 000 m2 of fruits, berries, nuts, vineyards, olive trees, nurseries and other permanent plants; 100 m2 greenhouse; 100 m2 of mushrooms; 10 beehives; 1 Livestock Unit (LSU). |
| 18.2. Frequency of data collection: | Ten-year-old. |
| 18.3. Data collection: | CAPI method of data collection. |
| 18.6. Adjustment: | Not relevant. |
| 19. Comment Top | |
