Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia
1.2. Contact organisation unit
SBS, BD and FATS department
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
str. "Dame Gruev" 4, 1000, Skopje, North Macedonia
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
5 August 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
5 August 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
5 August 2025
3.1. Data description
The annual Business demography data collection covers variables which explain the characteristics and demography of the business population. The methodology allows for the production of data on enterprise births (and deaths), that is, enterprise creations (cessations) that amount to the creation (dissolution) of a combination of production factors and where no other enterprises are involved (enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not considered).
A summary of the available indicators is listed below. The data is available at EU, country and regional level, with breakdowns for type of activity, legal form and size class.
For the population of active enterprises:
Number of active enterprises
Number of enterprise births
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years
Number of enterprise deaths
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons)
For the population of active employer enterprises:
Number of enterprises having at least one employee
Number of enterprises having the first employee
Number of enterprises having no employees anymore
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons)
For high-growth enterprises, the following indicators are available at EU and country level:
Number of high-growth enterprises (growth by 10% or more)
Number of employees of high-growth enterprises
Number of young high-growth enterprises (up to five years old high-growth enterprises)
Number of employees of young high-growth enterprise
3.2. Classification system
From 2008 onwards NACE Rev.2 classification (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community) is used for all indicators.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Starting with reference year 2021, BD data cover the economic activities of market producers within the NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R and Divisions S95 and S96. The total economy is presented as Industry, construction and services (code BTSXO_S94).
For the reference years 2008-2020, data for the Sections P, Q, R and S were provided on a voluntary basis and K64.2 was not covered.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
BD constitutes an important and integrated part of the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
3.5. Statistical unit
Enterprise = one or more legal unit
3.6. Statistical population
BD population cover all active-non financial enterprises (small, medium and large) as well as entrepreneurships registered by NACE Rev.2 Sections B to S (excluding section O) and Group S95,S96.
3.7. Reference area
North Macedonia.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Series of main data categories on the level od total economy (active enterprise, birth, deaths and survivals) are available from the reference year 2004.
Employment data, Employer Demography and high growth enterprises available from 2018 year.
3.9. Base period
[Not applicable]
The number of active, birth, death and survival enterprises, as well as high-growth enterprises is expressed in units.
The number of employees is counted as head counts and is expressed in units.
The number of persons employed is the sum of number of employees and self-employed persons.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work, measured in annual average headcounts, expressed in units.
Derived indicators are expressed in units or percentages
2023
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Starting with reference year 2021, two new regulations form the legal basis of BD statistics:
Before reference year 2021, EU Regulation 2008/295 on structural business statistics, Annex IX, was providing a legal basis for the BD data collection. The Commission implementing EU Regulation 2014/439 ensured data collection on employer enterprises (with at least one employee), high-growth enterprises (more than 10% annual growth over three years) and their employment.
Up to reference year 2006 data have been collected under gentlemen's agreement within the context of the development of Structural Business Statistics.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
[Not applicable]
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Individual data protection is regulated by the Law on State Statistics. The basic principles and activities undertaken to ensure data confidentiality are described in the Policy on Statistical Confidentiality.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Data are not treated as confidential. Primary and secondary confidentiality measures are not applied.
7.2.1. Confidentiality rules (primary and secondary)
Data treatment
Remarks
Confidentiality rules applied
no
no
Threshold of number of enterprises (Number)
not relevant
no
Number of enterprises non confidential, if number of employments is confidential
no
no
Dominance criteria applied
no
no
If dominance criteria is applied, specify the threshold (in %) and the method of applying the dominance rules
not relevant
no
Secondary confidentiality applied
no
no
If secondary confidentiality is applied, explain the rules and the methods used
not relevant
no
7.2.2. Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
Data treatment
Remarks
Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
not applicable
no
If measures have been taken, describe them briefly
not applicable
no
Impact of these measures
not applicable
no
8.1. Release calendar
The date of data publication is determined in the Advance Release Calendar, which is updated quarterly.
All users have equal access to statistics at the same time: this means that the publication dates are announced in advance and no user has access to official statistics before they are published. Statistical data are first published in the "News Releases" edition on the website of the State Statistical Office at 12:00.
BD data annually disseminated in online MakStat database.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
[Not requested]
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
The use of microdata by external users is possible only for research purposes and is done in accordance with the Law on State Statistics (Article 41, Article 42 and Article 43). Access to anonymized microdata is defined by an internal procedure of the State Statistical Office "Access to anonymized microdata for scientific research purposes".
10.5. Dissemination format - other
The data are sent to Eurostat to be released as national data.
At the request of users, data are also prepared in a form according to their needs.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
[Not requested]
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Documentation on the methodology is available in Macedonian and English.
The State Statistical Office carries out statistical activities in accordance with the Statistical Business Process Model, which is based on the international model - Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM). The application of this model and international standards in statistical production ensures a high level of accuracy and comparability of data.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Internal users:
Structural Business Statistics Department
External users:
Ministries and government bodies
Scientists and researchers
Media
Eurostat
International organisations
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
In order to obtain the opinions of users on the products and services, the State Statistical Office conducts a survey to measure user satisfaction. The first survey was conducted in 2009, the second in 2012, the third in 2015, the fourth in 2017, and at the beginning of 2019 the SSO conducted the survey for the fifth time.
12.3. Completeness
The survey covers all the variables required by Eurostat regulations on the nationa level, except young high-growth enterprise . Characteristics and breakdowns are available for all series.
Regional BD data not available yet.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Completeness is almost 100% of the number of required cells.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Not requested.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Enterprises are identified as active using three criteria - employment, turnover or investments, so we presume that whole population of active units are designed correctly.
For matching of population of active and non active enterprises unique ID is used so quality of matching is high.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not requested.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not requested.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not requested.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
There are no processing error.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not requested.
14.1. Timeliness
Final data at time T+18 months.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Not requested.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
final data released at time T+18 months.
14.2. Punctuality
The business demography data for 2023, and final data on high growth enterprises for 2022 were sent on time.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not requested.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Not requested.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
First reference year available (calendar year):
data on births, deaths and survivals: 2004 (NACE Rev. 1.1) and 2008 (NACE Rev. 2)
data collection Employer Business Demography (EMP_A): 20018 (NACE Rev. 2),
data collection High-growth enterprises ( FHG): 2018 (NACE Rev. 2)
Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks:
The reason for the break time in series :
introduction of NACE Rev. activity classification
in 2020 Employer demography has been established and data calculated for the period 2018-2020.
from 2021 data are produced according to the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 .
Outliers in time series: There are no outliers in time series.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The length of the comparable time series is three years (2021-2023).
There was a break in the series in 2021, when a newly redesigned Statistical Business Register (SBR) was established as the main data source for Business Demography (BD).
Within the SBR module, BD production was integrated in accordance with EU regulations.
The main changes in the SBR that affected BD include:
Implementation of top-down method for determining the main activity,
A new formula for estimating the number of self-employed persons, and
The use of the enterprise as the statistical unit.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
There are differences between Structural Business Statistics (SBS) and Business Demography (BD) in the number of enterprises, number of employees, and number of self-employed persons.
Data for the reference year 2023 in SBS and BD (e.g. number of active enterprises, number of employees) are not fully coherent, primarily due to differences in data sources.
The SBS population is based on information about market-oriented enterprises obtained from annual reports collected by the authorised government agency – the Central Register. These data are stored in the central data warehouse and used by both SBS and National Accounts (NA). The statistical unit in SBS remains the legal unit, and the main activity is determined as the one with the highest share in the income structure.
In contrast, the BD population is based on the Statistical Business Register (SBR), where a new statistical unit has been introduced, and the top-down method is used for determining the main activity. Employment data may differ, as additional sources can be used in case of missing information. The estimation of self-employed persons follows the recommended formula based on the legal form of the enterprise.
Efforts are ongoing to harmonise the two data sources and to establish a common population base for both SBS and BD calculations.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not requested.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Not requested.
[Not requested]
17.1. Data revision - policy
Regular revisions of business demography data are carried out for certain variables (e.g. enterprise deaths) according to the established calculation methodology. Extraordinary revisions are applied in case of changes in concepts, definitions, or classifications used in the production of statistical data. Examples include the implementation of new data sources, the adoption of a new classification, or changes in international standards.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Regular revisions of BD data are conducted for specific variables, such as enterprise deaths. Extraordinary revisions are implemented in cases of changes to the methodological framework.
In practise, revision was carried out as a consequence of improvements in the functionality of the Statistical Business Register (SBR), as a BD compilation data source.
The revision is planned to improve the quality of the data and to eliminate the existing discrepancies between SBR, BD, and SBS in the next audit cycles.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Only data on enterprise deaths are delivered as preliminary and final
18.1. Source data
a) Type of data source:
The SBR receives data from the national administrative business register, maintained by the Central Register – the authorised government agency responsible for registering legal units and collecting their annual reports.
The administrative business register includes information on all demographic events, such as the creation and cessation of enterprises, economic activity, legal form, employment, turnover, and other relevant characteristics. This information is imported into the SBR accordingly.
b) Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register):
All required economic activities and legal forms are covered. The SBR includes all legal and natural persons engaged in economic activity. All legal forms registered in the administrative registers—both legal entities and natural persons performing independent activity—are included in the SBR, regardless of activity status.
c) Matching, profiling or imputation:
Profiling is applied to units that are part of enterprise groups in order to create statistical enterprises.
The SBR contains information on registration and cessation dates; however, these are not directly used for producing BD data on enterprise births or deaths. They are used only as supporting information in certain phases of BD production.
18.1.1. Concepts and sources
The SBR uses a combination of data sources to identify active units. Several sources are used for turnover and employment, and each source is prioritised based on reliability, completeness, and compliance with SBR methodology.
If a unit does not appear in any of the selected sources—such as annual financial reports or various tax datasets (e.g. VAT, profit tax, income tax)—despite the legal obligation to submit them, it is classified as inactive.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual data collection.
18.3. Data collection
Business demography variables are compiled from the national Statistical Business Register.
Data processing starts by establishing a series of annual snapshots of the business register. The populations in each of these snapshots are then matched in order to identify the target populations and to be able to follow each unit across the time period considered. Other sources may then be used to update some of the information (such as employment or turnover).
Data for active enterprises are obtained from the business registers by checking for activity. A unit is considered active if it shows employment and / or turnover and / or investments during any time of a calendar year.
Births and deaths are separated from other creations and cessations by eliminating mergers, take-overs, break-ups and split-offs. ID numbers are used to identify all new enterprises. Thus, reactivations of inactive units can be followed as well. A reactivation of an enterprise after more than two years is considered a birth, while a death is confirmed only after two years of inactivity.
18.3.1. Data matching
Data matching process and tools:
Matching of populations of active units is done within the BD calculation algorithm. Unique ID numbers were used for matching. Matching is done on the level of enterprises and legal units.
When preliminary births and deaths populations are created based on matching populations of three consecutive years, additional data are consulted in order to eliminate non-real births and non-real deaths, such as information on predecessor in case of new unit and successor in case of ceased unit. This information is registered in SBR in case of mergers, take-overs, split-offs and break-ups.
Matching:
The matching process include matches on name, economic activity and location, either using national matching systems, or the following pair-wise approach:
Match 1: Comparison of economic activity and location - If more than one match with the same location and economic activity are found, then manual checking should be done in order to verify whether the new enterprise can be considered an enterprise birth.
Match 2: Matching of name and location.
Match 3: Matching of economic activity and name.
18.3.2. Manual checks
In order to define actual enterprise births and deaths, SBR staff review these changes, but there is still no precise procedure for their maintaining. This work is ahead of SORS.
18.4. Data validation
Final data validation is carried out before transmission to Eurostat using Eurostat provided tools, that check format and structure, and data hierarchy and consitentcy.
18.5. Data compilation
Indicator calculation is performed using a predefined algorithm within a dedicated module of the SBR application. The base for calculation is the frozen state of active business entities/natural persons in the reference year. From this population, based on specific criteria (e.g. activity status and institutional sector), the BD population is created.
By comparing frozen states from multiple reference years, enterprise births, deaths, and survivals are identified and calculated.
Missing data on self-employed persons are estimated according to the recommended formula from the SBR, which serves as the source of employment data.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
[Not requested]
18.6. Adjustment
[Not applicable]
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
[Not applicable]
The annual Business demography data collection covers variables which explain the characteristics and demography of the business population. The methodology allows for the production of data on enterprise births (and deaths), that is, enterprise creations (cessations) that amount to the creation (dissolution) of a combination of production factors and where no other enterprises are involved (enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not considered).
A summary of the available indicators is listed below. The data is available at EU, country and regional level, with breakdowns for type of activity, legal form and size class.
For the population of active enterprises:
Number of active enterprises
Number of enterprise births
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years
Number of enterprise deaths
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons)
For the population of active employer enterprises:
Number of enterprises having at least one employee
Number of enterprises having the first employee
Number of enterprises having no employees anymore
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons)
For high-growth enterprises, the following indicators are available at EU and country level:
Number of high-growth enterprises (growth by 10% or more)
Number of employees of high-growth enterprises
Number of young high-growth enterprises (up to five years old high-growth enterprises)
Number of employees of young high-growth enterprise
5 August 2025
BD constitutes an important and integrated part of the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Enterprise = one or more legal unit
BD population cover all active-non financial enterprises (small, medium and large) as well as entrepreneurships registered by NACE Rev.2 Sections B to S (excluding section O) and Group S95,S96.
North Macedonia.
2023
Not requested.
The number of active, birth, death and survival enterprises, as well as high-growth enterprises is expressed in units.
The number of employees is counted as head counts and is expressed in units.
The number of persons employed is the sum of number of employees and self-employed persons.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work, measured in annual average headcounts, expressed in units.
Derived indicators are expressed in units or percentages
Indicator calculation is performed using a predefined algorithm within a dedicated module of the SBR application. The base for calculation is the frozen state of active business entities/natural persons in the reference year. From this population, based on specific criteria (e.g. activity status and institutional sector), the BD population is created.
By comparing frozen states from multiple reference years, enterprise births, deaths, and survivals are identified and calculated.
Missing data on self-employed persons are estimated according to the recommended formula from the SBR, which serves as the source of employment data.
a) Type of data source:
The SBR receives data from the national administrative business register, maintained by the Central Register – the authorised government agency responsible for registering legal units and collecting their annual reports.
The administrative business register includes information on all demographic events, such as the creation and cessation of enterprises, economic activity, legal form, employment, turnover, and other relevant characteristics. This information is imported into the SBR accordingly.
b) Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register):
All required economic activities and legal forms are covered. The SBR includes all legal and natural persons engaged in economic activity. All legal forms registered in the administrative registers—both legal entities and natural persons performing independent activity—are included in the SBR, regardless of activity status.
c) Matching, profiling or imputation:
Profiling is applied to units that are part of enterprise groups in order to create statistical enterprises.
The SBR contains information on registration and cessation dates; however, these are not directly used for producing BD data on enterprise births or deaths. They are used only as supporting information in certain phases of BD production.
Annual
Final data at time T+18 months.
Not requested.
First reference year available (calendar year):
data on births, deaths and survivals: 2004 (NACE Rev. 1.1) and 2008 (NACE Rev. 2)
data collection Employer Business Demography (EMP_A): 20018 (NACE Rev. 2),
data collection High-growth enterprises ( FHG): 2018 (NACE Rev. 2)
Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks:
The reason for the break time in series :
introduction of NACE Rev. activity classification
in 2020 Employer demography has been established and data calculated for the period 2018-2020.
from 2021 data are produced according to the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 .
Outliers in time series: There are no outliers in time series.
