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.
Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Directorate for National Accounts
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Istat, Direzione Centrale per la Contabilita' Nazionale
Via Cesare Balbo 16 00184 - Roma - Italy
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 January 2022
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 January 2022
2.3. Metadata last update
19 November 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).
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may 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 and government finance statistics.
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the rate of change of gross domestic product in volume, which is a synthetic indicator of the economic development of a country (or a region).
In Eurobase, countries' data are presented following the usual data structure.
At national level, data are available for :
annual and quarterly national accounts
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
breakdown by industry of main national accounts variables
breakdown of investment and non-financial assets by industry
detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function
pension entitlements in social insurance
In Italy, National Accounts data are organized for dissemination via IstatData in the following sections:
annual national accounts (including breakdown by industry of main national accounts aggregates, breakdown of investments and non-financial assets by industry and Households final consumption expenditure by purpose)
quarterly national accounts
regional accounts (including households accounts by region)
general government statistics data (including annual data, quarterly data, detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function)
productivity measures
environmental accounts (satellite)
social protection accounts (satellite)
agriculture, forestry and fishing accounts (satellite)
health care accounts (satellite)
Financial data for annual and quarterly sector accounts and data on quarterly financial government accounts and government debt are produced and disseminated by the Bank of Italy .
3.2. Classification system
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 Rev. 2 for economic activities, CPA for products by economic activity, COFOG for government expenditures by function,
COICOP 2018 for individual consumption by purpose, COPNI for non-profit institutions serving households expenditures by purpose, NUTS 2024 for territorial breakdowns.
A full overview of classifications is available in:
Italy estimates and disseminates nationally, HFCE by purpose at a more disaggregated level than Eurostat (see NAMA10_CP18_IT).
3.3. Coverage - sector
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.
In Italy Households sector distinguishes between households as consumer and as producer, data based on this distinction are disseminated at national level.
Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies are excluded by both the economic activities and the product classifications.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation (ESA 2010). 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 input-output tables, these variables are broken down either by industry (NACE Rev. 2) or 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.
3.5. Statistical unit
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
The reference area for national accounts is the total economy of a country. The total economy of a country can be broken down into regions. The NUTS classification provides a single, uniform breakdown of the economic territory of the Member States of the EU. Italy's territory doesn't include the States of Vatican City and of San Marino, while includes Campione d'Italia, Italian enclave of the Swiss Confederation.
3.8. Coverage - Time
National accounts data are usually compiled on annual and quarterly basis.
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.
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, volume indices can be chain-linked and then applied to variables at current prices of the reference year.
Italy currently uses 2020 as the reference year for the compilation of chain-linked volumes. The method to compile quarterly chain-linked volumes is the annual overlap method.
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours, jobs or full time equivalent units, the ESA 2010 system shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms in euros. 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 other measures '(e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards)' can be applied as well.
The 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 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) which was published in the Official Journal as Annex A of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013, amended by EU regulation 2023/734. The ESA 2010 transmission programme is covered in Annex B
The ESA 2010 has the form of a Regulation and it provides for:
a methodology (Annex A) on common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be used for compiling accounts and tables on comparable bases (link to blue book on ESA 2010 methodology);
a programme of data transmission (Annex B) setting out the time limits by which Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the accounts and tables (annex B of EU regulation 2023/734).
Temporary derogations to the data transmission requirements have been granted to Member States, up to 2027, by the Commission Implementing Decision 2024/12/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, CPA, COFOG, COICOP 2018, NUTS.
On the Eurostat website, sections 'National accounts' and 'Government finance and EDP', additional legal acts relevant for national accounts can be found.
All statistics produced and published by the National Statistical Institute of Italy (Istat) are subjected to:
The Legislative Decree no. 322, of 6 September 1989 (and subsequent modifications and additions Decree of the President of the Republic (DPR) no. 166 of 7 September 2010), which is consistent with the U.N. Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and places Istat at the center of the National Statistical System (SISTAN). SISTAN is a network of public bodies and private agencies that provides official statistical information and covers the statistical offices of all levels of government, Chambers of commerce, industry, crafts industries, agriculture and other public bodies as well as private subjects having public functions.
The Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers (DPCM) which every year approves the National Statistical Programme
All the estimation processes that contribute to the building of national economic accounts are included in the National Statistical Programme. The planning is on a fixed three-year basis. For each cycle, there is a three-year schedule and two updates, the first of which relates to the last two years of the triennium and the second to the last year. Annual updates are prepared and approved using the same procedure as for the three-year period.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Data Eurostat receives via the transmission programme are shared with other institutions in accordance with specific agreements, notably with the ECB and the OECD. A protocol for co-operation between Eurostat and the OECD in the area of National Accounts signed in June 2024 specifies agreed data exchange and data validation arrangements. These data are published in Eurobase in the naid_10 collection.
Italian 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. TheLegislative Decree no. 322 of 6 September 1989includes provisions on data sharing and coordination within National Statistics System (Sistan): according to the article no. 6 Statistical Offices, under the coordination of Istat, shall cooperate with other authorities for the execution of the surveys provided for in the National Statistical Programme. Directives issued by Committee for Directing and Coordinating Statistical Information (COMSTAT) have further strengthened these provisions. In addition, Istat has developed statistical information systems utilized throughout SISTAN for sharing data. Istat also cooperates closely with agencies that do not belong to SISTAN through specific data sharing protocols and agreements.
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).
In Italy, according to art. 9, paragraph 1 of the Legislative Decree n. 322 of 1989, statistical data can be disseminated only in aggregated form, in order to make it impossible to make any reference to identifiable individuals. They can only be used for statistical purposes.
Moreover, Legislative Decree n. 322 of 1989, art. 6 and 6 bis provides that the exchange of personal data within the National Statistical System (Sistan - see section 6.1) is possible if it is necessary to fulfil requirements provided by the National Statistical Programme or to allow the pursuit of institutional purposes. In order to make statistical secrecy and protection of personal data effective, Istat is currently taking appropriate organisational, logistical, methodological and statistical measures in accordance with internationally established standards. In accordance with the Personal Data Protection Code, respondents are informed of their rights and obligations with regard to the provision of information, and they are assured that the information they provide will be used for statistical purposes only.
Finally, in implementation of art. 5-ter of the legislative decree 14 March 2013, no. 33, the new “Guidelines for the access for scientific purposes to the elementary data of the National Statistical System” establish the conditions under which the bodies and offices of the National Statistical System can allow researchers to access their own elementary data for scientific purposes.
Institutional relations between Istat and the Bank of Italy are managed by a Coordination Committee, established within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding which regulates cooperation between the two Institutions in the field of research and exchange of statistical information. The Committee has defined a procedure for the bilateral exchange of micro-data in the cases provided for by Regulation (Ec) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, art. 21 and of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, art. 8a.
Arrangements for the exchange of data between Istat and the Bank of Italy for research purposes are being developed.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
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 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.
Istat has adopted a general security policy to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability (in tracked procedures) of all data processed within the Institute.
National accounts data are disseminated at a level of disaggregation such that the data are never confidential.
8.1. Release calendar
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.
In December of each year ISTAT publishes a press release calendar setting the release dates for the coming year. The calendar is distributed to the press and to the general public via the web site.
8.2. Release calendar access
Indicative publication dates for data releases are published on the Eurostat website Eurostat Release calendar.
ISTAT posts the calendar on the website. A PDF fixed version of the press release calendar is available, a web version is weekly update.
The calendar is also availabile in html format and can be imported in a compatible application (Microsoft Outlook, Apple ICal) or be opened in Google Calendar, ready to be imported.
8.3. Release policy - user access
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.
According to its mission, Istat disseminates statistical information in order to make it accessible and usable to everyone and to remove any barriers to the use of data. All data releases are posted on Istat website according to an annual release calendar (see Section 8.1). Time series are available on IstatData and, through thematic information systems, users can choose information according to their needs, building customised tables or downloading prepackaged datasets. Data are always accompanied by meta-information concerning methodologies, classifications, definitions. Microdata files are released in compliance with the principle of statistical confidentiality and protection of personal data. Ebook, apps and infographics are also available on the web site; moreover main contents are disseminated through Istat Official Twitter account and other social networks. All Istat information are available free of charge and data are reusable referencing the source.
Frequency for Italian National Accounts dissemination (see also Section 10.1 and 10.3) is the following:
2 times per year: Annual National Accounts, Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, Balance sheet for Non-Financial Assets, General Government Accounts, Taxes and Social Contributions, Employment;
2 times each quarter (Q+30 days (Preliminary) andQ+ 60 days): Quarterly National Accounts;
one time each quarter: Quarterly Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, General Government Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts;
once a year: Regional Accounts, Disposable Income of Households in Italian Regions, Annual General Government Expenditure by Function, SUIOT.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
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).
Among the scheduled ones (included in the annual release calendar):
For Annual National Accounts and General Government data, two press releases each year are made available: PIL e indebitamento AP (1st March - GDP and General Government Net Borrowing) and Conti economici nazionali (22 September - Annual National Accounts);
Quarterly National Accounts data are disseminated via two news releases each quarter: Stima preliminare del PIL (Q+30 days - Preliminary GDP estimate) and Conti economici trimestrali (Q+ 60 days - Quarterly National Accounts);
Quarterly Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts are disseminated via one news releases each quarter : Conto trimestrale delle amministrazioni pubbliche, reddito e risparmio delle famiglie e profitti delle società (Q+90 - Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts For General Government, Households Income And Savings And Non-Financial Corporation Profit);
Annual accounts by institutional sector are dissemineted once per year in the press release Conti economici per settore istituzionale (Mid-April - Annual accounts by institutional sector)
A press release about Non observed economy is released each year Economia non osservata nei Conti nazionali (Mid-October - Non observed Economy in National Accounts)
Among not scheduled (but regular) releases:
Regional accounts are disseminated twice a year: Stima preliminare del PIL e dell'occupazione a livello territoriale (June - Italian version only) and Conti economici territoriali (December/January - Regional Accounts - Italian version only)
Balance sheet for financial and non financial assets are reported in a press release compiled by Istat and Banca d’Italia: The wealth of Italy’s institutional sectors (January).
SU and IO Tables are released as xls tables.
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.
All Istat general publications, presenting analyses and data on the socio-economic conditions country, report and comment National Accounts data: Rapporto Annuale (May - Annual Report), Noi Italia (January - Noi Italia), Annuario Statistico italiano (November - only in Italian), Italia in Cifre (February - Italy in figures), Rapporto sulla competitività dei settori produttivi (Marzo – only in Italian).
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.
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 Eurostat’s public database.
At the national level, national accounts are disseminated through the institutional data-warehouse, IstatData in the section National Accounts. The platform uses the open source tools "Data Browser" and "Meta & Data Manager" developed by Istat following the international standard SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange) for the exchange and sharing of data and statistical metadata. The new platform also allows access in machine to machine mode through a special API. In IstatData, datasets are organized by theme and each dataset is articulated into one or more tables (cubes) depending on its complexity. Each cube can be filtered in all its dimensions in order to select the data of interest and data organization can be also customized. Selected data can be downloaded in different formats among which excel, csv, json.
Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables are disseminated as excel files.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
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.
The general methodological framework for the compilation of national accounts 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.
Details on the methodology and the main statistical sources used for compiling the financial accounts are described in the manual Italy’s financial accounts (only in Italian)
In September 2024, 5 years after the previous (2019) general revision, Istat revised all National Accounts series. This corresponds to what, in technical language, is defined as a regular major revision (so called benchmark revision). In the specific case Istat has decided to carry out this operation by identifying 2021 as the reference year, since for that year all the necessary structural information became available during the definition phase. Technical characteristics of the benchmark have been described to users in advance in a dedicated press release (August 2024) . For Financial Accounts, estimated by Bank of Italy, in October 2024 a note describing Benchmark Revision Of Financial Accounts Statistics was released.
For Benchmark 2019, technical characteristics have been described to users in advance in a dedicated press release (July 2019) .
Transition of Annual National Account from ESA 95 to ESA 2010 has been presented in a dedicated page updated in 2014/2015 where methodological changes have been described. A presentation seminar of innovations introduced with ESA 2010 in all the domains of national accounts has been held in December 2014. Regional accounts methodological innovations in ESA 2010 have been presented in a seminar held in November 2016 (materials in Italian are available). Quarterly economic and sectoral accounts methodological innovations have been presented in a seminar held in April 2016 (materials in Italian are available) . In September 2016 a seminar has been dedicated to innovations in measuring the non-observed economy (materials in Italian are available).
10.7. Quality management - documentation
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.
The quality (accuracy/consistency) checks carried out by Eurostat on the received country data are described in a validation handbook. From 2017 onwards also annual quality reports are available. They describe several dimensions of the quality of countries' national accounts data transmissions.
GNI Inventories contain very relevant information on the quality of the data underlying the GNI data transmitted by countries to Eurostat.
As for all Istat statistical processes, National Accounts statistical processes quality documentation is available through the SIDI/SIQual system.
In addition, since June 2018 quality assessment sheets (whose structure is based on the ESS Standard SIMS 2.0) have been disseminated, only in Italian, for several Istat statistical processes including some National Account processes.
In accordance with Article 4 of the ESA 2010 Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 549/2013), each year from 2016 Italy compiled and submitted to Eurostat the ESA 2010 - Report on quality of national and regional accounts data submitted.
11.1. Quality assurance
Data quality at the Member States’ level is ensured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by thorough validation of the data delivered by countries.
Since the 90s Istat has adopted a systematic approach to ensure the quality of statistical information and of its services to the community. With the aim of strengthening the commitment to quality, in 2020 Istat set up the Quality Committee, for overseeing all quality initiatives in the Statistical Institute. In addition, the role of Quality Manager was formally established.
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 Italian practices regarding quality assurance are described in a dedicated page of the Istat Site.
In the Directorate of National Accounts, the “Division for quality management and processing of data sources on institutions and enterprises” defines and develops activities for the acquisition, processing and verification of quality of basic data referred to public and private institutions and enterprises. It manages the activities for developing quality management procedures and indicators.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
I
ESA 2010 data transmissions are subject to regular quality assessment reviews. Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA 2010 Regulation) specifies that the data covered by that Regulation is subject to the quality criteria, namely relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, and comparability and coherence, as set out in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Member States are to provide the Commission with a report on the quality of the transmitted data on national and regional accounts. The modalities, structure, periodicity and assessment indicators of the quality reports on data transmitted have been specified in the Commission Implementing Regulation 2016/2304 of 19 December 2016. The implementation of the quality reporting and assessment started in 2017 and is carried out annually. As part of the annual exercise, Eurostat assesses the results and prepares and publishes an overall quality report based on the national quality reports and other available information. The Commission also, on a 5-year basis, reports to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of the ESA 2010 Regulation, including the data quality aspects. The first such report was published in 2018, the second and latest in 2023.
Eurostat provides methodological validation of GNI data and EDP data. If the data are not methodologically correct Eurostat puts action points and gives reservations on data.
In Istat, data quality and statistical production process management is the responsibility of the ‘Methods, Quality, and Metadata Service’ (Directorate for Methodology and Statistical Process Design). In particular, the service is responsible for defining and managing the unified metadata system; managing the repository of statistical methods and tools; coordinating statistical audit activities for production processes, including those carried out by other national statistical authorities and SISTAN entities.
The Italian internal quality control system is defined in accordance with the guidelines and indicators established at European level to ensure the quality of statistics, while applying the criteria set by the European Code of Practice. Istat established a centralized system for collecting information aimed at quality monitoring, called “Information system for documentation of surveys and quality control (SIDI-SIQUAL)”. SIDI-SIQUAL is a system designed in order to monitor the production process, considering all the dimensions of quality over time and across surveys. In this respect, the system simultaneously manages the metadata and the standard of quality indicators in an integrated way for all Istat surveys and some national accounts estimates. The information reported in the system represent a tool for the governance of statistical production but also a dissemination tool, providing information on the quality of statistics for internal and external users.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
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, economic researchers , trade associations and trade unions are usually the entities who most use national and regional accounts data.
Also international Organizations (IMF, OECD, ILO, WB, BCE) use national accounts data.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
ISTAT is constantly interested in understanding who the users of the statistics it produces are, what the information needs are, whether they match production and if the statistics produced satisfy users. To this aim, together with the analysis of user requests received through the Web Contact Center service, tools for direct consultation were developed, such as the annual online survey of customer satisfaction and indirect tools such as analysis of accesses and of users’ browsing paths on the web site.
In the SISTAN System is established a quality group about "National Accounts and Prices". Representatives of Sistan and non-Sistan entities participate in the meetings. The group is in charge to analyze the demand and supply of statistical information for the National Statistical Programme.
Statistics on access by subject to the Institute data warehouse are made available to producers. Meeting, task forces, expert and working groups represent occasions to collect the needs of Institutional users.
12.3. Completeness
In most countries national accounts cover the domains national accounts main aggregates, government accounts, sector accounts regional accounts and supply, use and Input-Output 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 section10.3) defines the minimum national accounts data set that must be available in all Member States of the EU.
The overall completeness of Italian National Accounts is high. For more information please refer to the last edition of the quality report on the national quality reports for data transmissions.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Direct assessment of accuracy (estimation of variance and bias components of MSE of estimates) is not applicable for NA data.
Revision analysis can provide an assessment of data reliability.
All press releases have a part dedicated to methodology in which revision policy is described. A section of the press release is dedicated to the explanation and analysis of revisions of aggregates with respect to the previous release. For Quarterly National Accounts and Quarterly Sector Accounts a section dedicated to revisions is available in the press release containing information on the revision policy of key economic indicators.
Starting with Benchmark 2014 (September 2014), for all annual and quarterly national accounts data, a field "Edition" has been included in IstatData identifying month and year of release. It is therefore possible, for each aggregate, to create and download the so-called “revisions triangles” on the released values. To do this, it is necessary to customize the display using the pivoting function and putting the edition field in the row and the time field in the column.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not 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 (flash estimates) and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply, use and input-output tables) after the end of the reference year.
Italy benefits from a derogation for the transmission of QSA seasonally adjusted data, which allows it to comply with the deadline of t+3 months+3 working days, i.e. the deadline in force prior to the revision of the transmission plan that came into effect in September 2024. The derogation expires in September 2027.
14.2. Punctuality
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).
Italy transmits most of the required data to Eurostat in a timely manner.
All the national releases of National Accounts data are disseminated according to the timetable scheduled in advance.
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.
15.2. Comparability - over time
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, use and input-output 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.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The internal coherence of the assessed Italian data is high. Italian data are also largely coherent in terms of additivity. Coherence between national and regional data for Italy is ensured as well as coherence between quarterly and national data, some vintage related differences may occur for very brief periods.
Costs are not available.
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.
In Italy, all press releases have a part dedicated to methodology in which the revision policy is described. As described in section 13.1, a section of the press release is dedicated to the explanation and analysis of revisions of aggregates with respect to the previous release.
National accounts data are subject to continuous revisions as new input data become available. Italy adopts a revision policy that is completely aligned with the European recommendations (HERP) regarding the cycle of ordinary revisions derived from the normal update of adopted indicators and sources. Data revisions are transparently communicated and well explained in a dedicated section on the Istat website. The revision policy for the financial accounts is available in the MIP level 3 report.
In Italy annual national accounts data are published twice a year, at the beginning of March and at the end of September. If no significant adjustment to the year t-4 is deemed necessary, in the March release a definitive estimate is published for year t-3, together with a provisional estimate of year t-2 and a first provisional estimate of year t-1, both compiled through a more simplified approach based on quarterly estimates. In the September release, data are revised for year t-2, drawing upon the statistical sources that have become available, while for year t-1 the estimates are updated but are still compiled using a simplified approach based on quarterly national accounts. Moreover, this release allows the alignment between national accounts and balance of payments estimates. There are two further time windows in which it is possible to review the published data to ensure consistency with their use for administrative purposes: the former (lasting one month) takes into account any updating of the General Government account between the publication of the data from the beginning of March and the publication of the Notification on general government net borrowing and debt in April (around the 20th); the second window (lasting one week) includes any updates to the annual estimates following the September publication and the dispatches, in accordance with European regulations, of the Gross National Income questionnaire at the end of September and the publication of the Notification on net debt and on the GG debt in October (by the 20th). These windows, however, are rarely used. In accordance with the national revision policy and with European rules concerning data of relevance for the EDP, routine revisions can be extended back to year t-4 for general government estimates.
For the production of annual and quarterly financial accounts, estimated by the Bank of Italy (BoI), the principal data sources fare (1) BoP statistics, (2) Quarterly Financial Accounts for General Government - QFAGG, (3) Banking statistics and (4) administrative sources such as tax records and corporate balance sheet data from the Business Register. Revisions to Government data occur more frequently but any and all revisions are incorporated annually during the compilation phase of production. The nature and occurrence of routine revisions, along with any exceptional revisions (for example, as a result of methodological changes), are communicated to users normally with the publication of the data itself. Revisions are generally incorporated into the quarterly financial accounts as and when they occur or become available. For Financial accounts the most important revisions relating to the previous two years occur at the first compilation round after the BoI’s Annual Report; this round corresponds to the release of the first quarter (completed in June). Explanations relating to significant revisions are usually communicated to users at the time of publication.
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. Therefore, information on the main reasons for revisions and their nature (new source data available, new methods, etc.) as well as possibly quantitative and qualitative assessment on the average size of revisions and their direction based on historical data is required.
In general, the September (of year t) release referring to year t-2 data corresponds to the transition from the QNA-based simplified approach to the one based on very detailed statistical sources can cause a substantial impact on the estimates (GDP included). These estimates for year t-2 include final data from the system of structural business statistics Frame-SBS and draw upon the maximum detail of statistical sources. It also includes in the accounts a sound measure of underreporting of value added, based on detailed firm-level data and on individual information concerning undeclared employment.
Note that all the releases of National Accounts are archived and made available to users in the I.stat database (through the use of the edition field) and it is therefore possible to compare different releases and check revisions at any time (see also section 13.1).
In September 2024 a major general revision of national accounts (benchmark 2024) was conducted. The previous benchmark revisions of national accounts in ESA 2010 took place in 2019 and 2014, the 2014 one implementing the transition to the new ESA (from ESA95 to ESA 2010) with the ensuing methodological changes.
The 2024 general revision took on board new available sources and introduces methodological innovations and improvements aimed at enhancing the quality of national accounts. As regards timing, the revision was coordinated at European level, with similar operations taking place in most European countries. Details on sources and methodological changes of the 2024 general revision have been announced in the Italian version of the press release "La revisione generale dei conti nazionali 2024: Anni 1995-2023" published in August 2024. For more details see also the press release 23 September 2024.
The general revision with reference year 2021 has significantly modified the estimates of the levels of GDP and its main aggregates in recent years, with a limited impact on their rates of change.
Due to the benchmark revision, the level of nominal GDP in 2021 has been revised upward by +20,572 million euros (+1.1%) comparing with estimates released in March 2024. Upward revisions occurred for the rate of change of GDP in volume, from +8.3 to +8.9%. On the demand side, upward revisions were recorded for the level of household consumption (+4,623 million, equal to 0.5% of the aggregate), for Public administration spending (+8,162 million, equal to 2.3%) and for investments (+10,831 million, equal to 2.9%). Concerning foreign flows, there is a downward revision of the level of both components: -9,032 million for imports of goods and services (-1.7%) and -10,737 million for exports (-1.8%), which lead to a worsening of 1.7 billion in net exports.
18.1. Source data
National and regional accounts compilation builds up on statistics that are primarily collected for other purposes (primary statistics).
In order to compile the estimates of aggregates included in the system of national accounts, data derived from a large set of sources are used.
Sources of Istat own production include both business surveys and household surveys, and statistical registers built integrating survey and administrative data. These are supplemented by specific administrative archives (such as some INPS archives), as well as by information drawn from external sources, both public and private. Data drawn from surveys or other sources are in part already consistent with the definitions of national accounts, while those that follow different definitions must be corrected and appropriately reclassified to comply with the recording rules established by ESA.
Here follows a synthetic list of main sources used to compile the final version of annual national accounts, usually accomplished more than two years after the end of the reference year (in March of year t for data referring to year t-3).
As regards estimates of the supply side, the most relevant sources are those providing census-type information on enterprises: the statistical register of active enterprises (ASIA-Enterprises) and the information system on economic results of enterprises (Frame-SBS in the following). This micro database includes information on economic results for the whole population of active market enterprises (excluding agriculture and financial intermediation). It is built through a complex integration procedure of data from administrative archives, treated statistically and combined with data drawn from the survey on small and medium enterprises (PMI) and from the survey on the financial statements of large enterprises (SCI). Information on the financial statements of enterprises engaged in financial intermediation are provided by the supervisory authorities, that is the Bank of Italy, the insurance supervisory authority (Istituto per la vigilanza sulle assicurazioni - IVASS) and the Commission for the supervision on pension funds (Commissione di vigilanza sui fondi pensione - COVIP). Estimates for the primary sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) are based on several specific sources and on information from the 2020 7th General Census of Agriculture. Estimates for the electricity, gas and water sectors are based on Frame-SBS register and data from the Separate Annual Accounts of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA). For the non-profit sector a dedicated database has been built starting from the statistical register of private nonprofit institutions and public institutions, integrated with information drawn from the sample survey on the non-profit sector and from a set of administrative archives (UNIEMENS INPS, IRAP, UNICO, VAT). Concerning the General Government a very analytical approach is utilised, based on the collection and treatment of financial statement data of the whole set of institutional units included in this sector, both at the central and at the local level. For some government units (e.g. the State, municipalities, regions, local health care units, universities, social security institutions) data are collected through a centralized system, while for other units a specific statistical survey of financial statements in summary form is used (RIDDCUE survey). For the estimation of taxes, source data are integrated with those provided by the Tax and revenue agency (Agenzia delle entrate) and by the Finance Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). For the most recent year (t-1), information provided by the public sector working balance compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance is used, together with cash flow data collected by the Information System on the Operations of Government Bodies (SIOPE), extensively exploited for local entities.
As regards the demand side, estimates of private consumption are based primarily on data provided by the household expenditure survey. For part of the goods purchased by households, as well as for some capital goods, the commodity-flow method is utilized, calculating the value of final uses available for consumption and for capital formation in an indirect way, starting from the resources (defined as the sum of production and imports, less exports). For gross fixed capital formation, estimates obtained with the commodity-flow method are complemented by information on firm activities derived from Frame-SBS and specific sources, such as registers of vehicles and of shipping, the Building Permits Survey, data on military expenditure from the Ministry of Defence, and the results of R&D surveys. As regards foreign trade (imports and exports of goods and services), the data derive from the survey on traded goods (Intrastat and Extrastat components) conducted by Istat and from information on the trade of services extracted from the Balance of Payments compiled by the Bank of Italy.
As regards labour input estimates, information collected by the Labour force survey is integrated with a broad database of administrative data (particularly social contribution statements) submitted to a statistical treatment. Information from statistical registers compiled in Istat are also used: the statistical register of active enterprises (ASIA-Enterprises), the statistical register of agriculture enterprises (ASIA-Agriculture), the statistical register of private non-profit institutions and public institutions, base population register and thematic register on labour.
For quarterly estimates, within the adopted system, each annual aggregate to be disaggregated into quarters is associated to one or more quarterly or monthly indicators able to describe the short-term pattern of the same variable. The section "Main indicators used in the estimate (sources)" in the methodological note annexes to the national quarterly press release presents a list of the indicators used by main variable categories.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
National accounts are usually compiled on an annual or quarterly basis from other primary statistics. The frequency of data collection of primary statistics varies according to the nature of the data source. For example, business statistics are typically available on a monthly (and quarterly) basis. Some households' surveys are available on quarterly or annual frequency (sometimes even less frequent). Availability of administrative data varies from country to country. Population censuses are mostly collected every decade.
The frequency and timing of the compilation of national accounts are not necessary aligned with the frequency and timing of (all) primary statistics data collections.
National accounts departments typically do not collect data themselves but receive them from other departments or institutions. Countries can provide a more detailed description of the channels by which external data are collected.
The ESS guidelines suggest that the methods used for data collection should be described. It can also be appropriate to complete the section with the following issues: (i) an NSI usually signs an agreement and technical protocol for cooperation with other institutions on what, when, how, etc. the data would be delivered; (ii) national accounts department also participates in the development of the questionnaires of statistical surveys of other departments.
The data used for the compilation of Italian national accounts come from other Directorates of the Institute and other organizations or Institutions. The main interchange of data flows with external bodies and Institutions is regulated by negotiating Acts (framework agreements, conventions, research protocols and agreements) established with Istat or directly with the National Accounts Directorate. The Acts typically set up annexes or protocols defining activities to be performed, regulating data provision obligations and data quality standards; data transmission procedures and timing are defined.
Concerning the information and data flows internal to Istat, Service Level Agreements (SLA) regulate relations between the statistical production structures and directions that provide services (data capturing, methodological assistance, IT services, dissemination and communication).
Data from administrative sources are collected and managed by the Central Directorate for the data collection. The data transmission, access to archives, the preservation of data and protection of privacy follow principles and rules defined in the “Document on the safety of data” updated and published annually by Istat . In addition, all information relating to sources, types of collected data, the processing and use of personal data for statistical treatments, are spelled out in the National Statistical Programme, which is the legislative measure that, according to the article 13 of Legislative Decree n. 322 of 1989 and subsequent amendments, establishes the statistical surveys of public interest entrusted to the National Statistical System.
Currently, the data flows requested by the Directorate of National Accounts to other Directorates are governed by a standardized procedure that defines technical details and timing of data delivery and identify persons authorized to statistical treatment. In particular, as regards administrative data, the programming of the provision of files and archives from the Institutions gathering them for administrative purposes is defined through Istat “Three-year Plan of Administrative Data”. Medium term planning is then implemented setting a yearly programme that defines the specific details and calendar of data delivery.
18.4. Data validation
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.
In Italy, an important procedural step in the validation process is the storage and reporting system of the results. The whole set of aggregates are examined and compared with other aggregates of national accounts not included in the Supply and Use framework using a system of cross-tabulation and time-series graphical analysis. The system automatically presents comparisons of a rich set of variables, including labour input measures (employment and hours worked), compensation of employees, labour productivity measures, value added to output ratios, etc. The internal coherence of the whole set of estimates is easily examined and assured.
For the validation of main aggregates data, Italy applies minimum validation checks, some internal to NA’s datawarehouse and others agreed with Eurostat. The data transmitted to Eurostat are submitted to the pre validation system (STRUVAL & CONVAL) that applies the rules contained in the ESA 2010 validation Handbook, checking national data mainly for completeness (coverage of reference periods and variables), consistency (accounting consistency, consistency over time), additivity, plausibility, integrity and inter-table coherence checks and follows up on any lack of quality in this respect. Validation checks ensuring the coherence between datasets are performed.
18.5. Data compilation
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.
In Italy, the estimates of GDP are compiled building on a system of statistical sources and administrative data adapted to match ESA definitions. In the current system the national accounts are estimated within an integrated SUT system whose discrepancies are analysed and corrected, until they are reduced to mere statistical discrepancies to process through mathematical balancing. The balancing system applies to the estimates produced by the supply and the demand side. In turn, the income approach cannot be estimated independently and the allocation of income is obtained in a second step when the national accounts by institutional sector are produced. As the estimation of the gross operating surplus/mixed income is derived as a difference between the final estimates of value added and the other distributed primary incomes, the resulting income shares are a very important indicator of the reliability and economic plausibility of value added estimates. As a rule, the estimation processes are performed at the highest possible level of disaggregation to ensure both a high degree of reliability of the estimates and an adequate detail to represent the sectors evolution. The methods applied in the compilation process provides comprehensive estimates of GDP, including the non-observed components of the economy.
National accounts datasets are generally consistent.
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).
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.
In general, the series of quarterly national accounts are processed and issued both in unadjusted and adjusted form, where the adjustments concern both calendar and seasonal effects. Moreover the measures are at current prices (millions of euros), at prices of previous year and in chain linked values with reference year 2020. The implicit price deflators used for the estimates are on a mobile basis of Paasche type. The adjustment procedure of the aggregates for the calendar effects is based on the regression method, and takes into account the different number of working days, Easter holidays and the leap year effects. Both the calendar and seasonal effects correction operates on the reference indicators, and is performed applying the Reg-Arima approach within the TRAMO-SEATS procedure (both the versions 942 of 2017 for Linux and the one included into JDemetra+ version 2.x). For further details see the information note I Conti economici trimestrali. Principali elementi informativi of October 2024 (in Italian), that presents the indirect method of quarterly disaggregation, a selected list of main indicators used in the estimates, a summary description of the main variables object of estimation and the link between accounting schemes and short-term indicators. Moreover, the document outlines estimation methods for value added and double deflation, for final uses, labour inputs, income, costs and margins indicators, as well as the revision policy currently adopted. The model is usually updated with the t+90 days release of data of the second quarter. Calendar adjusted data are released, whereas trend-cycle are not.
No Comments
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).
National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may 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 and government finance statistics.
One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the rate of change of gross domestic product in volume, which is a synthetic indicator of the economic development of a country (or a region).
In Eurobase, countries' data are presented following the usual data structure.
At national level, data are available for :
annual and quarterly national accounts
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
breakdown by industry of main national accounts variables
breakdown of investment and non-financial assets by industry
detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function
pension entitlements in social insurance
In Italy, National Accounts data are organized for dissemination via IstatData in the following sections:
annual national accounts (including breakdown by industry of main national accounts aggregates, breakdown of investments and non-financial assets by industry and Households final consumption expenditure by purpose)
quarterly national accounts
regional accounts (including households accounts by region)
general government statistics data (including annual data, quarterly data, detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function)
productivity measures
environmental accounts (satellite)
social protection accounts (satellite)
agriculture, forestry and fishing accounts (satellite)
health care accounts (satellite)
Financial data for annual and quarterly sector accounts and data on quarterly financial government accounts and government debt are produced and disseminated by the Bank of Italy .
19 November 2025
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation (ESA 2010). 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 input-output tables, these variables are broken down either by industry (NACE Rev. 2) or 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.
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.
The reference area for national accounts is the total economy of a country. The total economy of a country can be broken down into regions. The NUTS classification provides a single, uniform breakdown of the economic territory of the Member States of the EU. Italy's territory doesn't include the States of Vatican City and of San Marino, while includes Campione d'Italia, Italian enclave of the Swiss Confederation.
The 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 end of a year or quarter).
Direct assessment of accuracy (estimation of variance and bias components of MSE of estimates) is not applicable for NA data.
Revision analysis can provide an assessment of data reliability.
All press releases have a part dedicated to methodology in which revision policy is described. A section of the press release is dedicated to the explanation and analysis of revisions of aggregates with respect to the previous release. For Quarterly National Accounts and Quarterly Sector Accounts a section dedicated to revisions is available in the press release containing information on the revision policy of key economic indicators.
Starting with Benchmark 2014 (September 2014), for all annual and quarterly national accounts data, a field "Edition" has been included in IstatData identifying month and year of release. It is therefore possible, for each aggregate, to create and download the so-called “revisions triangles” on the released values. To do this, it is necessary to customize the display using the pivoting function and putting the edition field in the row and the time field in the column.
With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours, jobs or full time equivalent units, the ESA 2010 system shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms in euros. 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 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.
In Italy, the estimates of GDP are compiled building on a system of statistical sources and administrative data adapted to match ESA definitions. In the current system the national accounts are estimated within an integrated SUT system whose discrepancies are analysed and corrected, until they are reduced to mere statistical discrepancies to process through mathematical balancing. The balancing system applies to the estimates produced by the supply and the demand side. In turn, the income approach cannot be estimated independently and the allocation of income is obtained in a second step when the national accounts by institutional sector are produced. As the estimation of the gross operating surplus/mixed income is derived as a difference between the final estimates of value added and the other distributed primary incomes, the resulting income shares are a very important indicator of the reliability and economic plausibility of value added estimates. As a rule, the estimation processes are performed at the highest possible level of disaggregation to ensure both a high degree of reliability of the estimates and an adequate detail to represent the sectors evolution. The methods applied in the compilation process provides comprehensive estimates of GDP, including the non-observed components of the economy.
National accounts datasets are generally consistent.
National and regional accounts compilation builds up on statistics that are primarily collected for other purposes (primary statistics).
In order to compile the estimates of aggregates included in the system of national accounts, data derived from a large set of sources are used.
Sources of Istat own production include both business surveys and household surveys, and statistical registers built integrating survey and administrative data. These are supplemented by specific administrative archives (such as some INPS archives), as well as by information drawn from external sources, both public and private. Data drawn from surveys or other sources are in part already consistent with the definitions of national accounts, while those that follow different definitions must be corrected and appropriately reclassified to comply with the recording rules established by ESA.
Here follows a synthetic list of main sources used to compile the final version of annual national accounts, usually accomplished more than two years after the end of the reference year (in March of year t for data referring to year t-3).
As regards estimates of the supply side, the most relevant sources are those providing census-type information on enterprises: the statistical register of active enterprises (ASIA-Enterprises) and the information system on economic results of enterprises (Frame-SBS in the following). This micro database includes information on economic results for the whole population of active market enterprises (excluding agriculture and financial intermediation). It is built through a complex integration procedure of data from administrative archives, treated statistically and combined with data drawn from the survey on small and medium enterprises (PMI) and from the survey on the financial statements of large enterprises (SCI). Information on the financial statements of enterprises engaged in financial intermediation are provided by the supervisory authorities, that is the Bank of Italy, the insurance supervisory authority (Istituto per la vigilanza sulle assicurazioni - IVASS) and the Commission for the supervision on pension funds (Commissione di vigilanza sui fondi pensione - COVIP). Estimates for the primary sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) are based on several specific sources and on information from the 2020 7th General Census of Agriculture. Estimates for the electricity, gas and water sectors are based on Frame-SBS register and data from the Separate Annual Accounts of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA). For the non-profit sector a dedicated database has been built starting from the statistical register of private nonprofit institutions and public institutions, integrated with information drawn from the sample survey on the non-profit sector and from a set of administrative archives (UNIEMENS INPS, IRAP, UNICO, VAT). Concerning the General Government a very analytical approach is utilised, based on the collection and treatment of financial statement data of the whole set of institutional units included in this sector, both at the central and at the local level. For some government units (e.g. the State, municipalities, regions, local health care units, universities, social security institutions) data are collected through a centralized system, while for other units a specific statistical survey of financial statements in summary form is used (RIDDCUE survey). For the estimation of taxes, source data are integrated with those provided by the Tax and revenue agency (Agenzia delle entrate) and by the Finance Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). For the most recent year (t-1), information provided by the public sector working balance compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance is used, together with cash flow data collected by the Information System on the Operations of Government Bodies (SIOPE), extensively exploited for local entities.
As regards the demand side, estimates of private consumption are based primarily on data provided by the household expenditure survey. For part of the goods purchased by households, as well as for some capital goods, the commodity-flow method is utilized, calculating the value of final uses available for consumption and for capital formation in an indirect way, starting from the resources (defined as the sum of production and imports, less exports). For gross fixed capital formation, estimates obtained with the commodity-flow method are complemented by information on firm activities derived from Frame-SBS and specific sources, such as registers of vehicles and of shipping, the Building Permits Survey, data on military expenditure from the Ministry of Defence, and the results of R&D surveys. As regards foreign trade (imports and exports of goods and services), the data derive from the survey on traded goods (Intrastat and Extrastat components) conducted by Istat and from information on the trade of services extracted from the Balance of Payments compiled by the Bank of Italy.
As regards labour input estimates, information collected by the Labour force survey is integrated with a broad database of administrative data (particularly social contribution statements) submitted to a statistical treatment. Information from statistical registers compiled in Istat are also used: the statistical register of active enterprises (ASIA-Enterprises), the statistical register of agriculture enterprises (ASIA-Agriculture), the statistical register of private non-profit institutions and public institutions, base population register and thematic register on labour.
For quarterly estimates, within the adopted system, each annual aggregate to be disaggregated into quarters is associated to one or more quarterly or monthly indicators able to describe the short-term pattern of the same variable. The section "Main indicators used in the estimate (sources)" in the methodological note annexes to the national quarterly press release presents a list of the indicators used by main variable categories.
Frequency for Italian National Accounts dissemination (see also Section 10.1 and 10.3) is the following:
2 times per year: Annual National Accounts, Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, Balance sheet for Non-Financial Assets, General Government Accounts, Taxes and Social Contributions, Employment;
2 times each quarter (Q+30 days (Preliminary) andQ+ 60 days): Quarterly National Accounts;
one time each quarter: Quarterly Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, General Government Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts;
once a year: Regional Accounts, Disposable Income of Households in Italian Regions, Annual General Government Expenditure by Function, SUIOT.
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 (flash estimates) and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply, use and input-output tables) after the end of the reference year.
Italy benefits from a derogation for the transmission of QSA seasonally adjusted data, which allows it to comply with the deadline of t+3 months+3 working days, i.e. the deadline in force prior to the revision of the transmission plan that came into effect in September 2024. The derogation expires in September 2027.
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.
