In the article “Leap into the Future Only on Paper” by Mr. Ognjen Radonjić, there were inaccuracies in the interpretation of data and reasons behind the recent major revision of the gross domestic product (GDP). We would like to clarify the following points:
The Republic Statistical Office’s (RZS) audit policy is fully aligned with the principles of the Harmonized European Audit Policy and Eurostat’s recommendations for auditing national accounts data. The process of conducting a major revision is a standard procedure in national accounts, regularly implemented every five years by national statistical institutions in EU countries. These revisions are a routine process that improves and refines the national accounts system and macroeconomic indicators by adopting updated methods, as well as new and improved data sources.
The 2024 revision, like previous ones, included improvements in both methods and data sources, driven by several European Commission projects that have supported the RZS in aligning with the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010). The public was informed about the revision’s causes and effects, including a detailed numerical presentation of the impact on individual GDP components. All methodological improvements in the 2024 revision, as well as in previous revisions, were made under the direct assistance and oversight of Eurostat experts and IMF technical missions. Furthermore, Eurostat initiated many of the most significant methodological changes, bringing Serbia’s national accounts in line with the European methodology. Eurostat has reviewed and validated these changes and published the revised data.
Regarding the extent of the data revision highlighted by Mr. Radonjić, it is worth noting that, for example, Malta revised its 2021 GDP by as much as 8.7%, while the average GDP revision for the period 2020-2023 was 6.8%. During the same period, countries like the Czech Republic and the Netherlands made GDP corrections of 3.2% and 3.0%, respectively, which are significantly higher than Serbia’s revisions, despite these countries having implemented significant methodological improvements earlier than Serbia. These improvements, implemented in Serbia in the 2024 revision and prior cycles, were the main cause of the relatively large GDP revisions, a normal part of this development process.
Lastly, Mr. Radonjić incorrectly claimed that real GDP between 2001 and 2023 was “revised downwards” or reduced compared to previously published data. The attached table clearly shows that both real and nominal GDP were revised upwards, contrary to Mr. Radonjić’s claim. The data on real GDP in billions of dinars (chained volume measures, with a reference year of 2021) before and after the 2024 revision demonstrates a clear increase in real GDP, not a decrease.
