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.
National Accounts, Climate and Environment, Economic Statistics
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Sankt Kjelds Plads 11, 2100 Copenhagen
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
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1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
11 May 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
11 May 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
11 May 2026
3.1. Data description
Fixed assets are compiled in accordance with the principles of the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010). The compilation covers:
Gross fixed capital formation
Gross capital stock
Net capital stock
Consumption of fixed capital
Other volume changes in non-financial assets
Revaluations (nominal and real)
The compilation follows a cohort-based approach where gross fixed capital formation is distributed over the service life of the assets using age-efficiency profiles. Service lives, depreciation patterns and price series are set in line with international guidelines and ongoing empirical assessments.
3.2. Classification system
The variables are broken down by the following asset types:
Dwellings
Other buildings
Structures
Transport equipment
ICT equipment, other machinery and equipment and weapon systems:
ICT equipment
Telecommunications equipment
Other machinery and equipment and weapon systems
Cultivated biological resources
Intellectual property products:
Research and development
Oil, gas and mineral exploration
Computer software
Original works of art, entertainment, literary or artistic originals
In addition, there is a breakdown by industry where the most detailed level corresponds to the 69-industry breakdown in the national accounts, and a breakdown by institutional sectors corresponding to the institutional sectors in the national accounts.
Figures are compiled so they are consistent between the industry and sector distributions.
Danish Industrial Classification 2007 (DB07), which is the Danish version of the international nomenclatures EU’s NACE Rev. 2 and UN’s ISIC Rev. 4, contains a number of standard groupings: 127-, 36-, 19- and 10-groupings.
At the most detailed level, fixed assets are published at the 69-industry grouping, which can be aggregated to the 36a2, 19a2 and 10a3 groupings. See more about industries in national account.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Institutional sectors:
S.11 Non-financial corporations
S.12 Financial corporations
S.13 General government
S.14 Households
S.15 Non-profit institutions serving households
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Consumption of Fixed Capital: Consumption of fixed capital is the decline, during the course of the accounting period, in the current value of the stock of fixed assets owned and used by a producer as a result of physical deterioration, normal obsolescence or normal accidental damage.
Gross capital formation: Capital formation includes both gross fixed capital formation and changes in inventories.
Gross fixed capital formation are expenditure for durable goods that are used in production processes for more than one year. E.g. it can be expenditure as regards to acquisition of machinery and equipment and for the construction of buildings as well as research and development.
Changes in inventories are the value of changes in the industries' inventories, e.g. increases in stocks of raw materials and manufactured goods in the manufacturing industry and stocks within wholesale and retail trade.
Gross Stock: Gross capital stock is the value of all fixed assets still in use, at the actual or estimated current purchasers’ prices for new assets of the same type, irrespective of the age of the assets
Net Stock: Net capital stock is the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use is described as the net capital stock; it can also be described as the difference between gross capital stock and consumption of fixed capital.
Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets n.e.c.: Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets records abnormal changes to the level of capital stocks. For example, unforeseen injury cases are not recorded as consumption of fixed capital but as Other Volume Changes.
Revaluation: The revaluation account records changes in the value of fixed capital due to changes in their prices. The nominal account corresponds to the revaluation of fixed capital stock in a given period due to changes in their prices. The real holding is the difference between general price changes and the fixed capital price change.
3.5. Statistical unit
In the national accounts by industry, the unit is in principle the local kind-of-activity unit, the workplace, which is the smallest unit for which a production account can be compiled. This unit is called the functional unit, and it differs from the institutional unit, which is normally the enterprise as the economic and decision-making unit. While functional units are classified by industry, institutional units in the national accounts are classified only by institutional sector.
3.6. Statistical population
All institutional units resident in Denmark, defined as units having their centre of predominant economic interest on Danish economic territory for a period of one year or more, engaged in the production of goods and services.
3.7. Reference area
The economic territory of Denmark, excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Annual National Accounts, final 1966-2022.
Annual National Accounts, preliminary 2023-2024.
3.9. Base period
Gross and net capital stocks, consumption of fixed capital and gross fixed capital formation are compiled as chain-linked volume indices with 2020 as base year (chain-linked values), in order to isolate the volume component of the monetary values.
Mill. DKK
The reference period is the calendar year. Fixed capital stock is measured in the beginning of the accounting year, while gross fixed capital formation is a flow measure covering the full calendar year.
Investments are also compiled on a quarterly basis as part of the quarterly national accounts. For further details on the quarterly compilation, see the documentation for the quarterly national accounts.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Data are transmitted to Eurostat in accordance with the ESA 2010 Transmission Programme. At European level, data exchange and coordination are organised by Eurostat, which shares national accounts data with other international organisations such as the OECD, IMF and the United Nations under established cooperation agreements. At national level, coordination takes place within Statistics Denmark to ensure consistency between the national accounts and related statistics, including sector accounts, employment and price statistics.
The statistics are published at a level of detail that does not require any further disclosure control.
8.1. Release calendar
The publication date appears in the release calendar. The date is confirmed in the weeks before.
8.2. Release calendar access
The Release Calendar can be accessed on our English website: Release Calendar.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Statistics are always published at 8:00 a.m. at the day announced in the release calendar. No one outside of Statistics Denmark can access the statistics before they are published.
Data are disseminated annually. This includes gross fixed capital formation as a flow measure, as well as capital stock as a stock measure.
The statistics are published in StatBank in the following tables:
NABKxx, where xx indicates the industry grouping used (10, 19, 36 or 69). Each table contains accumulation and stocks of investment and fixed assets by stock/flow, asset, industry, price concept and time.
NAHK, which contains accumulation and stocks of investment and fixed assets by stock/flow, asset, price concept and time.
NASK, which contains accumulation and stocks of investment and fixed assets by stock/flow, asset, sector and time.
NAHI, which contains gross fixed capital formation by asset and price concept.
NKHI, which contains gross fixed capital formation by asset, price concept and seasonal adjustment.
Basic material is stored electronically. In some cases more detailed material can be made available on a service basis at a charge.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Internal delivery to the macroeconomic model ADAM: both standard tables and specialised tables are provided.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Documentation on methodology for these statistics have not been published.
A general documentation of the Danish national accounts is available in Danish GDP and GNI, Sources and methods 2012. Theoretical basis and methods for the compilation of fixed assets: Measuring Capital. OECD Manual. Measurement of capital stocks and capital services. OECD 2009.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Results from the quality evaluation of products and selected processes are available in detail for each statistics and in summary reports for the Working Group on Quality.
11.1. Quality assurance
Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
With the introduction of ESA2010 the levels for fixed capital was validated.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Fixed capital is used as a basis for analyzing economic relations in general and production functions, productivity and wealth in particular. Users are mainly researchers, economic ministries and organizations.
Completeness rates of underlying ESA data transmissions are assessed in annual quality reports. In 2025, Denmark transmitted complete data for gross fixed capital formation, stocks of fixed assets, and balance sheets.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The uncertainty in the national accounts figures is connected with the uncertainty in the sources (particularly gross fixed capital formation) that are used. There is conceptual consistency over time and uniform processing of sources contributes to reducing the uncertainty for the national accounts figures. In particular, the combination of primary sources in an integrated system helps reveal errors that therefore do not pass through to the final national accounts.
There are no quantified measures of uncertainty.
Until 2020, buildings and transport equipment were fully or partly compiled using a direct stock approach based on administrative registers. From 2021 onwards, the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM) is applied to all asset types to ensure a consistent and harmonised compilation of fixed assets. The direct stock approach is considered the most reliable method. Since buildings and transport equipment account for the majority of the total capital stock, the shift to PIM for these asset types introduces a higher level of uncertainty in the estimates from 2021 onwards.
The first version of provisional annual national accounts is published at the end of June in the year following the reference year. Final annual national accounts figures are published annually approximately 2.5 years after the reference year.
Fixed assets are published annually in line with the publication of the other annual national accounts.
14.2. Punctuality
The Statistics are usually published without delay in relation to the scheduled date.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Internationally there is a high degree of comparability with other countries’ national accounts, since the Danish national accounts are compiled in accordance with ESA 2010.
Other aspects: In StatBank the compilation of stock variables in chain-linked values is based on valuation at mid-year prices, whereas the transmission and publication to Eurostat use valuation at end-year prices. The calculated growth rates will therefore not necessarily be identical.
One of the fundamental goals when compiling National Accounts statistics is to achieve a high degree of comparability over time. The statistical sources are therefore adapted in order to be consistent with the concepts of the National Accounts. Fundamental changes of nomenclatures as for example classification of industries, changes in definitions as a result of new guidelines as well as new and better sources, will inevitably lead to changes in the National Accounts and the compilation of fixed capital. In such cases, a comprehensive revision is involved, and earlier periods are re-compiled following the new guidelines.
Minor adjustments are continuously made to sources, methods and assumptions, for example service lives. This is done in a way that ensures that the statistics remain comparable over time. The most recent adjustment was carried out in 2025, when the PIM method replaced direct stock estimates for buildings and transport equipment and service lives were adjusted.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The compilation of fixed capital is consistent with the rest of the national accounts. The products are identical to those used for gross fixed capital formation in the national accounts, the industry breakdown is identical to the industry breakdown of gross fixed capital formation (69 level) and the breakdown by institutional sectors is identical to the institutional sector accounts.
15.4. Coherence - internal
By definition, there is full internal consistency in the national accounts. Totals are equal to the sum of their components across all breakdowns, including by asset type, industry, and institutional sector.
There is no direct burden of response since data are collected by other offices in Statistics Denmark.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Fixed capital is compiled according to guidelines in the present European national accounting system, ESA2010. Updated series for fixed capital are published yearly.
Fixed capital was released for the first time in 1997 according to guidelines in the former European national accounting system, ESA79, and the DB93-based industries.
First revision in 2001: According to the system ESA95 and DB93-based industries.
Second revision in 2005: data revision with minor corrections according to ESA95 and DB93-based industries.
Third revision in 2011: Industry revision with incorporation of DB07-based industries.
Fourth revision on September 15th 2014: Incorporation of the system ESA2010.
Fifth revision on November 15th 2016, data revision with minor corrections, measured according to ESA2010 and DB07 based industries.
Sixth revision on 28 June 2024: minor corrections for the whole period 1966-2020, in accordance with the ESA2010 manual and the DB07 classification.
From June 28th 2024 figures are available at current prices and 2020-prices, chained values.
18.1. Source data
The data source for the compilation of fixed assets consists of gross fixed capital formation from the compilation of the national accounts combined with historical stocks and assumptions regarding service lives, depreciation profiles, etc.
The compilation of gross fixed capital formation is based on a combination of business statistics, administrative registers and industry-relevant data sources. The primary source is the structural business statistics, which provide information on gross fixed capital formation by asset type in most market-producing industries. The structural business statistics supplement the compilation with information on purchases and sales of existing assets, which are included according to the national accounts definition. For asset types and industries where the structural business statistics do not sufficiently cover the level of investment, alternative sources are used, including the Building and Dwelling Register (BBR), government finance statistics, sector accounts and industry-based business accounts.
For investment in buildings and structures, turnover statistics for the construction sector and information on transaction costs in connection with transfer of ownership are also used. Investment in transport equipment is delimited using the Motor Vehicle Register. The compilation of investment in intangible assets uses sector-specific sources, including R&D statistics and product statistics for IT services. Software investment is compiled by combining information from the product statistics for the IT sector with a derived estimate for own-account production based on labour costs.
For investment in machinery and equipment, commodity and industry statistics are used through methods based on the commodity-flow approach. In sectors with a small number of large investors and in general government, data quality is assessed as high, while new enterprises with low initial activity are monitored separately to ensure full registration of large one-off investments.
In the previously used method for the compilation of stocks of dwellings and transport equipment, a direct stock approach was used. In this approach the sources are the Building and Dwelling Register (BBR), the Motor Vehicle Register, the Ship Register, the Aircraft Register, the Register of Rolling Stock and the Property Register.
For the compilation of consumption of fixed capital it is necessary to use assumptions on service lives for individual types of capital. Statistics Denmark uses service lives that largely follow European recommendations.
The overall average service lives are as follows:
Asset
Average service life
Danish range of service lives
AN.111 Dwellings
70
68–75
AN.1121 Other buildings
57.1
50–62
AN.1122 Structures
38.5
23–120
AN.1131 Transport equipment
16.4
12–25
AN.11321 ICT equipment
5.8
5–10
AN.11322 Telecommunications equipment
14.1
11–23
AN.1139 Other machinery and equipment
14.2
10–35
AN.114 Weapons systems
22
22
AN.115 Cultivated biological resources
AN.1171 Research and development
9.8
9–20
AN.1172 Oil, gas and mineral exploration
30
30
AN.1173 Computer software
5.1
5–7
AN.1174/1179 Original works of art, entertainment, etc.
Most data for fixed assets are collected via internal deliveries within Statistics Denmark.
18.4. Data validation
In the national accounts, general validation of the primary sources for the compilation of gross fixed capital formation is carried out. Stock estimates are reconciled with the sector and industry distributions of gross fixed capital formation, which ensures consistency with the rest of the national accounts. Consistency of consumption of fixed capital is also ensured across the national accounts and government finance statistics. A final macro assessment is performed in which the aggregated fixed asset results are checked for plausibility and coherence.
18.5. Data compilation
Data processing takes place in several steps.
The same calculation method is used for all asset types, namely the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM). Buildings and transport equipment were previously compiled using a direct stock approach. In order to harmonise the calculation method, detailed benchmark stocks for buildings and transport equipment have been compiled so that PIM can be applied. This harmonisation was introduced in the compilation of fixed assets from the 2021 reference year onwards.
There is an accounting identity between the main variables in the compilation of fixed assets. The identity covers gross capital stock, net capital stock, gross fixed capital formation, consumption of fixed capital, nominal revaluations and other changes in the volume of non-financial assets. The variables form an accounting identity which ensures consistency between opening and closing capital stocks.
The identity can be expressed as: net capital stock at the beginning of the year + gross fixed capital formation - consumption of fixed capital + other changes in the volume of non-financial assets + nominal revaluations = net capital stock at the end of the year.
The identity is defined in current prices. For compilations at constant prices with the same reference time, for example annual average prices or previous year’s prices, the same identity holds with the difference that nominal revaluations are zero, since these exist only in current prices.
Quarterly consumption of fixed capital in constant prices is calculated under the assumption that the change in consumption of fixed capital is proportional to approximate net investment, defined as gross fixed capital formation minus the previous period's consumption of fixed capital. The proportionality factor is estimated as the quarterly mean of the ratio of the change in consumption of fixed capital to approximate net investment over the latest three years.
Quarterly consumption of fixed capital in current prices is calculated by applying an implicit price index anchored to the implicit price index for consumption of fixed capital in the base period and extrapolated forward using the price development of gross fixed capital formation.
18.6. Adjustment
No corrections of data are made besides the earlier mentioned corrections under "data validation" and "data compilation".
Further information can be found at the subject page for these statistics, or by contacting Statistics Denmark directly.
Fixed assets are compiled in accordance with the principles of the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010). The compilation covers:
Gross fixed capital formation
Gross capital stock
Net capital stock
Consumption of fixed capital
Other volume changes in non-financial assets
Revaluations (nominal and real)
The compilation follows a cohort-based approach where gross fixed capital formation is distributed over the service life of the assets using age-efficiency profiles. Service lives, depreciation patterns and price series are set in line with international guidelines and ongoing empirical assessments.
11 May 2026
Consumption of Fixed Capital: Consumption of fixed capital is the decline, during the course of the accounting period, in the current value of the stock of fixed assets owned and used by a producer as a result of physical deterioration, normal obsolescence or normal accidental damage.
Gross capital formation: Capital formation includes both gross fixed capital formation and changes in inventories.
Gross fixed capital formation are expenditure for durable goods that are used in production processes for more than one year. E.g. it can be expenditure as regards to acquisition of machinery and equipment and for the construction of buildings as well as research and development.
Changes in inventories are the value of changes in the industries' inventories, e.g. increases in stocks of raw materials and manufactured goods in the manufacturing industry and stocks within wholesale and retail trade.
Gross Stock: Gross capital stock is the value of all fixed assets still in use, at the actual or estimated current purchasers’ prices for new assets of the same type, irrespective of the age of the assets
Net Stock: Net capital stock is the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use is described as the net capital stock; it can also be described as the difference between gross capital stock and consumption of fixed capital.
Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets n.e.c.: Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets records abnormal changes to the level of capital stocks. For example, unforeseen injury cases are not recorded as consumption of fixed capital but as Other Volume Changes.
Revaluation: The revaluation account records changes in the value of fixed capital due to changes in their prices. The nominal account corresponds to the revaluation of fixed capital stock in a given period due to changes in their prices. The real holding is the difference between general price changes and the fixed capital price change.
In the national accounts by industry, the unit is in principle the local kind-of-activity unit, the workplace, which is the smallest unit for which a production account can be compiled. This unit is called the functional unit, and it differs from the institutional unit, which is normally the enterprise as the economic and decision-making unit. While functional units are classified by industry, institutional units in the national accounts are classified only by institutional sector.
All institutional units resident in Denmark, defined as units having their centre of predominant economic interest on Danish economic territory for a period of one year or more, engaged in the production of goods and services.
The economic territory of Denmark, excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
The reference period is the calendar year. Fixed capital stock is measured in the beginning of the accounting year, while gross fixed capital formation is a flow measure covering the full calendar year.
Investments are also compiled on a quarterly basis as part of the quarterly national accounts. For further details on the quarterly compilation, see the documentation for the quarterly national accounts.
The uncertainty in the national accounts figures is connected with the uncertainty in the sources (particularly gross fixed capital formation) that are used. There is conceptual consistency over time and uniform processing of sources contributes to reducing the uncertainty for the national accounts figures. In particular, the combination of primary sources in an integrated system helps reveal errors that therefore do not pass through to the final national accounts.
There are no quantified measures of uncertainty.
Until 2020, buildings and transport equipment were fully or partly compiled using a direct stock approach based on administrative registers. From 2021 onwards, the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM) is applied to all asset types to ensure a consistent and harmonised compilation of fixed assets. The direct stock approach is considered the most reliable method. Since buildings and transport equipment account for the majority of the total capital stock, the shift to PIM for these asset types introduces a higher level of uncertainty in the estimates from 2021 onwards.
The same calculation method is used for all asset types, namely the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM). Buildings and transport equipment were previously compiled using a direct stock approach. In order to harmonise the calculation method, detailed benchmark stocks for buildings and transport equipment have been compiled so that PIM can be applied. This harmonisation was introduced in the compilation of fixed assets from the 2021 reference year onwards.
There is an accounting identity between the main variables in the compilation of fixed assets. The identity covers gross capital stock, net capital stock, gross fixed capital formation, consumption of fixed capital, nominal revaluations and other changes in the volume of non-financial assets. The variables form an accounting identity which ensures consistency between opening and closing capital stocks.
The identity can be expressed as: net capital stock at the beginning of the year + gross fixed capital formation - consumption of fixed capital + other changes in the volume of non-financial assets + nominal revaluations = net capital stock at the end of the year.
The identity is defined in current prices. For compilations at constant prices with the same reference time, for example annual average prices or previous year’s prices, the same identity holds with the difference that nominal revaluations are zero, since these exist only in current prices.
Quarterly consumption of fixed capital in constant prices is calculated under the assumption that the change in consumption of fixed capital is proportional to approximate net investment, defined as gross fixed capital formation minus the previous period's consumption of fixed capital. The proportionality factor is estimated as the quarterly mean of the ratio of the change in consumption of fixed capital to approximate net investment over the latest three years.
Quarterly consumption of fixed capital in current prices is calculated by applying an implicit price index anchored to the implicit price index for consumption of fixed capital in the base period and extrapolated forward using the price development of gross fixed capital formation.
The data source for the compilation of fixed assets consists of gross fixed capital formation from the compilation of the national accounts combined with historical stocks and assumptions regarding service lives, depreciation profiles, etc.
The compilation of gross fixed capital formation is based on a combination of business statistics, administrative registers and industry-relevant data sources. The primary source is the structural business statistics, which provide information on gross fixed capital formation by asset type in most market-producing industries. The structural business statistics supplement the compilation with information on purchases and sales of existing assets, which are included according to the national accounts definition. For asset types and industries where the structural business statistics do not sufficiently cover the level of investment, alternative sources are used, including the Building and Dwelling Register (BBR), government finance statistics, sector accounts and industry-based business accounts.
For investment in buildings and structures, turnover statistics for the construction sector and information on transaction costs in connection with transfer of ownership are also used. Investment in transport equipment is delimited using the Motor Vehicle Register. The compilation of investment in intangible assets uses sector-specific sources, including R&D statistics and product statistics for IT services. Software investment is compiled by combining information from the product statistics for the IT sector with a derived estimate for own-account production based on labour costs.
For investment in machinery and equipment, commodity and industry statistics are used through methods based on the commodity-flow approach. In sectors with a small number of large investors and in general government, data quality is assessed as high, while new enterprises with low initial activity are monitored separately to ensure full registration of large one-off investments.
In the previously used method for the compilation of stocks of dwellings and transport equipment, a direct stock approach was used. In this approach the sources are the Building and Dwelling Register (BBR), the Motor Vehicle Register, the Ship Register, the Aircraft Register, the Register of Rolling Stock and the Property Register.
For the compilation of consumption of fixed capital it is necessary to use assumptions on service lives for individual types of capital. Statistics Denmark uses service lives that largely follow European recommendations.
The overall average service lives are as follows:
Asset
Average service life
Danish range of service lives
AN.111 Dwellings
70
68–75
AN.1121 Other buildings
57.1
50–62
AN.1122 Structures
38.5
23–120
AN.1131 Transport equipment
16.4
12–25
AN.11321 ICT equipment
5.8
5–10
AN.11322 Telecommunications equipment
14.1
11–23
AN.1139 Other machinery and equipment
14.2
10–35
AN.114 Weapons systems
22
22
AN.115 Cultivated biological resources
AN.1171 Research and development
9.8
9–20
AN.1172 Oil, gas and mineral exploration
30
30
AN.1173 Computer software
5.1
5–7
AN.1174/1179 Original works of art, entertainment, etc.
Data are disseminated annually. This includes gross fixed capital formation as a flow measure, as well as capital stock as a stock measure.
The first version of provisional annual national accounts is published at the end of June in the year following the reference year. Final annual national accounts figures are published annually approximately 2.5 years after the reference year.
Fixed assets are published annually in line with the publication of the other annual national accounts.
Internationally there is a high degree of comparability with other countries’ national accounts, since the Danish national accounts are compiled in accordance with ESA 2010.
Other aspects: In StatBank the compilation of stock variables in chain-linked values is based on valuation at mid-year prices, whereas the transmission and publication to Eurostat use valuation at end-year prices. The calculated growth rates will therefore not necessarily be identical.
One of the fundamental goals when compiling National Accounts statistics is to achieve a high degree of comparability over time. The statistical sources are therefore adapted in order to be consistent with the concepts of the National Accounts. Fundamental changes of nomenclatures as for example classification of industries, changes in definitions as a result of new guidelines as well as new and better sources, will inevitably lead to changes in the National Accounts and the compilation of fixed capital. In such cases, a comprehensive revision is involved, and earlier periods are re-compiled following the new guidelines.
Minor adjustments are continuously made to sources, methods and assumptions, for example service lives. This is done in a way that ensures that the statistics remain comparable over time. The most recent adjustment was carried out in 2025, when the PIM method replaced direct stock estimates for buildings and transport equipment and service lives were adjusted.
