Croatian Bureau of statistics (CBS)

Unit of environmental protection

Branimirova 19, 10 000 Zagreb

Economy-wide material flow accounts (EW-MFA) provide an aggregate overview, in thousand tonnes per year, of the material flows into and out of an economy. EW-MFA cover solid, gaseous, and liquid materials, except for bulk flows of water and air. Like the system of national accounts, EW-MFA constitute a multi-purpose information system. The detailed material flows provide a rich empirical database for numerous analytical purposes. Further, EW-MFA are used to derive various material flow indicators.

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) sent to Eurostat on yearly basis the EW-MFA. The accounts comprise the following reporting tables:

• Table A 'Domestic extraction (DE)': records material flows from the environment into the economy in a detailed breakdown by type of material
• Table B 'Imports - total imports (intra- and extra-EU) and Table D 'Exports – total exports (intra- and extra-EU)': These physical trade tables record the imports and exports of products in thousand tonnes and grouped by materials.
• Table F 'Domestic processed output (DPO)': records material flows from the economy to the domestic environment (e.g. emissions to air, water and soil)
• Table G 'Balancing items': reports some memorandum items which are necessary to have the full material balance related to a national economy
• Table H 'Indicators': presents the EW-MFA derived indicators which are automatically calculated from Table A to G
• Table I 'Material flow accounts in raw material equivalents (RME)': records material flow accounts in raw material equivalents (MFA-RME). Some items are calculated automatically based on data reported in Table A and Table I

EW-MFA record physical flows of materials broken down by type of flow and by type of material.

The type of flow dimension corresponds to the EW-MFA questionnaire reporting tables and derived indicators, namely:

• domestic extraction (Table A)
• physical imports (Table B)
• physical exports (Table D)
• domestic processed output (Table F)
• balancing items (Table G)
• direct material input (indicator)
• domestic material consumption (indicator)
• physical trade balance (indicator)

The breakdown by type of material employs a classification of materials. This EW-MFA classification of materials is hierarchical with main material flow categories (1-digit level). Each main category is further broken down, maximal down to 4-digit-level:

    1-digit: material category;

    2-digit: material class;

    3-digit: material group;

    4-digit: material sub-group.

The data refers to national economies as defined in the system of national accounts.

Conceptually economy-wide material flow accounts (EW-MFA) belong to the international system of environmental economic accounting (SEEA-Central Framework). Furthermore, EW-MFA is one of several physical modules of Eurostat's programme on European environmental economic accounts. It is covered by Regulation (EU) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

EW-MFA are closely related to concepts and definitions of national accounts. Most notably they follow the residence principle, i.e. they record material flows related to resident unit's activities, regardless where those occur geographically.

Further methodological guidelines are provided in various publications by Eurostat (see Eurostat website > Environment > Methodology, heading: 'Material flows and resource productivity').

For more detailed information please see also 3.1.

Statistical units change according to the different data sources (e.g. agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics, production statistics, geological surveys, energy statistics, foreign trade statistics etc.) which EW-MFA are based on.

EW-MFA refer to the entire national economy of the reporting country (see also 3.3 'Coverage - sector').

EW-MFA include all materials (excluding water and air) crossing the system boundary (between the environment and the economy) on the input side or on the output side. The economy is demarcated by the conventions of the national accounting system (resident units).

Material inputs to the economy cover extractions of natural resources (excluding water and air) from the natural environment and imports of material products (goods) from the rest of the world economy (ROW).

Material outputs are disposals of materials to the natural environment and exports of material products and waste to the ROW. Information on natural resources extracted and traded products is provided by different statistical units.

Republic of Croatia

The reference area is the economic territory as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and National Accounts (ESA). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.

Please see the table in 3.8.1.

Not applicable because EW-MFA are not reported as indices.

The unit of measure is thousand Metric tonnes.

The annual production of natural gas by the PRODCOM survey for this query is converted from the unit of measure m³ to tonnes. The conversion factor is 0,83.

The data refer to the calendar years.

Economy-wide material flow accounts (EW-MFA) are legally covered by Regulation (EU) 691/2011 on European Environmental Economic Accounts.

This Regulation establishes a common framework for the collection, compilation, transmission and evaluation of European environmental economic accounts, for the purpose of setting up environmental economic accounts as satellite accounts to ESA 2010, by providing methodology, common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules intended to be used for compiling environmental economic accounts. This Regulation defines the data to be collected, compiled, transmitted and evaluated for material flow accounts. Those data need to be developed in a way that links material flows to economic production.

Not applicable in national level this information is required at European level only.

Law on Official Statistics (OG 25/20)

The Ordinance on the conditions and manner of use of confidential statistical data for scientific purposes (OG 137/2013)

Statistical data collected by surveys, according to the Law on Official Statistics (OG 25/20) is confidential and its purpose is restricted exclusively to statistical usage.

The results will be published in a cumulative form which prevents displaying data on individuals.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 (L 87/164) stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

Data are not published separately but only at the level of the Republic of Croatia.

15 December 2023, First Release OEN-2023-1-7 Economy-wide material flow accounts, 2018-2022

OEN-2023-1-7 Economy-wide Material Flow Accounts, 2018 – 2022 | Državni zavod za statistiku (dzs.hr)

19 January 2024, Database >> Environment >> Environmental economic accounts >> Matrial Flow accounts

Publishing Programme 2023

Subject Matter Area: Environment

Subject Matter Sub-area: Environment

Publication type: First Release, Database (PC Axis)

Nos. per Year: 1

Reference period: 2022

Level: Republic of Croatia

Calendar of Statistical Data Issues in 2023,

Calendar of Statistical Data Issues and Publishing Programme | Državni zavod za statistiku (dzs.hr)

Release Calendar contains the review of publications planned to be issued in current year and by the end of May for next year, which depends on when the processing of a particular statistical survey can be finished and on whether it is feasible to make a particular kind of publication or not. All Calendars are publicly available.

Calendar of Statistical Data Issues 2023

Publishing Programme 2023

According to the Release Date announced in the Publishing Programme and in the Calendar of Statistical Data Issues, publications of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics are released at 11:00 a.m. precisely, both in electronic format and hard copy, thus abiding by the Principle of Timeliness of the European Statistics Code of Practice, i.e. standard daily time set for the release.

The User Communication Department provides the following services to the users of statistical data:

- Answering user requests

- The Croatian Bureau of Statistics provides to users the basic information on data that can be found on the Eurostat Internet site via the Eurostat portal – the European Statistical Data Support (ESDS) EUROSTAT: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

- Use of library holdings at the library premises

Data are disseminated annually.

15.12.2023. >> Environment >> Environmental economic accounts >> Material flow accounts >>

Publishing Programme 2023

Subject Matter Area: Environment

Subject Matter Sub-area: Environment

Publication type: First release

Nos. per Year: 1

Reference period: 2022

Level: Republic of Croatia

First release - Material flow accounts

OEN-2023-1-7 Economy-wide Material Flow Accounts, 2018 – 2022 | Državni zavod za statistiku (dzs.hr)

Database metadata

CROATIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS - REPUBLIC OF CROATIA (dzs.hr)

Database in PC AXIS format >> Environment >> Environmental Economic accounts >> Material flow accounts

Reference period in database: 2008-2022

The data is published in PC Axis database on the CBS website (no direct url can be provided).

Time series: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

The conditions under which certain users can have access to microdata are regulated by The Ordinance on the conditions and manner of use of confidential statistical data for scientific purposes (OG 137/13).

EUROSTAT database.

Not applicable.

The basic methodological explanations are published within the First Release and in the PC AXIS database (metadata and notes on methodology).

All relevant information are also available on the Eurostat website http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu

100%

The data on guality are stored in database on Quality information (DBQI), and reports on quality are prepared on the basis and will be updated on the CBS official website.

The main tool for the systematic quality assessment and quality management is the database on quality information (DBQI). The DBQI has in first stage the Basic analytical tool for comparative analyses of quality indicators and later will contain Advanced analytical tool for comparative analyses of quality indicators.

Data is collected from reliable sources applying high standards regarding the methodology and ensuring a high degree of comparability.

Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental accounts adopted on 6 July 2011 and amended by Regulation (EU) 538/2014 adopted on 16 April 2014 in Article 7 requires that “Member States shall provide the Commission with a report on the quality of the data transmitted. The quality criteria as referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall be applied.” Those quality criteria are: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability and coherence.

At national level EW-MFA and derived indicators are used by a wide range of national stakeholders such as ministries/agencies and other policy makers, university and non-university research institutes, interest groups, press and media. The indicators DMC and material productivity/efficiency ratios are used in national indicator sets for sustainable development.

The first user satisfaction survey of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics was conducted in 2013, the second one in 2015, and the last one at the end of 2022. The survey results can be checked on the website of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics  https://dzs.gov.hr/highlighted-themes/quality/user-satisfactionsurveys/686.

The data are sent completely and in accordance with the relevant EU regulations.

Not applicable. To ensure comparability, this will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT in the European quality report using a standardised method.

Sources of data to compile EW-MFA are:

Agricultural statistics department (crop production, seawater/freshwater fisheries, hunting)

Agriculture | Državni zavod za statistiku (dzs.hr)

PRODCOM - Annual survey

The data source for statistics on trading in goods with EU Member States is the Intrastat form, and for non-EU countries are Single Administrative Documents.

Very detailed data from external trade statistics classified by the Combined Nomenclature was used. Traded products to EW-MFA categories were assigned for imports and exports using Eurostat’s correspondence table (Annex 4). Also traded products to the three stages of manufacturing: raw products, semi-manufactured products, and finished products using Eurostat’s correspondence table (Annex 5) were assigned.

Not applicable because data are not based on a sample survey.

Not applicable because data are not based on a sample survey.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Croatia transmitted the data to Eurostat following the deadline stated by the Regulation.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

All data are always delivered in time based on the planned date of publication.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Data on EW-MFA are compiled according to harmonised guidelines provided by Eurostat and hence comparable across European countries reporting EW-MFA data to Eurostat.

Not available.

Data is comparable across the reported time-series. No breaks in the series are reported.

For most EW-MFA tables data is comparable through the time series from 2008-2022.

The implementation of NKD 2007 led to the break in time series due to the changes in classification's structure. Therefore, data for period 2000-2006 are available according to NACE Rev.1. and due to recalculation for period 2005-2012 according NACE Rev.2.

The data on the export are shown by countries of destination, while since 1 July 2013, a new methodological criterion has been applied, by which data on the import are shown by countries. In Extrastat, data on the import are shown by countries of the origin of goods, while in Intrastat data on the arrivals of goods are presented by countries of dispatch.

Please use below table for explaining b)-flags (breaks in time series):

Data is coherent with other statistical data such as agricultural statistics (crop production), forestry and fishery statistics, hunting statistics, foreign trade statistics and industry statistics (PRODCOM data).

Data on EW-MFA is also coherent with other environmental accounts such as Air emission accounts (when reporting emissions to air), and PEFA tables.

Not applicable; reported EW-MFA data are only annual.

The accounting framework of EW-MFA is consistent with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA-CF) adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission as a world-level statistical standard in March 2012. EW-MFA are consistent with the European system of accounts (ESA) and hence suited to be combined with ESA aggregates.

CBS collects data according to the methodology of IND-22/PRODCOM/2022 and aligns them with Eurostat. In EW-MFA, the collected and processed data on industrial production in the Republic of Croatia/2022 are collected.

There are no additional costs related to the collection of data.

The users of statistical data are informed about revision (final data, revised data) at CBS web site.

Data revisions are carried out in the case of a change in methodology or subsequent data that significantly impacts the calculation.

Not applicable. To ensure comparability, this will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT in the European quality report using a standardised method.

Data sources used to produce economy-wide material flow accounts are described in the sub-concepts 18.1.1 (and Annex 1) and 18.1.2.

Please see Annex 1 for the data sources for tables A, B, D, F and G.

The data source for statistics on trading in goods (Table B and D) with EU Member States is the Intrastat form used by the reporting units to report on arrivals and/or dispatches on a monthly basis, that is, for each month in which goods physically enter or leave the territory of the Republic of Croatia. The reporting units are all business entities, value added tax payers whose value of trading in goods with EU Member States exceeds the exemption threshold determined for the reference year. The data source for statistics on trading in goods with third countries, that is, non-EU countries, are Single Administrative Documents on the export and import of goods. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics receives the reviewed Single Administrative Documents from the Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia in the form of data records. Following basic methodological recommendations of the UN Statistical Office and Eurostat, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics statistically processes and disseminates collected Intrastat and Extrastat data as unique information on foreign trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia.

EUROSTAT provides estimates for Table I.

Annually.

Data are obtained from data sources in electronic form (via official intranet).

EW-MFA is a questionnaire that requires cooperation of various departments in the CBS, each department is responsible for their specific area.

The compilation of this data is done by the Environemtal statistics Unit that compiles the tables and calculates the remaining datasets.

Quality control activities include general methods such as accuracy checks on data acquisition and calculations and the use of approved standardized procedures, measurements, estimating uncertainties, archiving information and reporting. Data is validated by EUROSTAT during the few phases of validation process.

There are no characteristic of the EW-MFA data for which we would consider that data quality is lower.

Data compilation for the EW-MFA is done through cooperation with various statistical departments in the CBS.

Following basic methodological recommendations of the UN Statistical Office and the Eurostat, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics statistically processes and disseminates collected Intrastat and Extrastat data as unique information on foreign trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia. Statistics on foreign trade in goods include all goods exported from or imported into the country. Data on foreign trade in goods include both export and import based on gross inward and outward processing.

Not applicable.

Annex 2 is provided.

For crops and residues we used harvest factors from Eurostat’s Compilation Guide 2018 for Economy-wide Material Flow Accounts (EW-MFA).

Data for industry are not estimated, data are obtained through survey based on PRODCOM.

CBS employ Annex 4 to assign traded goods to material categories.

No, CBS do not use conversion factors to convert traded goods into tonnes.

CBS do not undertake residence adjustment because there is no source for this data.

No significant problems.

Not applicable; i.e. in EW-MFA no time series adjustment necessary.

Not applicable.