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.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Structural Statistics and SBR Section
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia Litostrojska 54 SI-1000 Ljubljana Slovenia
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
31 October 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 October 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
31 October 2025
3.1. Data description
Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS) measure the commercial presence through affiliates in foreign markets.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics (IFATS) shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates resident in the compiling country.
In country-level business statistics foreign-controlled enterprise shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which an ultimate controlling institutional unit not resident in the compiling country has control.(Table 14 of the EBS Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197).
Variables on the country-level business activities in the IFATS data category:
Business activities in foreign control:
210301. Number of foreign-controlled enterprises
220501. Number of employees and self-employed persons in foreign-controlled enterprises
220701. Employee benefits expense in foreign-controlled enterprises
230301. Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises
230401. R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises
240301. Total purchases of goods and services of foreign-controlled enterprises
240302. Purchases of goods and services for resale of foreign-controlled enterprises
250601. Net turnover of foreign-controlled enterprises
250701. Value of output of foreign-controlled enterprises
260201. Foreign-controlled enterprises’ gross investment in tangible non-current assets
250801. Value added of foreign-controlled enterprises
Business activities in total economy:
210101. Number of active enterprises
220101. Number of employees and self-employed persons
220301. Employee benefits expense
230101. Intramural R & D expenditure
230201. R & D personnel
240101. Total purchases of goods and services
240102. Purchases of goods and services for resale
250101. Net turnover
250301. Value of output
250401. Value added
260101. Gross investment in tangible non-current assets
Data are expressed in thousants of EUR or in units.
The inward FATS data are disseminated with annual frequency, with a detail by controlling country of location (partner country) and economic activity of the foreign affiliate. Research and Development variables (R&D) are disseminated every second year. In Annex III.A.1 (Regulation 2020/1197) it is stated that it is not necessary to compile FATS variables subject to the 1% rule if the contribution of the Member State for a related indicators is less than 1% of the EU total. The 1% rule for the Table 14 may be applied according to the defined Simplifications in the Annex III.A.1 of the COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics of 27 November 2019. Slovenia applyed the 1% rule for the following variables stated in the Table 14 Country-level business statistics on enterprises by country of ultimate control:
230101 Intramural R & D expenditure,
230201 R & D personnel,
230301 Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises and
230401 R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises
According to ex-ante assessment for FATS, the condition has been fulfilled partially in the three years prior to the reference year. Therefore, it is necessary for Slovenia to transmit the full set of variables under Regulation 2020/1197 for the topic Inward FATS under aforementioned activity breakdowns of NACE.
3.2. Classification system
Classification systems used in the FATS are as follows:
Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2);
List of 2-digit country codes (ISO 3166-1);
Currency codes (ISO 4217).
In the breakdown by activity the Standard Classification of Activities, SKD 2008, is used. SKD 2008 is the national version of the European statistical classification of economic activities, NACE. Rev. 2.
Geographical breakdown of data is based on Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1470 of 12 October 2020 on the nomenclature of countries and territories for the European statistics on international trade in goods and on the geographical breakdown for other business statistics (CELEX:32020R1470). Geographical breakdown base on GEO level 1 (foreign controlled enterprises) and GEO level 3 (enterprises abroad ultimately controlled by institutional units of the reporting country).
3.3. Coverage - sector
For all variables except for variables Intramural R & D expenditure, Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises, R & D personnel and R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises: Market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96;
For variables Intramural R & D expenditure, Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises, R & D personnel and R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises: Market producers of NACE Sections B to F.
The levels of activity breakdown and NACE activities covered in the inward FATS statistics base on folowing regualtion:
Regulation (EU) No 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (CELEX: 32019R2152)
Commission implementing Regulation (EU) No 1197/2020 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field ofbusiness statistics (CELEX: 32020R1197).
The coverage is full, which means that the observation units are selected among all foreign legal units and branches (further referred to as foreign affiliates), in predominantly (over 50%) majority or multiple minority, direct or indirect ownership by foreigners. By identification, the ownership shares over 10% are considered.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS) measure the commercial presence through affiliates in foreign markets.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics (IFATS) shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates resident in the compiling country.
In country-level business statistics foreign-controlled enterprise shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which an ultimate controlling institutional unit not resident in the compiling country has control.(Table 14 of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197).
Foreign affiliate in the framework of outward FATS is an enterprise or branch not resident in the compiling country over which an institutional unit resident in the compiling country has ultimate (direct or indirect) control.
Domestic affiliate shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which a UCI resident in the same compiling country has control.
Ultimate Controlling Institutional of a foreign affiliate (UCI) shall mean the institutional unit, proceeding up a foreign affiliate’s chain of control, which is not controlled by another institutional unit.
Control is the ability to determine the general policy of the affiliate by choosing appropriate directors, if necessary. In this context, enterprise A is deemed to be controlled by an institutional unit B when B controls, whether directly or indirectly, more than half of the shareholders' voting power or more than half of the shares.
Indirect control means that an institutional unit may have control through another affiliate which has control over enterprise A.
Active enterprise is a statistical units which at any time during the reference period was ‘enterprise’, as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, and also active during the same reference period. A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period if, in said period, it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or performed investments.
Employees and self-employed persons are persons who work for an observation unit on the basis of a contract of employment and receives compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind; and persons who are the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers, whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit, are also included.
Employee benefits expense contains all expenses arising in relation with employee benefits, recognized by the statistical unit during the reference period. Those are are all forms of consideration given by the statistical unit in exchange for service rendered by employees or for the termination of employment.
Research and experimental development (R & D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge. Expenditures on intramural R & D represent the amount of money spent on R & D that is performed within a reporting unit. Intramural R & D expenditures are all current expenditures plus gross fixed capital expenditures for R & D performed within a statistical unit during a specific reference period whatever the source of funds. R & D current expenditures include labour costs for internal R & D personnel and other current costs (costs for external R & D personnel, purchase of services.). Gross fixed capital expenditures for R & D include: acquisition of land, acquisition of buildings, acquisition of information and communication equipment, acquisition of transport equipment, acquisition of other machinery and equipment, acquisition of capitalised computer software, acquisition of other intellectual property products.
R & D personnel in a statistical unit include all persons engaged directly in R & D, whether employed by the statistical unit or external contributors fully integrated into the statistical unit’s R & D activities, as well as those providing direct services for the R & D activities (such as R & D managers, administrators, technicians and clerical staff).
Total purchases of goods and services contains all amount of goods and services purchased by the statistical unit, recognized in accounting as either current assets or expenses during the reference period.
Purchases of goods and services for resale in are purchases of goods for resale to third parties without further processing. It also includes purchases of services by ‘invoicing’ service companies, i.e. those whose turnover is composed not only of agency fees charged on a service transaction (as in the case of estate agents) but also the actual amount involved in the service transaction, e.g. transport purchases by travel agents.
Net turnover consists of all income arising during the reference period in the course of ordinary activities of the statistical unit, and is presented net of all price reductions, discounts and rebates granted by it.
Value of output represents the value of the total output of the statistical unit, generated during the reference period.
Value added is a composite indicator of net operating income, adjusted for depreciation, amortization and employee benefits, all components being recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period.
Gross investment in tangible non-current assets includes all additions to tangible non-current assets, recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period, except any increases from revaluations or reversals of previously recognized impairment losses and from reclassifications (transfers) of other tangible non-current assets.
Coverage of Special Purpose Entities (SPE): Information on SPE units are derived from EGR database and are important from UCI prespective.
Description of the treatment of equally shared control:
the recommended procedure from the manual (i.e. the residency of partners criterion) is used:
If one investor is resident in the same country as the affiliate under consideration, the joint venture can be considered as under domestic control (and irrelevant for IFATS).
If a joint venture is controlled only by foreign partners and one of them is from an EU or EFTA country, the European controlling unit (or EFTA) is chosen.
If both partners are EU/ EFTA units, then this has to be manually checked and decided based on some additional sources (data from the commercial database, annual reports etc.).
Description of the treatment of multiple minority ownership:
multiple minority control are special cases where an enterprise is owned by three or more foreign investors resident in at least two different foreign countries and none of the enterprises has a 50% share of ownership or more. Although it is difficult to identify effective minority control, FATS data would be underestimated if such cases were neglected and affiliates controlled by several foreign minority shareholders were considered domestically controlled. It is therefore important to determine the existence of minority control and to verify the links between the owner enterprises. To do so additional data sources are used for this action. For the cases of multiple minority control (ownership), the sum of shareholdings of 10% and more is considered. The country of the UCI is identified by adding up the shares of all shareholders resident in each individual country and if the country ‘controls’ more than 50% of shares, that foreign country is the UCI. A shareholding structure of an enterprise can be asserted by legal persons and natural persons at the same time. To determine the correct country of UCI that has control over an enterprise, in these cases we sum up shareholdings from natural and legal persons to apply country of UCI. This cases are also manualy checked and some additional sources are also used (data from the commercial database, annual reports etc.).
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit of FATS is the enterprise as defined in line with the Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community.
The statistics refer to enterprises and branches under foreign control where the controlling unit itself is not controlled by another legal unit or natural person (Ultimate Controlling Institutional Unit, UCI concept.)
The unit described by the published data is an active enterprise or a branch on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, either under majority or multiple minority direct or indirect control of the foreign institutional units (enterprises or natural persons).
The unit is active if it had turnover or employees or investment and were therefore active during at least a part of the reference period. Inward foreign affiliate is an enterprise resident in Slovenia (the compiling country of the statistics) over which an institutional unit not resident in Slovenia (the compiling country of the statistics) has control. An enterprise may consist of several ownership-related legal units, as long as they operate on the market as one independent enterprise.
3.6. Statistical population
For all variables except for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96;
For variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to F.
To be able to compare with the whole business economy, the domestically-controlled enterprises are also included in the statistical population.
3.7. Reference area
Republic of Slovenia.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are collected annually for the reference period.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Number of enterprises and employment variables are recorded in absolute figures.
Monetary data of enterprises are recorded in thousands EUR.
Data refers to the calendar year, which in some cases corresponds to the fiscal year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
From reference year 2007 to 2020, data were collected according to the FATS Regulation (EC) No 716/2007 which provided a legal basis for the data collection.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Eurostat makes available all non-confidential data on its dissemination website.
National IFATS data are published once a year at the beginning of September. Release dates are announced in release calendar. The release calendar is accessible in Slovene and English language.
The schedule of release dates is available at the SURS web page approximately a year before the next release.
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice, SURS disseminates national IFATS statistics on SURS website respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably.
The schedule of release dates is available at the SURS website and is thus available to all users.
Annual for all variables except for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96;
Biennial (every odd-numbered year) for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to F.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
National IFATS data are published regularly, once a year for the reference year on the SURS website in both Slovenian and English.
IFATS 2023 were published on 1st of September 2025 as .
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Not applicable.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Newest IFATS data are available in the online database each year simultaneously with the news release.
Tables with the latest IFATS data are available in the SiStat Database.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not available.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Microdata access is restricted and granted only for research purposes under strict confidentiality agreements, in line with national data protection legislation and EU regulations. All published data respect confidentiality provisions, ensuring that no individual enterprise can be identified, in accordance with disclosure control rules.
The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) enables researchers to access data for the purpose of research, i.e. to all data collected with statistical surveys planned in the current annual programme of statistical surveys (LPSR). SURS also enables researchers to access data that researchers transmit to SURS with the purpose of linking them in a secure environment.
For obtaining data access, researchers fill in the Form for obtaining microdata; they enter information on the statistical analysis or research, on the desired data, and on researchers that will access the data. Requests are handled by Committee for Researchers. For researcher's access to data in the secure room or via remote access, SURS prepares individual microdata databases by removing identifiers. Via Big file exchange system (SOVD), researchers receive only statistically protected microdata that are the result of some statistical surveys conducted on a small sample. SURS enables researchers to access statistically unprotected aggregated data.
Individual data collected by national statistics for statistical processing are strictly confidential and can be used exclusively for statistical purposes, irrespective of whether they refer to natural or legal persons. Therefore, they have to be handled very carefully and responsibly, and any enabling of access to such data to researchers must be in line with National Statistics Act.
There are no pricing policies affecting access to published data — all aggregated statistics are freely available. IFATS data are considered accessible, clear, and transparent, supported by metadata and methodological documentation that facilitate correct interpretation and use.
The dissemination of IFATS data series to Eurostat was executed within the established deadline and in the required format, in compliance with the FATS methodology and EBS Regulation (EU 2019/2152).
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not available.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Methodological information on Foreign Affiliates Statistics (IFATS) is comprehensively described in the Methodological Explanation – Foreign Affiliates published by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), available in both Slovenian and English.
The methodological explanation provides a detailed description of:
the purpose, legal basis, and scope of IFATS statistics,
the statistical unit and definitions of variables (employment, turnover, value added, etc.),
data sources, including administrative data, Structural Business Statistics (SBS), and the Statistical Business Register (SBR),
data processing, validation procedures, confidentiality protection, and revision policy,
quality indicators and potential breaks in time series (e.g. due to changes in NACE classification, statistical unit, or the Regulation EBS).
The statistical metadata are available online on the SURS website, in both Slovenian and English. They are published in HTML and PDF format as part of the Methodological Explanations section.
10.6.3. Web links if metadata are published electronically
Quality management and assessment for the Foreign Affiliates Statistics (IFATS) are carried out in accordance with the general quality management framework of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), which follows the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP).
The quality assurance process includes regular checks of data accuracy, consistency, timeliness, comparability, and coherence with related statistical domains, particularly Structural Business Statistics (SBS).
The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia operates on the basis of the National Statistics Act and Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 on European statistics; in performing its tasks it follows the general principles of quality management, the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. In line with the stated, SURS declares that it takes into account the following principles: professional independence, process orientation, quality of products and services, planning of improvements, stimulating working environment for employees, data providers-friendly official statistics, user-oriented official statistics. The principles are more in detail presented in the Quality Statement of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.
SURS publishes relevant documents under the Quality and Methodological Explanations sections on its website, and quality management practices are regularly reviewed and updated to maintain high standards across all statistical domains.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The quality of statistical data used to be dealt with mostly in connection with data accuracy in the narrow sense (as coherence between statistical data and exact values). In the last decade the statistical profession has made great progress towards broader understanding of the quality of statistical data. Quality is now dealt with in terms of different quality dimensions: relevance, accuracy of estimates, timeliness and punctuality of publication, accessibility and clarity of information, comparability of statistics and coherence of results.
SURS regularly publishes reports on the quality of statistical surveys, which contain detailed descriptions of individual statistical surveys regarding all quality dimensions. Quality reports also contain the values of quality indicators, i.e. numerical values of achieved quality levels for individual quality components.
The overall quality of IFATS data is assessed using the standard Eurostat quality criteria, including relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, coherence, comparability, and accessibility. The data are considered high-quality and reliable, supported by comprehensive quality assurance and validation procedures.
Quality assessment procedures include:
Internal validation checks during data collection and compilation to detect inconsistencies, missing values, and outliers.
Cross-validation with related domains, including Structural Business Statistics (SBS), the Statistical Business Register (SBR), and the European Group Register (EGR).
Metadata and validation Reports submitted to Eurostat, describing the quality indicators, validation results and other methodological explanations
Monitoring changes in methodology or coverage
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Users of IFATS are international organisations, ministries and state administration bodies, chambers of commerce, trade unions, journalists, researchers etc. User needs go beyond what data compilers can provide. Data are published in SiStat Database.
Users can get explanations by email and telephone.
Data to foreign users are transmitted by standard applications (for example eDAMIS for Eurostat).
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
SURS measured general user satisfaction in 2025. Respondents assessed general satisfaction with SURS’s products and services with the average score of 8.4, trust in the institution 8.8, and trust in the data 8.7. (on a scale from 1 – disagree completely to 10 – agree completely).
12.3. Completeness
The survey covers all the variables required by Eurostat regulations and guidelines.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Please see Table 12.3.1 in the Annex at the bottom.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The overall accuracy of the results can be assessed as good. The Inward FATS data are a subset of SBS data, which means that they are derived from the same underlying data sources. The data is obtained by combining administrative information and statistical questionnaires for the R&D variables.
13.1.1. Use of residual geographic codes (Extra EU-27 not allocated, etc.)
Please see Table 13.1 in the Annex at the bottom.
13.1.2. UCI Approach applied to identify the relevant population of reporting units
For the compilation of IFATS, UCI approach is established as required under the EBS regulation. In cases of natural person acting as UCI, residency country of natural person is taking into account. For these cases NSBR data are the main source of information.
The EGR data is used as the main data source as well for the production of IFATS, where available. Data from the EGR used as UCI are County codes of Global Group Head (GGH) of a MNE group. In case natural person is an UCI of MNE group, we use the UCI_RCC data information from the EGR. The agreed UCI for IFATS for the cases there are information on UCI in both authoritative sources, the one form the EGR final frame is used as the end one. The EGR is used as the end data source for UCI for the production of inward FATS in cases where available.
13.1.3. Update date (or frequency of updates) of the information regarding the country of the UCI by the “source administration”
EGR final frame data are available in T+15.
13.1.4. Description of other method used to improve the accuracy of the UCI
The EGR data on UCI are used as the main data source for the production of IFATS in cases where available. This is important to strengthen the EGR’s backbone role for IFATS and to increase the consistency between the EGR and IFATS. National Statistical Business Register (NSBR) base on first foreign majority owner approach for the MNE groups, therefore UCI information might lack accuaracy and EGR, whit additional information can improve accuracy of the UCI.
Information from Profiling activities are also taken into IFATS which can improve accuracy of the UCI.
13.2. Sampling error
The survey is not conducted on the basis of a sample. The data collection is based on a census and therefore sampling error is not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
The data collection is based on a census and therefore sampling error is not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Non-sampling errors are not applicable for IFATS. All IFATS data are derived from administrative sources, with no direct survey collection or thresholds applied, ensuring full coverage of the population of foreign-controlled enterprises.
13.3.1. Coverage error
The survey is not conducted on the basis of threshold sampling.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Target population base on full coverage as a subset of SBS data.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
The data collection is based on a census, base on full coverage as a subset of SBS data.
13.3.1.3. Misclassification errors
The data collection is based on the administrative data.
13.3.1.4. Under- and over-coverage problems
The data collection is based on the administrative data, full coverage and no tresholds.
13.3.2. Measurement error
All IFATS data are derived from administrative sources, with no direct survey collection or thresholds applied, ensuring full coverage of the population of foreign-controlled enterprises.
To ensure consistency and comparability, IFATS data are systematically reconciled with Structural Business Statistics (SBS) and R&D survey data, which helps detect and correct inconsistencies. Any inconsistencies identified during these procedures are corrected prior to dissemination, ensuring that the final published values are accurate, reliable, and fully coherent with related statistics.
13.3.3. Non response error
The data collection is based on the administrative data.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
See Table 13.3.3 in the Annex at the bottom.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
See Table 13.3.3 in the Annex at the bottom.
13.3.4. Processing error
No processing error was detected as a result of faulty implementation.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
The data are based on administrative sources and provide full coverage of the population. No errors attributable to domain-specific models required to define the target of estimation were observed.
14.1. Timeliness
IFATS statistics are calculated annually for the reference year T. The data collection occurs at T+16 months after the end of the reference period and after EGR becomes available at T+15 months. R&D data, which are collected biennially, are available as final and validated at T+18 months for both variables. The compilation of economic data on IFATS enterprises, sourced from the Structural Business Statistics (SBS), is carried out at T+18 months. Data transmission to Eurostat takes place at T+20 months, followed by data dissemination at the national level at T+21 months.
The time period between the end of the reference period and data collection is 16 months. The time period between the end of the reference period and the first release of the data at national level is 21 months.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
The first results at national level are published at T+21 months (approximately 639 days or 91 weeks) after the end of the reference period.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
The final results at national level are published at T+21 months (approximately 639 days or 91 weeks) after the end of the reference period.
14.2. Punctuality
The punctuality of IFATS data collection and dissemination has been fully respected. No delays have been recorded. All deadlines were met as planned, and data are available to users on time.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
The IFATS data were delivered to Eurostat on the scheduled target date.
All other dissemination activities, including the First Release on the SURS website and national publication, were also executed according to the planned schedule.
15.2.2. Reasons and differences in concepts and measurement methods for breaks in time series
NACE Rev. 2 classification was implemented starting from 2008.
Since reference year 2018, data from the European Group Register (EGR) have been systematically used as an additional source for identifying UCI. The inclusion of EGR data does not introduce breaks in the time series, as it complements existing administrative sources. However, minor breaks may occasionally occur in the identification of the controlling country, since in some cases the controlling country is difficult to determine and the EGR is still under development. Despite these minor issues, the overall time series remains consistent and comparable.
From the reference year 2020 onwards, the statistical unit enterprise (ENT) is used. Up to 2020, the data were presented by legal units (LEU).
From 2021 onwards data base on the EBS regulation Regulation (EU) No 2019/2152. From reference year 2021, the coverage of NACE activities has been extended, resulting in partial comparability with previous years. Under the new European legislation on business statistics, additional activities are now monitored, including education (P), health and social work (Q), arts, entertainment and recreation (R), and other service activities (S96). The entire section of financial and insurance services (K) is also fully observed. Data for these newly included activities are not available for earlier years; therefore, comparability over time is limited to the common set of activities observed before 2021. From 2021, the data for Serbia no longer includes Kosovo. Kosovo is monitored separately with the EBS regulation.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The IFATS data are largely coherent and reconcilable with other statistical domains, in particular with Structural Business Statistics (SBS) and R&D statistics, since the same administrative and statistical sources are used.
The Statistical Business Register (SBR) serves as the common reference frame for enterprise identification and classification according to NACE Rev. 2. Economic variables such as turnover, value added, and employment are derived directly from SBS, ensuring a high level of conceptual and definitional consistency.
R&D variables are obtained from the national R&D survey, which uses the same statistical unit (enterprise) and harmonised definitions of economic activity. Although R&D data are collected biennially, they are integrated coherently into the IFATS dataset without affecting comparability across domains.
Overall, IFATS statistics are highly consistent with related data sources, both conceptually and methodologically, and can be reliably compared with SBS and R&D domains.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
IFATS statistics are considered fully reconcilable with related datasets of different frequencies, ensuring coherence for analysis and reporting.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not available.
15.3.3. Coherence – National Statistical Business Register (NSBR)
There is no inconsistency between Inward FATS and NSBR.
15.3.4. Coherence – Structural Business Statistics (SBS)
There is no inconsistency between Inward FATS and SBS.
15.3.5. Coherence – R & D
There is no inconsistency between Inward FATS and R & D statistics.
15.3.6. Coherence – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Not available.
15.3.7. Coherence – EuroGroups Register (EGR)
Restricted from publication
15.4. Coherence - internal
All IFATS outputs are internally consistent, as they are derived from the same administrative sources and harmonized with related datasets such as SBS, R&D surveys, and the European Group Register (EGR).
Data validation procedures, automated consistency checks, and cross-references ensure that all variables and aggregates are coherent within the dataset. No inconsistencies have been identified in the published outputs.
In the rare case where minor discrepancies might appear, due to rounding.
Not available.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There is no special revision policy for IFATS, but in case of need, we are obliged to act in accordance with the General revision policy of the SURS.
The revision policy is described in the methodological note on revision, which could be accessed on the SURS web page in Slovene language.
17.2. Data revision - practice
See Table 17.2. in the Annex below.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
No revisions of IFATS key variables occurred over the observed period.
18.1. Source data
The main source for identification of the enterprises under foreign control is National Enterprise Group Register which is in turn based on the following sources: the Central Register of Dematerialized Securities, which is kept by the Central Securities Clearing Corporation (KDD), the Central Court Register, which is kept by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia (SRG), the data on capital investments, which are collected by the Bank of Slovenia (BS), and the Statistical Business Register, which is kept by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. Obtained results on the IFATS identification are then linked to SBS micro database.
From the reference year 2018 on, we astablised collaboration between the national business registers (NSBR), EGR and Inward FATS. National business processes on Inward FATS surveys are now more integrated with the EGR and the EGR is used as one of the main data sources (backbone) for the production of Inward FATS. With establishment (identification and agreement) of single UCI for both processes, we made the EGR and FATS output more consistent, since for all cases where inconsistencies were identified between the UCIs in BR/EGR and FATS, the agreed UCIs from the EGR is used.
For IFATS statistics in Slovenia, no cut-off thresholds are applied. All foreign-controlled enterprises included in the Statistical Business Register (SBR) and European Group Register (EGR) are covered, ensuring full coverage of the population. There is no need for grossing-up procedures, and the data reflect the entire population of relevant enterprises.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data is collected annually.
18.3. Data collection
IFATS data in Slovenia are collected entirely from administrative sources; no direct surveys or sampling are conducted.
The main steps of data collection are:
Extraction of enterprise data from the Statistical Business Register (SBR) to define the population of all domestic enterprises under foreign control (source usage: 100%)
Identification of UCI using the European Group Register (EGR) (source usage: approx 40%)
Compilation of economic variables from Structural Business Statistics (SBS), including turnover, value added, and employment (source usage: 100%)
Collection of R&D variables from the national R&D survey, which provides final and validated data every two years (source usage: 100%)
18.4. Data validation
The IFATS data undergo a comprehensive validation process to ensure accuracy, consistency, and coherence before dissemination and transmission to Eurostat.
For data transmission to Eurostat, SURS applies the official SDMX data exchange format, ensuring full structural and metadata compliance. Transmission is executed via EDAMIS, following the standard validation workflow:
Pre-validation phase – data files are uploaded to the EDAMIS InputHall, where structural validation (STRUVAL) and content validation (CONVAL) are automatically performed. STRUVAL checks file integrity, mandatory fields, coding accuracy, and compliance with the Data Structure Definition (DSD). CONVAL applies logical and consistency rules within and across datasets (e.g., internal totals, year-to-year comparisons, and coherence with SBS).
Validation results are automatically reported (HTML/CSV). All detected errors must be corrected; warnings must be reviewed, justified and explained in the validation report.
Only datasets that successfully pass pre-validation (no remaining errors) are officially transmitted to Eurostat together with the validation report
These validation and monitoring procedures ensure that Slovenian IFATS data are fully compliant, internally coherent, and meet the high quality standards required under the EBS framework.
18.5. Data compilation
IFATS data are compiled from administrative sources (SBR, SBS, R&D survey, and EGR) following a structured set of rules to produce the final statistical outputs.
Compilation procedures include:
Identification selection of relevant enterprises from the Statistical Business Register (SBR).
Identification of controlling countries using EGR data for foreign-controlled enterprises. Additional data on Ultimate Controlling Institution (UCI) are also taken from the EGR final frame.
Integration of economic variables (turnover, value added, employment) from SBS and R&D surveys, harmonizing definitions and classifications.
Primary and Secondary Confidentiality is applied and also aligned with SBS and R&D data.
Data reconciliation and validation, including cross-checks between sources, consistency checks across variables, and year-to-year coherence.
Aggregation and derivation of key indicators.
Tools used:
Standard statistical software for data extraction, linking, and processing (e.g., SAS).
Primary and Secondary Confidentiality is applied using SAS and TauArgus
Automated validation tools STRUVAL and CONVAL (via EDAMIS) for structural and content consistency before dissemination to Eurostat.
These procedures ensure that the final IFATS dataset is accurate, internally consistent, harmonized with related statistical domains, and confidentially protected.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
For IFATS, no data are imputed, so the rate of imputed data is zero.
18.5.2. Use of a method to deal with non-response (both unit and item non-response)
No method for non-response is applied, as all IFATS data are sourced entirely from administrative sources.
18.5.3. Share of estimated values
For IFATS, no estimated or imputed values are used, as all data are sourced entirely from administrative sources.
18.6. Adjustment
Not available, as no adjustments are applied to IFATS data; all statistics are compiled directly from administrative sources without modification.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable, as IFATS data are not seasonally adjusted.
Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS) measure the commercial presence through affiliates in foreign markets.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics (IFATS) shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates resident in the compiling country.
In country-level business statistics foreign-controlled enterprise shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which an ultimate controlling institutional unit not resident in the compiling country has control.(Table 14 of the EBS Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197).
Variables on the country-level business activities in the IFATS data category:
Business activities in foreign control:
210301. Number of foreign-controlled enterprises
220501. Number of employees and self-employed persons in foreign-controlled enterprises
220701. Employee benefits expense in foreign-controlled enterprises
230301. Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises
230401. R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises
240301. Total purchases of goods and services of foreign-controlled enterprises
240302. Purchases of goods and services for resale of foreign-controlled enterprises
250601. Net turnover of foreign-controlled enterprises
250701. Value of output of foreign-controlled enterprises
260201. Foreign-controlled enterprises’ gross investment in tangible non-current assets
250801. Value added of foreign-controlled enterprises
Business activities in total economy:
210101. Number of active enterprises
220101. Number of employees and self-employed persons
220301. Employee benefits expense
230101. Intramural R & D expenditure
230201. R & D personnel
240101. Total purchases of goods and services
240102. Purchases of goods and services for resale
250101. Net turnover
250301. Value of output
250401. Value added
260101. Gross investment in tangible non-current assets
Data are expressed in thousants of EUR or in units.
The inward FATS data are disseminated with annual frequency, with a detail by controlling country of location (partner country) and economic activity of the foreign affiliate. Research and Development variables (R&D) are disseminated every second year. In Annex III.A.1 (Regulation 2020/1197) it is stated that it is not necessary to compile FATS variables subject to the 1% rule if the contribution of the Member State for a related indicators is less than 1% of the EU total. The 1% rule for the Table 14 may be applied according to the defined Simplifications in the Annex III.A.1 of the COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics of 27 November 2019. Slovenia applyed the 1% rule for the following variables stated in the Table 14 Country-level business statistics on enterprises by country of ultimate control:
230101 Intramural R & D expenditure,
230201 R & D personnel,
230301 Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises and
230401 R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises
According to ex-ante assessment for FATS, the condition has been fulfilled partially in the three years prior to the reference year. Therefore, it is necessary for Slovenia to transmit the full set of variables under Regulation 2020/1197 for the topic Inward FATS under aforementioned activity breakdowns of NACE.
31 October 2025
Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS) measure the commercial presence through affiliates in foreign markets.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics (IFATS) shall mean statistics describing the activity of foreign affiliates resident in the compiling country.
In country-level business statistics foreign-controlled enterprise shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which an ultimate controlling institutional unit not resident in the compiling country has control.(Table 14 of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197).
Foreign affiliate in the framework of outward FATS is an enterprise or branch not resident in the compiling country over which an institutional unit resident in the compiling country has ultimate (direct or indirect) control.
Domestic affiliate shall mean an enterprise resident in the compiling country over which a UCI resident in the same compiling country has control.
Ultimate Controlling Institutional of a foreign affiliate (UCI) shall mean the institutional unit, proceeding up a foreign affiliate’s chain of control, which is not controlled by another institutional unit.
Control is the ability to determine the general policy of the affiliate by choosing appropriate directors, if necessary. In this context, enterprise A is deemed to be controlled by an institutional unit B when B controls, whether directly or indirectly, more than half of the shareholders' voting power or more than half of the shares.
Indirect control means that an institutional unit may have control through another affiliate which has control over enterprise A.
Active enterprise is a statistical units which at any time during the reference period was ‘enterprise’, as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, and also active during the same reference period. A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period if, in said period, it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or performed investments.
Employees and self-employed persons are persons who work for an observation unit on the basis of a contract of employment and receives compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind; and persons who are the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers, whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit, are also included.
Employee benefits expense contains all expenses arising in relation with employee benefits, recognized by the statistical unit during the reference period. Those are are all forms of consideration given by the statistical unit in exchange for service rendered by employees or for the termination of employment.
Research and experimental development (R & D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge. Expenditures on intramural R & D represent the amount of money spent on R & D that is performed within a reporting unit. Intramural R & D expenditures are all current expenditures plus gross fixed capital expenditures for R & D performed within a statistical unit during a specific reference period whatever the source of funds. R & D current expenditures include labour costs for internal R & D personnel and other current costs (costs for external R & D personnel, purchase of services.). Gross fixed capital expenditures for R & D include: acquisition of land, acquisition of buildings, acquisition of information and communication equipment, acquisition of transport equipment, acquisition of other machinery and equipment, acquisition of capitalised computer software, acquisition of other intellectual property products.
R & D personnel in a statistical unit include all persons engaged directly in R & D, whether employed by the statistical unit or external contributors fully integrated into the statistical unit’s R & D activities, as well as those providing direct services for the R & D activities (such as R & D managers, administrators, technicians and clerical staff).
Total purchases of goods and services contains all amount of goods and services purchased by the statistical unit, recognized in accounting as either current assets or expenses during the reference period.
Purchases of goods and services for resale in are purchases of goods for resale to third parties without further processing. It also includes purchases of services by ‘invoicing’ service companies, i.e. those whose turnover is composed not only of agency fees charged on a service transaction (as in the case of estate agents) but also the actual amount involved in the service transaction, e.g. transport purchases by travel agents.
Net turnover consists of all income arising during the reference period in the course of ordinary activities of the statistical unit, and is presented net of all price reductions, discounts and rebates granted by it.
Value of output represents the value of the total output of the statistical unit, generated during the reference period.
Value added is a composite indicator of net operating income, adjusted for depreciation, amortization and employee benefits, all components being recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period.
Gross investment in tangible non-current assets includes all additions to tangible non-current assets, recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period, except any increases from revaluations or reversals of previously recognized impairment losses and from reclassifications (transfers) of other tangible non-current assets.
Coverage of Special Purpose Entities (SPE): Information on SPE units are derived from EGR database and are important from UCI prespective.
Description of the treatment of equally shared control:
the recommended procedure from the manual (i.e. the residency of partners criterion) is used:
If one investor is resident in the same country as the affiliate under consideration, the joint venture can be considered as under domestic control (and irrelevant for IFATS).
If a joint venture is controlled only by foreign partners and one of them is from an EU or EFTA country, the European controlling unit (or EFTA) is chosen.
If both partners are EU/ EFTA units, then this has to be manually checked and decided based on some additional sources (data from the commercial database, annual reports etc.).
Description of the treatment of multiple minority ownership:
multiple minority control are special cases where an enterprise is owned by three or more foreign investors resident in at least two different foreign countries and none of the enterprises has a 50% share of ownership or more. Although it is difficult to identify effective minority control, FATS data would be underestimated if such cases were neglected and affiliates controlled by several foreign minority shareholders were considered domestically controlled. It is therefore important to determine the existence of minority control and to verify the links between the owner enterprises. To do so additional data sources are used for this action. For the cases of multiple minority control (ownership), the sum of shareholdings of 10% and more is considered. The country of the UCI is identified by adding up the shares of all shareholders resident in each individual country and if the country ‘controls’ more than 50% of shares, that foreign country is the UCI. A shareholding structure of an enterprise can be asserted by legal persons and natural persons at the same time. To determine the correct country of UCI that has control over an enterprise, in these cases we sum up shareholdings from natural and legal persons to apply country of UCI. This cases are also manualy checked and some additional sources are also used (data from the commercial database, annual reports etc.).
The statistical unit of FATS is the enterprise as defined in line with the Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community.
The statistics refer to enterprises and branches under foreign control where the controlling unit itself is not controlled by another legal unit or natural person (Ultimate Controlling Institutional Unit, UCI concept.)
The unit described by the published data is an active enterprise or a branch on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, either under majority or multiple minority direct or indirect control of the foreign institutional units (enterprises or natural persons).
The unit is active if it had turnover or employees or investment and were therefore active during at least a part of the reference period. Inward foreign affiliate is an enterprise resident in Slovenia (the compiling country of the statistics) over which an institutional unit not resident in Slovenia (the compiling country of the statistics) has control. An enterprise may consist of several ownership-related legal units, as long as they operate on the market as one independent enterprise.
For all variables except for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96;
For variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to F.
To be able to compare with the whole business economy, the domestically-controlled enterprises are also included in the statistical population.
Republic of Slovenia.
Data refers to the calendar year, which in some cases corresponds to the fiscal year.
The overall accuracy of the results can be assessed as good. The Inward FATS data are a subset of SBS data, which means that they are derived from the same underlying data sources. The data is obtained by combining administrative information and statistical questionnaires for the R&D variables.
Number of enterprises and employment variables are recorded in absolute figures.
Monetary data of enterprises are recorded in thousands EUR.
IFATS data are compiled from administrative sources (SBR, SBS, R&D survey, and EGR) following a structured set of rules to produce the final statistical outputs.
Compilation procedures include:
Identification selection of relevant enterprises from the Statistical Business Register (SBR).
Identification of controlling countries using EGR data for foreign-controlled enterprises. Additional data on Ultimate Controlling Institution (UCI) are also taken from the EGR final frame.
Integration of economic variables (turnover, value added, employment) from SBS and R&D surveys, harmonizing definitions and classifications.
Primary and Secondary Confidentiality is applied and also aligned with SBS and R&D data.
Data reconciliation and validation, including cross-checks between sources, consistency checks across variables, and year-to-year coherence.
Aggregation and derivation of key indicators.
Tools used:
Standard statistical software for data extraction, linking, and processing (e.g., SAS).
Primary and Secondary Confidentiality is applied using SAS and TauArgus
Automated validation tools STRUVAL and CONVAL (via EDAMIS) for structural and content consistency before dissemination to Eurostat.
These procedures ensure that the final IFATS dataset is accurate, internally consistent, harmonized with related statistical domains, and confidentially protected.
The main source for identification of the enterprises under foreign control is National Enterprise Group Register which is in turn based on the following sources: the Central Register of Dematerialized Securities, which is kept by the Central Securities Clearing Corporation (KDD), the Central Court Register, which is kept by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia (SRG), the data on capital investments, which are collected by the Bank of Slovenia (BS), and the Statistical Business Register, which is kept by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. Obtained results on the IFATS identification are then linked to SBS micro database.
From the reference year 2018 on, we astablised collaboration between the national business registers (NSBR), EGR and Inward FATS. National business processes on Inward FATS surveys are now more integrated with the EGR and the EGR is used as one of the main data sources (backbone) for the production of Inward FATS. With establishment (identification and agreement) of single UCI for both processes, we made the EGR and FATS output more consistent, since for all cases where inconsistencies were identified between the UCIs in BR/EGR and FATS, the agreed UCIs from the EGR is used.
Annual for all variables except for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96;
Biennial (every odd-numbered year) for variables 230101 (Intramural R & D expenditure), 230301 (Intramural R & D expenditure in foreign-controlled enterprises), 230201 (R & D personnel) and 230401 (R & D personnel in foreign-controlled enterprises): Market producers of NACE Sections B to F.
IFATS statistics are calculated annually for the reference year T. The data collection occurs at T+16 months after the end of the reference period and after EGR becomes available at T+15 months. R&D data, which are collected biennially, are available as final and validated at T+18 months for both variables. The compilation of economic data on IFATS enterprises, sourced from the Structural Business Statistics (SBS), is carried out at T+18 months. Data transmission to Eurostat takes place at T+20 months, followed by data dissemination at the national level at T+21 months.
The time period between the end of the reference period and data collection is 16 months. The time period between the end of the reference period and the first release of the data at national level is 21 months.
