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Lithuania ranks at bottom of OECD open data index

BC, Vilnius, 10.06.2020.Print version
Lithuania ranks the lowest (32nd) among members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of data openness, the Special Investigation Service (STT) said on June 10th. Latvia and Estonia perform below average, too, but they are placed higher than Lithuania – at number 21 and number 24, informs LETA/BNS.

In its review of the OECD's Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index 2019 released earlier this year, the anti-corruption agency notes "an obvious gap between Lithuania and other OECD member countries in open data policy development and implementation".   


"Lithuania is at the lowest positions in terms of its overall open data policy progress and its individual components – open data availability and government support to use it," it said.


Lithuania ranks at the bottom of the index at number 32. Latvia and Estonia perform below average, too, but they are placed higher than Lithuania – at number 21 and number 24, respectively, STT noted.  




According to the agency, the European Commission has also pointed out problems with data policy implementation in Lithuania. The EU's executive body says in its report on Lithuania this year that the country fails to sufficiently exploit the potential of open data.  


In the Open Data Maturity study, initiated by the commission, Lithuania is ranked 24 out of 28 countries. 


The head of the Lithuanian office of Transparency International says he is not surprised by a report that ranks Lithuania the lowest among members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of data openness, noting that the process has been "extremely slow" in the country.   


"It is not surprising that the results of this study show that we are lagging behind other OECD countries," Sergejus Muravjovas told BNS. "We have been talking for years about the need to open more data, but, unfortunately, this has been happening extremely slowly." 


Muravjovas commented on the OECD's Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index 2019, released earlier this year, that ranks Lithuania at the bottom at number 32 with a score of 0.35 out of 1 possible. 


The head of the Lithuanian office of Transparency International thinks that Lithuanian leaders have paid insufficient attention to the issue and have failed to state it clearly that the country aims to open data. "I would like to see an even clearer position and a greater impetus from the leaders of our state when it comes to open data," Muravjovas said. 


The state could set itself the goal of opening at least the most important data this year, starting with information on final beneficiaries, shareholders and owners of companies, and improving the provision of public procurement information, he said.






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