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.
[FR1] National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) (France)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Département des comptes nationaux (DCN)
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Insee - Timbre G 401 - 88 avenue Verdier - CS 70058 - 92541 Montrouge cedex
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
30 October 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 October 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 October 2025
3.1. Data description
National accounts data concern all data produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). Data are compiled, disseminated and transmitted to Eurostat according with breakdowns and deadlines defined in the amended ESA 2010 transmission programme.
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may also include breakdowns of the total economy (into sectors, industries, products, regions, etc.). National accounts provide data for several domains : annual and quarterly national accounts (main aggregates), sector accounts, financial accounts, supply, use and input-output tables, regional accounts, government finance statistics and pension entitlements statistics.
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the change rate of the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), which indicates the economic development of a country of region and is also referred to as economic growth rate.
In Eurobase, countries' data are presented following the usual data structure.
At national level, data are commonly available for :
annual and quarterly national accounts : 'main aggregates'
annual and quarterly sector accounts
annual financial accounts and balance sheets
annual non-financial balance sheets
supply, use and input-output tables
annual and quarterly government finance statistics data: 'main aggregates', quarterly financial government accounts and government debt
regional breakdowns of main national accounts variables and household accounts
industry breakdowns of main national accounts variables
industry by asset breakdowns (stocks and transactions)
detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function
The ESA 2010 provides a methodology on common standards, definitions, internationally harmonised classifications and accounting rules that are used for compiling national accounts on comparable bases.
The ESA 2010 defines classifications to be used for : institutional sectors, transactions in products, transactions in non-financial non-produced assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, balancing and net worth items, balance sheet entries, non-financial assets, financial assets and liabilities.
In addition, for several breakdowns ESA 2010 makes use of other classifications: NACE for economic activities, CPA for products by economic activities, COFOG for the functions of government, COICOP for individual consumption by purpose, NUTS for regional breakdowns.
A full overview of classifications is available in :
National accounts describe the total economy of a country. All units that have their centre of predominant economic interest in the economic territory of that country are covered.
In addition, several breakdowns of the total are described. Two of the most important breakdowns are the breakdown by institutional sector and the breakdown by NACE Rev. 2 activity. Exhaustiveness is required for each of the breakdown items.
Concerning the institutional sector breakdown, ESA 2010 distinguishes five mutually exclusive domestic institutional sectors : (a) non-financial corporations ; (b) financial corporations ; (c) general government ; (d) households ; (e) non-profit institutions serving households. The five sectors together make up the total domestic economy. Each sector is also divided into subsectors.
Regarding the activity breakdown, ESA 2010 applies NACE Rev.2. Activities can be broken down into several levels of detail, for example into 3, 10, 21, 38, 64 or 88 activities. At the 'highest' level a breakdown into 3 categories is defined : (a) agriculture, forestry and fishing ; (b) mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity gas steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, construction ; (c) services.
More precisely, in France, production accounts by homogenous branch of activity are elaborated at the A*129 NACE rev.2 level. The only deviation to standard aggregate levels of NACE rev.2 is that French national accountants choose to distinguish market and non-market branches within A*129 levels given different principles of valuation of output for market and non-market activities. This is relevant only for ten A*129 branches (the ones where there is a significant non-market activity). Hence, in practice, production accounts are elaborated for 140 branches (A*140 level in national classification). In the specific case of households’ consumption the compilation level is far more detailed (between groups and classes of NACE rev.2).
Annual production accounts are typically published at the A*88 and A*38 levels that are defined at the international level. Quarterly accounts are published at a less disaggregated level since they rely on less detailed data sources. However they do not use the internationally-defined A*21 level, but a national aggregate level in 17 branches (A*17) that seem more appropriate for economic analysis given the structure of the French economy
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation. The two main sets of tables concern : (a) the institutional sector accounts ; (b) the input-output framework, and the accounts by industry.
The sector accounts provide, by institutional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process : production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and financial and nonfinancial accumulation. The sector accounts also include balance sheets to describe the stocks of assets, liabilities and net worth at the beginning and the end of the accounting period. The variables/concepts described in the sector accounts include transactions in products, transactions in non-produced non-financial assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, non-financial and financial assets and liabilities.
The input-output framework, through the supply and use tables, sets out in more detail the production process (cost structure and income generated) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product group). In those tables, these variables are broken down by industry (NACE Rev. 2) and product (CPA 2.1).
ESA 2010 also encompasses concepts of population and employment. Such concepts are relevant for the sector accounts and the detailed breakdown of main GDP aggregates by industry.
Regional accounts provide regional breakdowns for major aggregates such as gross value added by industry, gross fixed capital formation and household income. Regional breakdowns are based on the NUTS classification. National accounts concepts are also used for regional accounts.
In addition Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation addresses and defines numerous other concepts and definitions, such as the definition of : statistical units and their groupings, flows and stocks, accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation and netting). The main features and principles for the compilation of national accounts can be found in Chapter 1.
The French product nomenclature (CPF Rev. 2.1) is an adaptation of the statistical classification of products associated with activities in the European Union (CPA). The structure and titles of CPF rev. 2.1 and the CPA are identical.
Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, in national accounts two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used : (a) institutional unit ; (b) local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the class level (four digits) of the NACE Rev. 2.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs ; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
3.6. Statistical population
The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see section 3.5). A unit is a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.
National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.
3.7. Reference area
France
3.8. Coverage - Time
National accounts data are usually compiled for years and quarters.
In general, the ESA 2010 transmission programme requires data starting in 1995 (years) and 1995Q1 (quarters) but some series start later. If backwards data exist, they may have been compiled according to earlier versions of ESA and can present conceptual breaks with those compiled under ESA2010.
Annual national accounts data starting :
Table 1 (GDP from production, expenditure and income approaches), Table 1 (employment) : 1949 ;
Table 1 (population) : 1990 ;
Table 1 (final consumption expenditure of households by durability), Table 5 : 1959 ;
Table 1 (exports and imports) : rest of the world = 1949 ; B0, U2, U3, D0 =1990 ;
Table 2 and 3 : 1978
Table 8 (Annual) : 1949 (most of the data )
Table 9, NTL, 1100 : 1995
2000, 2200, 2600, 1978
2900 : 2015
3.9. Base period
The concept of 'base period' is not applied in national accounts. Instead, for some national accounts variables the concepts of previous year prices and chain-linked volumes are applied, as stipulated in Regulation (EU) 2023/734. Expressing variables at the prices of the previous year allows the calculation of volume indices between the current time period and the previous year. After a reference period is chosen as a benchmark, volume indices can be chain-linked and then applied to variables at current prices of the benchmark year. This generates volume estimates for any period of observation.
Since the 2024 campaign (may 2024), the reference year is 2020
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours or jobs, the ESA 2010 system in France shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in euros or other national currency. Flows and stocks shall be measured according to their exchange value, i.e. the value at which flows and stocks are in fact, or could be, exchanged for cash. Market prices are, thus, the ESA's reference for valuation.
In addition to measurement in current (market) prices, some national accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and chain-linked volumes, see section 3.9. Furthermore, it is possible to derive growth rates and indices, and various other measures (e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards) can be applied as well.
The usual reference period to be used for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded : flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
National accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).
a methodology (Annex A) on common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be used for compiling accounts and tables on comparable bases ;
a programme of data transmission (Annex B) setting out the time limits by which Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the accounts and tables.
Temporary derogations to the data transmission requirements have been granted to Member States, up to 2027, by the Commission Implementing Decision 2024/1251/EU of 25 April 2024 thus allowing national data to deviate temporarily from the ESA 2010 transmission requirements.
Some other legal acts with relevance for national accounts concern :
Legal act on the excessive deficit procedure
Several separate acts, often regarding classifications such as : NACE Rev.2, CPA 2014, COFOG, COICOP 2018, NUTS 2013 - see section 3.1
On the Eurostat website, sections 'National accounts' and 'Government finance and EDP', more legal acts relevant for national accounts can be found.
The ESA 2010 Regulation stipulates that the quality of national and regional accounts data sent to Eurostat are to be assessed according to the quality criteria set out by the Regulation on European statistics (Regulation (EC) No 223/2009). The modalities, structure and assessment indicators of the quality assessment process are set out in a Commission implementing act (Regulation (EU) 2016/2304).
Reference to main country specific legal acts and other legal agreements.
Legislative framework for INSEE and official statistics
National accounts data are key datasets used and published by many international organisations to improve data consistency and exploit synergies for data collection and validation. An initiative to improve data sharing for National Accounts was launched in 2016 by the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (comprising representatives of the Bank for International Settlements, the European Central Bank, Eurostat, the IMF, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, and the World Bank) under the G20 Data Gap Initiative.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 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. The European Statistics Code of Practice provides further conditions that have to be respected by statistical offices in regard to statistical confidentiality (Principle 5).
INSEE and official statistics :
Statistical confidentiality is defined in Act no. 51-711 of 7 June 1951 (amended) on legal obligation, coordination and confidentiality in the field of statistics. It prohibits communication of any data relating to private and family life, and more generally, to any act or behaviour of a private nature collected during a statistical survey. This prohibition lasts for a period of seventy-five years unless special dispensation is given, after an opinion from the Statistical confidentiality committee, and the purpose is for official statistics or for scientific or historic research.
Economic or financial information may not be communicated to anyone for twenty-five years, unless special dispensation is given, after an opinion from the statistical confidentiality committee, and the purpose must not be to use this information for tax inspection or punitive measures.
Act no. 78-17 of 6 January 1978 (amended), relating to information technology, files and civil freedoms, was intended to ensure that the processing of data of a personal nature does not infringe on a person's privacy or the exercise of their individual freedoms.
Like all civil servants and government employees, statisticians in official statistical systems are subject to legislation and regulations on professional confidentiality and the obligation of discretion, which apply to the cases and information to which they have access in the course of their work.
Rules relating to statistical information
For private individuals , it is prohibited to publish data which would enable the indirect identification of respondents and their replies, a concept known as "impossibility of identification". These rules limit the level of detail allowed in information for dissemination. Very strict rules are set specifically for censuses. In the case of household surveys, identification via results is usually impossible, and no specific rules need to be drawn up.
For businesses , no results are published that concern fewer than three enterprises, nor any data where a single enterprise represents 85% or more of the total value obtained. However, the dissemination of lists extracted from the register of enterprises and establishments may mention economic activity, number of employees category and turnover size bracket.
Obligation to declare the processing of data of a personal nature
All processing of data of a personal nature must be accompanied by a declaration, a request for an opinion or an authorisation from the CNIL, depending on the type of information being processed. A simplified declaration, but nevertheless with full justification, is possible for a statistical project that has received a favourable opinion from the CNIS (National Council of Statistical Information).
Restrictions on processing and controlling nominative information
The CNIL also checks that the legal obligations of those responsible for files are respected. Except under strictly defined circumstances, it is prohibited to process data of a personal nature which reveal the racial origins, opinions (political, philosophical or religious), trade union affiliations or health of the people concerned.
In a statistical sense, ‘confidential data’ means data which allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, thereby disclosing individual information. To determine whether a statistical unit is identifiable, account shall be taken of all relevant means that might reasonably be used by a third party to identify the statistical unit. Although national accounts data are usually highly aggregated, there may be possible cases for detailed breakdowns of aggregates and/or small economies. In these cases measures should be taken in order not to disclose data of a separate statistical unit. Guidance on how to prevent disclosure can be found in the Handbook on Statistical Disclosure Control.
Good practice requires that new national accounts data and associated news releases are announced in a release calendar that is published well in advance of the respective releases.
INSEE currently formally produces five GDP evaluations for year n :
at the end of January of n+1, with the “First Estimates” for Q4 of year n (sum of the four quarters of year n) ;
at the end of February of n+1, with the “Detailed Figures” for Q4 of year n ;
at the end of May of n+1, in the form of the provisional annual account; this account and the revised accounts for the two preceding years are incorporated into the quarterly accounts system for the “Second Estimates” for Q1 of year n+1 ;
at the end of May n+2, in the form of the semi-definitive annual account ;
at the end of May n+3, in the form of the definitive annual account.
In practice, the first three estimates are based only on work done on the quarterly accounts, before the annual accounts are compiled. As a result, these estimates are all very similar. It is therefore more accurate to consider that the double system of accounts in fact means that INSEE produces four successive assessments for year n.
8.2. Release calendar access
Release calendars should be easily available and accessible for users, e.g. by publication on the website of an NSI.
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice (Principle 6 on impartiality and objectivity, Principle 13 on timeliness and punctuality and Principle 15 on accessibility and clarity), national accounts data that meet the quality standards, including relevant metadata, should be made available to users. Users should be informed when the data become available and how they can be accessed.
The most important results of national accounts are issued in news releases. New key national accounts data may also be presented in press conferences or press briefings. The exact dates are pre-announced in release calendars (see section 8.1 above).
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
In addition to news releases, national accounts data may be disseminated in other publications, such as statistical papers, yearbooks, internal and external articles. Usually this concerns publications in which more in-depth analysis is carried out.
National accounts data main aggregates are disseminated and analysed in several publications
Each year, INSEE publishes the main results of the annual accounts in a four pages publication (Insee première) published in the form of short texts, illustrated with graphs and tables). The main results of the government sector accounts are also presented in a four pages publication.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
In order to enable easy access to national accounts data, all validated national accounts data should be made available to users by publishing them in an online database.
Insee makes its data available both on the web and via APIs.
In addition to news releases and other publications (see sections 10.1 and 10.2), information on national accounts may be posted using social media and RSS feeds, along with all types of national publications and many regional studies, as well as information on the Institute's news, services, educational activities and interactive tools.
The general methodological framework for the compilation of national accounts in the EU is ESA 2010.
In addition, several handbooks have been developed to help compilers to produce national accounts data. Some of the most important methodological manuals are the Handbook on quarterly national accounts, Manual on regional accounts methods, Eurostat Manual of Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Also, guidance manuals on specific topics are available, e.g. compilation guide on land estimation, compilation guide on inventories, Manual on measuring Research and Development in ESA 2010.
The manuals above specifically apply to EU national accounts statistics. However, world-wide equivalents are often also available: SNA 2008, Quarterly National Accounts Manual, Handbook on Input-Output Table Compilation and Analysis, Government Finance Statistics Manual.
consulter Methodology of national accounts following the 2018 benchmark revision:
The importance of national accounts requires that documentation should be available on the procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment. Examples of such documentation are national accounts quality reports, quality studies and reports on revision analysis.
During the overall compilation process, national and regional accounts data undergo several kinds of quality checks, e.g. ex-ante (source statistics), ongoing (results), ex-post (methods used) and external checks (Eurostat, European or national Court of Auditors, IMF).
The ESA 2010 Regulation stipulates that the quality of national and regional accounts data sent to Eurostat are to be assessed according to the quality criteria set out by the Regulation on European statistics (Regulation (EC) No 223/2009). The modalities, structure and assessment indicators of the quality assessment process are set out in a Commission implementing act (Regulation (EU) 2016/2304).
Each year, in accordance with Article 4(2) of the ESA 2010 Regulation, Member States report on the quality of national and regional accounts data sent to Eurostat. Based on their national quality reports, Eurostat prepares an overall assessment in accordance with Article 4(4).
All national statistical offices and Eurostat are subject to a "peer review" to assess the compliance of national statistical institutes with the Code of Good Practice
National accounts data provide key information for economic policy monitoring and decision making, for forecasting, for administrative purposes, for informing the general public about economic developments (directly or indirectly via news agencies), and as input for economic research.
At national level, ministries of finance and regional development, scientific and academic communities and economic researchers are usually the entities who most use national and regional accounts data.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Views and opinions of users of national accounts statistics can be collected and analysed as one of the tools to 'measure' the relevance of national accounts data.
To assess the satisfaction of users' expectations and needs, INSEE regularly conducts surveys of inseenautes; the one carried out at the beginning of 2016 was the first to be carried out, on the quality of INSEE statistics. Most respondents believe that the are relevant and reliable. At the same time, they choose accuracy and reliability as the most important criteria for assessing the quality of an indicator. The quality of quarterly GDP is shown particularly appreciated; the indicator is considered relevant and, the data put online allow to make comparisons over time.
In most countries national accounts cover the domains national accounts main aggregates, government accounts, sector accounts, regional accounts and supply and use tables. However, the content of the data on these domains as well as the (details of the) various breakdowns (by region, sector, industry, product, etc.) may deviate per country, depending on national needs and available sources. The ESA 2010 transmission programme, consisting of 26 tables across all national accounts domains (see section 10.3) defines the minimum national accounts data set that must be available in all Member States of the EU. In 2016, France provided nearly complete datasets as required by the ESA2010 Transmission Programme. In terms of mandatory data required in the ESA2010 TP, the tables for which completeness rate was relatively low were in Financial Accounts and two tables in Regional Accounts. The issues with Regional Accounts have been solved since then. For Financial Accounts, France has provided some explanation of reasons behind missing data, including non-availability of consolidated data for aggregated levels and SDMX codification issues. The plans for improving the situation have been also indicated. In 2025, there remains a lack in from-whom-to-whom data for year 1995 in the annual financial accounts.
The national practice could be filled in : you can refer to your national quality report and more specifically to the revision analysis in your quality report.
13.2. Sampling error
No applicable
13.3. Non-sampling error
No applicable
14.1. Timeliness
National accounts data should become available to users as timely as possible, taking into account the frequency of the data (annual or quarterly), the character of the data (info on the structure of an economy or on conjuncture developments) and an adequate balance between accuracy and timeliness.
The ESA 2010 transmission programme defines the required timeliness for all national accounts tables. Quarterly tables should become available between 1 and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply and use tables) after the end of the reference year.
Good practice requires that the dates on which national accounts data become available are pre-announced and that the pre-announced publication dates are met.
National accounts data transmissions in the framework of the ESA 2010 transmission programme should be punctually delivered to Eurostat at the timeliness defined in the transmission programme (or before).
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The geographical comparability of national accounts in Member States of the EU is ensured by the application of common definitions of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). Worldwide geographical comparison is also possible as most non-European countries apply the SNA 2008 guidelines, and SNA 2008 is consistent with ESA 2010.
As the data for all reference periods are compiled according to the requirements of the ESA 2010, national accounts data are fully comparable over time. Also, in the case of fundamental changes to methods or classifications, revisions of long time series are performed, usually going far back into the past.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Within the system of national accounts there is full consistency between the domains: annual and quarterly national accounts, government accounts, sector accounts, financial accounts, regional accounts, supply and use tables. However, in practice full consistency may not always be possible and temporary discrepancies might occur. They are usually the result of vintage differences.
Primary statistics like structural business statistics (SBS), short term statistics (STS) and labour force statistics (LFS) are widely used as input for national accounts. However, there is no full consistency between these statistical domains and national accounts. Main reasons are differences in concepts/definitions and in coverage. Balance of payments is also used as an important source for national accounts. The definitions and coverage of balance of payments, as defined in the BPM6 manual, are fully harmonised with those in ESA 2010. Therefore, balance of payments variables are in principle fully coherent with the corresponding national accounts variables.
The coherence between the assessed annual and quarterly statistics submitted by France is very high.
15.4. Coherence - internal
See section 15.3 (Coherence - cross domain)
National accounts are based on other statistics, including data from administrative database, business statistics, employment statistics and many other statistics from the Official Statistical System (SSP); thus, they do not impose an additional burden on respondents.
Dedicating to non-financial annual national accounts --from which main aggregates is the most visible but smallest part--, there are about 45 full-time jobs in the National account departement of Insee, and about 20 equivalent full-time jobs in the Business Statistics departement.
17.1. Data revision - policy
National accounts data are subject to continuous revisions as new input data become available. They are called routine revisions and entail regular revisions of country data and of the European aggregates, which are derived from the former.
More rarely, exceptional revisions (called benchmark revisions) will result from major changes in data sources, classifications or methodology. For example, when changing from ESA95 to ESA 2010, a benchmark revision occurred at country level and at euro area/EU data level.
Two Task Forces developed proposals for a more harmonised approach for benchmark and routine revisions. The one under the auspices of the Directors of Macroeconomic Statistics (DMES) dealt with benchmark revision policy, the other under the auspices of the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB) on the European Harmonised Revision Policy dealing with routine revisions.
17.2. Data revision - practice
While revisions should be seen as a process to progressively improve the quality of national accounts as e.g. better sources and/or methods become available, the availability of metadata on revisions is a key element for understanding national accounts data and revisions between subsequent releases.
France performed a benchmark revision in 2024 (benchmark year is 2020).
18.1. Source data
National and regional accounts compilation builds up on statistics that are primarily collected for other purposes (primary statistics).
It relies on a variety of data sources, including administrative data: car and business registers, accounting statements, tax data, budgetary reports, population censuses, statistical surveys of businesses and households, statements of supervising institutions and branch organisations, annual and quarterly reports, trade statistics on goods and services, balance of payments information.
There is no single survey source for national accounts. Sources vary from country to country and provide statistical information on a large set of economic, social, financial and environmental phenomena, which may not be strictly related to national accounts.
Sources for French National accounts :
Administrative sources: public accounting, Bank of France, balance of payments, customs statistics, tax reports, household survey, etc.
Non financial corporations : ESANE (combines administrative sources and surveys)
Input-Output Table and synthesis of supply and use balance
Sources : supply and use balances (ERE) from INSEE’s Business Statistics Directorate, and other units of the National Accounts Department
Employment and productivity
Sources : INSEE employment division (global levels based on censuses), administrative sources and business surveys for changes, distribution by sector and working time
Household consumption
Sources : many sources (professional bodies, etc.), some from units producing satellite accounts
Calculation of PPP
Sources : price readings taken by the INSEE Ile de France Regional Office or by external contributors (for construction and equipment), administrative sources used by INSEE (Demographic and Social Statistics Directorate) covering civil service salaries
General government accounts
Sources : intermediate system from Directorate-General of Public Finances
Non-financial enterprise accounts and balance sheets
Sources : Annual Business Statistics (ESANE) produced by the INSEE Business Statistics Directorate, various sources for wealth
Accounts of financial corporations
Sources : intermediate system on financial institutions from the Banque de France, intermediate system (administrative report) from the Prudential Supervisory and Resolution Authority (ACPR)
Summary of sector accounts, household and NPISH accounts
Sources : various sources on NPISH and households. However, the main information for household accounts comes from a summary of accounts from different sectors.
Quarterly accounts
Sources : short-term indicators by INSEE, DGFiP, and many other sources
National accounts departments typically do not collect data themselves but receive them from other departments or institutions.
See section 18.1 for an overview of the sources and partner departments and institutions for the French National Accounts.
The National Accounts department may be asked to participate in the development and improvement of its sources by partner departments and institutions, especially the ones for which it is a major user.
Data validation refers to any activity aimed at verifying that the value of a data item comes from a given set of acceptable values. It is a key task performed in all statistical domains and particularly important for national accounts, which is a key dataset for economic analysis and policy decisions.
In order to increase overall data quality and workflow efficiency, the European Statistical System (ESS) is moving towards more harmonisation of validation activities including the definition of common standards, tools and support for implementation (see ESS validation website). National accounts are a pilot in this area. An ESA 2010 Task Force on validation was established in 2015 to agree and document validation rules in an ESA 2010 validation handbook and progressively implement them in a pre-validation service for national accounts data.
The confrontation of data from different sources is an integral part of the national accounts compilation. Source data used in national accounts undergo a sequence of checks within NSIs.
Data sources, methods and compilation techniques are country specific, but should be employed in such a way that the definitions and concepts in ESA 2010 are met. Many guidance documents on general and specific national accounts compilation issues are available. See for more details section 10.6.
To measure GDP, the French national accounts apply the three approaches – production, income, expenditure – used traditionally. They are used in a complementary rather than a competing fashion, the aim being to find convergence as early as the choice of statistical sources. However, on the one hand production and income approaches and on the other hand demand approach are used autonomously until the final synthetic phase.
French annual national accounts are broadly based - especially for non-financial enterprises - on fiscal and private accounting data, enriched with surveys which allow the split of economic activity into the different branches of activity of entreprises. This data undergoes conceptual adjustments to fit into national accounts concepts, and other corrections. For financial institutions, data mainly comes from administrative sources due to the high level of regulation in financial sectors. For the general government, data mainly comes from administrative sources, as public spending is managed and supervised by the authorities. For pure households ("pure" as excluding entrepreneurs, who are considered part of non-financial enterprises) and NPISH, surveys have a major role, as do mirror transactions with other sectors.
Supply-use equilibria are computed by sectoral experts, feeding both production and expenditure approaches. Private and public accounting data also allows to fill the income approach.
Consistency is obtained via a reconciliation and balancing process, using a supply and use table as an accounting framework.
For related information see also sections 10.6. and 17.1.
18.6. Adjustment
The objectives of seasonal adjustment are to identify and remove seasonal fluctuations and calendar effects which can mask short and long-term movements in a time series and impede a clear understanding of underlying phenomena. Seasonal adjustment is therefore a fundamental process in the interpretation of time series to inform policy making (ESS guidelines on seasonal adjustment, 2024 Edition, Introduction, Background to guidelines and basic definitions).
For selected sub-annual national accounts data, such as notably the quarterly main aggregates, time series are usually not only published in their unadjusted form, but also with various types of adjustment (e.g. seasonal, calendar, trend-cycle).
According to the ESA transmission programme, quarterly data are to be provided in non-seasonally adjusted form, as well as in seasonally adjusted form (including calendar adjustments, where relevant) except for previous year’s prices.
The provision of quarterly data that only include calendar adjustments is voluntary.
For sector accounts, seasonal adjustment (including calendar adjustments, where relevant) is compulsory for a limited set of series.
National accounts data concern all data produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). Data are compiled, disseminated and transmitted to Eurostat according with breakdowns and deadlines defined in the amended ESA 2010 transmission programme.
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may also include breakdowns of the total economy (into sectors, industries, products, regions, etc.). National accounts provide data for several domains : annual and quarterly national accounts (main aggregates), sector accounts, financial accounts, supply, use and input-output tables, regional accounts, government finance statistics and pension entitlements statistics.
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the change rate of the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), which indicates the economic development of a country of region and is also referred to as economic growth rate.
In Eurobase, countries' data are presented following the usual data structure.
At national level, data are commonly available for :
annual and quarterly national accounts : 'main aggregates'
annual and quarterly sector accounts
annual financial accounts and balance sheets
annual non-financial balance sheets
supply, use and input-output tables
annual and quarterly government finance statistics data: 'main aggregates', quarterly financial government accounts and government debt
regional breakdowns of main national accounts variables and household accounts
industry breakdowns of main national accounts variables
industry by asset breakdowns (stocks and transactions)
detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation. The two main sets of tables concern : (a) the institutional sector accounts ; (b) the input-output framework, and the accounts by industry.
The sector accounts provide, by institutional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process : production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and financial and nonfinancial accumulation. The sector accounts also include balance sheets to describe the stocks of assets, liabilities and net worth at the beginning and the end of the accounting period. The variables/concepts described in the sector accounts include transactions in products, transactions in non-produced non-financial assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, non-financial and financial assets and liabilities.
The input-output framework, through the supply and use tables, sets out in more detail the production process (cost structure and income generated) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product group). In those tables, these variables are broken down by industry (NACE Rev. 2) and product (CPA 2.1).
ESA 2010 also encompasses concepts of population and employment. Such concepts are relevant for the sector accounts and the detailed breakdown of main GDP aggregates by industry.
Regional accounts provide regional breakdowns for major aggregates such as gross value added by industry, gross fixed capital formation and household income. Regional breakdowns are based on the NUTS classification. National accounts concepts are also used for regional accounts.
In addition Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation addresses and defines numerous other concepts and definitions, such as the definition of : statistical units and their groupings, flows and stocks, accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation and netting). The main features and principles for the compilation of national accounts can be found in Chapter 1.
The French product nomenclature (CPF Rev. 2.1) is an adaptation of the statistical classification of products associated with activities in the European Union (CPA). The structure and titles of CPF rev. 2.1 and the CPA are identical.
Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, in national accounts two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used : (a) institutional unit ; (b) local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the class level (four digits) of the NACE Rev. 2.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs ; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see section 3.5). A unit is a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.
National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.
France
The usual reference period to be used for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded : flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
The national practice could be filled in : you can refer to your national quality report and more specifically to the revision analysis in your quality report.
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours or jobs, the ESA 2010 system in France shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in euros or other national currency. Flows and stocks shall be measured according to their exchange value, i.e. the value at which flows and stocks are in fact, or could be, exchanged for cash. Market prices are, thus, the ESA's reference for valuation.
In addition to measurement in current (market) prices, some national accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and chain-linked volumes, see section 3.9. Furthermore, it is possible to derive growth rates and indices, and various other measures (e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards) can be applied as well.
Data sources, methods and compilation techniques are country specific, but should be employed in such a way that the definitions and concepts in ESA 2010 are met. Many guidance documents on general and specific national accounts compilation issues are available. See for more details section 10.6.
To measure GDP, the French national accounts apply the three approaches – production, income, expenditure – used traditionally. They are used in a complementary rather than a competing fashion, the aim being to find convergence as early as the choice of statistical sources. However, on the one hand production and income approaches and on the other hand demand approach are used autonomously until the final synthetic phase.
French annual national accounts are broadly based - especially for non-financial enterprises - on fiscal and private accounting data, enriched with surveys which allow the split of economic activity into the different branches of activity of entreprises. This data undergoes conceptual adjustments to fit into national accounts concepts, and other corrections. For financial institutions, data mainly comes from administrative sources due to the high level of regulation in financial sectors. For the general government, data mainly comes from administrative sources, as public spending is managed and supervised by the authorities. For pure households ("pure" as excluding entrepreneurs, who are considered part of non-financial enterprises) and NPISH, surveys have a major role, as do mirror transactions with other sectors.
Supply-use equilibria are computed by sectoral experts, feeding both production and expenditure approaches. Private and public accounting data also allows to fill the income approach.
Consistency is obtained via a reconciliation and balancing process, using a supply and use table as an accounting framework.
For related information see also sections 10.6. and 17.1.
National and regional accounts compilation builds up on statistics that are primarily collected for other purposes (primary statistics).
It relies on a variety of data sources, including administrative data: car and business registers, accounting statements, tax data, budgetary reports, population censuses, statistical surveys of businesses and households, statements of supervising institutions and branch organisations, annual and quarterly reports, trade statistics on goods and services, balance of payments information.
There is no single survey source for national accounts. Sources vary from country to country and provide statistical information on a large set of economic, social, financial and environmental phenomena, which may not be strictly related to national accounts.
Sources for French National accounts :
Administrative sources: public accounting, Bank of France, balance of payments, customs statistics, tax reports, household survey, etc.
Non financial corporations : ESANE (combines administrative sources and surveys)
Input-Output Table and synthesis of supply and use balance
Sources : supply and use balances (ERE) from INSEE’s Business Statistics Directorate, and other units of the National Accounts Department
Employment and productivity
Sources : INSEE employment division (global levels based on censuses), administrative sources and business surveys for changes, distribution by sector and working time
Household consumption
Sources : many sources (professional bodies, etc.), some from units producing satellite accounts
Calculation of PPP
Sources : price readings taken by the INSEE Ile de France Regional Office or by external contributors (for construction and equipment), administrative sources used by INSEE (Demographic and Social Statistics Directorate) covering civil service salaries
General government accounts
Sources : intermediate system from Directorate-General of Public Finances
Non-financial enterprise accounts and balance sheets
Sources : Annual Business Statistics (ESANE) produced by the INSEE Business Statistics Directorate, various sources for wealth
Accounts of financial corporations
Sources : intermediate system on financial institutions from the Banque de France, intermediate system (administrative report) from the Prudential Supervisory and Resolution Authority (ACPR)
Summary of sector accounts, household and NPISH accounts
Sources : various sources on NPISH and households. However, the main information for household accounts comes from a summary of accounts from different sectors.
Quarterly accounts
Sources : short-term indicators by INSEE, DGFiP, and many other sources
Annual
National accounts data should become available to users as timely as possible, taking into account the frequency of the data (annual or quarterly), the character of the data (info on the structure of an economy or on conjuncture developments) and an adequate balance between accuracy and timeliness.
The ESA 2010 transmission programme defines the required timeliness for all national accounts tables. Quarterly tables should become available between 1 and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply and use tables) after the end of the reference year.
The geographical comparability of national accounts in Member States of the EU is ensured by the application of common definitions of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). Worldwide geographical comparison is also possible as most non-European countries apply the SNA 2008 guidelines, and SNA 2008 is consistent with ESA 2010.
As the data for all reference periods are compiled according to the requirements of the ESA 2010, national accounts data are fully comparable over time. Also, in the case of fundamental changes to methods or classifications, revisions of long time series are performed, usually going far back into the past.
