The Albanian Government has taken steps forward in digitizing government services, but it is less transparent than other countries in the region when it comes to publishing official documents to the public.

Data processed by “Open Data Kosovo” shows that Albania’s score for the level of openness of official data was 24.8 points, leaving only behind Bosnia and Hercegovina. The best results in the region for the transparency of public documents are held by Serbia with an index of 50.2, followed by Montenegro with 36.5, Kosovo with 34.2, and North Macedonia with 27.4.

The Regional Openness Index assessed the level of institutional openness in the Western Balkans for people and society according to the following four guiding principles: (1) transparency, (2) accessibility, (3) integrity, and (4) awareness during the period 2019-2022.

Open government data means that information is reported and published on channels accessible to anyone without any restrictions. A study funded by the United Nations highlights that the quantity of data increases transparency to citizens and makes the government’s work more understandable.

Governments can encourage the development of new businesses and modern services with citizens at the center by promoting the use, reuse, and free sharing of data sets.

Through the online distribution of Open Data, some countries have undertaken transparency initiatives by their governments and public institutions, but Albania ranks poorly compared to the region.

For example, the Ministry of Finance in Albania has published a total of 26 documents, while the counterpart ministry in North Macedonia has published 42 documents, 54 in Kosovo, and nearly 41 in Montenegro.

The Ministry of Health in Albania is weak, having not published any documents during the period in question. While the Ministry of Health in Montenegro has published 8 documents, 18 documents in Macedonia, and 2 documents in Kosovo.

Similarly, the Ministry of Justice in Albania has the lowest number of documents published online with only 3, while the counterpart ministry in Montenegro has published 16 documents, 11 documents in North Macedonia, and 31 documents in Kosovo.

Digitization has given governments significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and delivery of public services through data transparency, but not all governments in the Balkan region are using it effectively.