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.
This metadata is associated with the following tables:
Capital stocks by industry and by detailed asset type
Capital stocks by sector and by detailed asset type
Capital formation by industry and by detailed asset type
Annual gross fixed capital formation by main asset type
Stocks and flows are closely related. Stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the accounting period (SNA 2008, § 2.4).
Capital stocks by industry and by detailed asset type
This metadata is associated with table nama_10_nfa_st containing data on stocks of fixed assets (or capital stock) by type of asset and economic activity.
According with SNA 2008 and ESA 2010, an asset is a store of value representing a benefit or series of benefits accruing to the economic owner by holding or using the entity over a period of time. It is a means of carrying forward value from one accounting period to another (SNA 2008, §3.30; ESA 2010, §7.15). A liability is the obligation (agreed upon a contract) which requires debtors to provide a payment or a series of payments to creditors.
This metadata focuses on fixed assets which are a subset of produced non-financial assets: fixed assets (AN.11) are used repeatedly or continuously in production for more than one year.
In addition to fixed assets, produced non-financial assets also include inventories (AN.12) which are used up in production as intermediate consumption, sold or otherwise disposed of, and valuables (AN.13) which are not used primarily for production or consumption but are instead acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
Stocks of fixed assets can be valued in gross and net terms. Gross stock means the value of stock before deducting consumption of fixed capital (depreciation). In the gross stock, assets are treated as new until they are retired: it is assumed that they retain their full productive capacity until removed from the stock. Net capital stock is equal to gross capital stock minus consumption of fixed capital, i.e. the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use (OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms).
Stocks and flows are closely related. Stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the accounting period (SNA 2008, § 2.4). The data set can therefore be analysed on gross fixed capital formation and balance sheets.
The data publishes:
Data on gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and consumption of fixed capital (CFC):
Cross-classification of gross fixed capital formation by industry and by asset (flows) (nama_10_a64_p5): This table includes annual data transmitted under table T22 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme,
Data on stocks of fixed assets:
Cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks) (nama_10_nfa_st): This table includes annual data transmitted under table T20 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme,
The current metadata focuses on fixed produced non-financial assets (AN.11), more precisely on table nama_10_nfa_st (cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks)).
Capital stocks by sector and by detailed asset type
This metadata is associated with table nama_10_nfa_bs containing data on balance sheets for non-financial assets. Balance sheets show the stocks of assets, liabilities held by the total economy or broken down by institutional sector, as well as their balancing item (net worth) at the beginning and the end of an accounting period.
A balance sheet relates to the value of assets and liabilities at a particular moment of time. Balance sheets are compiled at the beginning and end of an accounting period; the opening balance sheet at the beginning of the period is the same as the closing balance sheet recorded at the end of the preceding period.
A basic accounting identity links the value of the stock of a specific type of an asset as shown in the opening balance sheet and the closing balance sheet as follows: The value of the stock of a specific type of asset in the opening balance Sheet, plus the total value of that asset acquired in transactions that take place during the accounting period (transactions) minus the total value of that asset disposed of in transactions that take place during the accounting period (transactions) minus consumption of fixed capital (if applicable) plus other positive changes in volume affecting that asset (other changes in the volume of assets) minus other negative changes in volume affecting that asset (other changes in the volume of assets) plus the value of nominal holding gains accruing during the period resulting from changes in the price of that asset (revaluations) minus the value of nominal.
Holding losses accruing during the period resulting from changes in the price of that asset (revaluations) equals the value of the stock of that asset in the closing balance sheet.
Most fixed assets can be recorded in balance sheets at current purchasers’ prices reduced for the accumulated consumption of fixed capital; this is known as the written-down replacement cost. The sum of the reduced values of all fixed assets still in use is described as the net capital stock.
Annual gross fixed capital formation by main asset type
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) data are produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) implemented by the European Statistical System. The ESA 2010 is aligned with the international statistical standard - the SNA 2008 - published by the United Nations.
According to ESA 2010 (§ 3.124) and SNA 2008 (§ 1.52 & 10.32), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF, identified with ESA code P.51) consists of resident producers’ acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period plus certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units. Fixed assets are produced assets used in production for more than one year.
Gross fixed capital formation is one component of gross capital formation (GCF):
GCF = GFCF + Changes in inventories + (Acquisitions – disposals of valuables)
or, using the SNA 2008 and ESA 2010 codes on products’ transactions,
P.5 = P.51 + P.52 + P.53
Gross fixed capital formation contributes (indirectly, through gross capital formation) to the expenditure approach of GDP defined as:
GDP = FCE + GOV + GCF + (EXP – IMP)
Where FCE is final consumption expenditure (by households and non-private institutions serving households), GOV is government final consumption expenditure, GCF is gross capital formation (as mentioned above) and (EXP-IMP) stand for exports and imports respectively.
In addition to contributing to the expenditure approach to GDP, data on gross fixed capital formation is key in compiling capital stocks data and balance sheets published in tables nama_10_nfa_st and nama_10_nfa_bs respectively.
Gross fixed capital formation data are transactions which contribute to the compilation of stocks of fixed assets. This data set can therefore be analysed together with other data, namely on capital stocks and balance sheets.
National accounts data on gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is transmitted through Tables 1, 3 and 22 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme.
Table 1 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*10 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year (annual data).
Table 3 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*10 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year; table 3 also includes data for consumption of fixed capital, changes in inventories and acquisitions less disposals of valuables.
Table 22 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*21 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year.
The associated transmission programme(Annex B) defines compulsory data. Data are compiled at the level of the total economy at industry and institutional sector level and by asset breakdowns. The classifications applied are described below.
Economic activity
ESA 2010 uses aggregation levels of the NACE Rev.2 classification to define industry breakdowns (NACE stands for Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes). NACE Rev.2 is a classification of economic activities widely used in statistics and in other domains. Requirements for the transmission of NACE Rev.2 series have been specified in the Commission Regulation (EC) No 715/2010 of 10 August 2010.
Asset types
Asset types for non-financial fixed assets are classified according to ESA 2010 (Table 7.1 and Chapter 23).
Institutional sector
Breakdowns by institutional sector include total economy (S.1), non-financial corporations (S.11), financial corporations (S.12), general government (S.13), households (S.14), and non-profit institutions serving households (S.15).
More details and specific information can be found in relevant metadata file (link in concept 3.1).
3.3. Coverage - sector
The ESA 2010 transmission programme, as outlined in annex B of EU regulation 2023/734, which amended the European system of regional and national accounts (ESA 2010), defines the datasets that national statistical authorities of the EU countries have to transmit to Eurostat for the compilation of the European accounts.
For capital stocks, gross capital formation, gross fixed capital formation, consumption of fixed capital and balance sheets, countries are required to transmit annual data.
Balance sheets are broken down by asset group and by institutional sector; the other variables are broken down by asset group and NACE industry (various levels).
Quarterly data for gross fixed capital formation is also transmitted.
More information about each data set can be found in relevant metadata file (see links in concept 3.1).
An economic asset is a store of value representing the benefits accruing to the economic owner by holding or using the entity over a period of time. It is a means of carrying forward value from one accounting period to another (ESA 2010, §7.15). Two main categories of assets in the balance sheets are distinguished in SNA 2008 and ESA 2010:
non-financial assets(denoted as AN) and
financial assets and liabilities(denoted as AF) (ESA 2010, §7.20).
Non-financial assets are divided into
produced non-financial assets(denoted as AN.1) and
non-produced non-financial assets(denoted as AN.2) (ESA 2010, §7.21).
Produced non-financial assets (AN.1) are outputs from production processes (ESA 2010,§7.20-7.22) and are further classified on the basis of their role in production:
fixed assets (AN.11) which are used repeatedly or continuously in production for more than one year;
inventories (AN.12) which are used up in production as intermediate consumption, sold or otherwise disposed of; and
valuables (AN.13) which are not used primarily for production or consumption but are instead acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
Non-produced non-financial assets are split into three categories,
natural resources,
contracts leases and licences, and
purchase and sale of goodwill and marketing assets (SNA2008, §A3.50).
Fixed assets consist of a subset of produced assets that are used repeatedly or continuously in production over periods of time of more than one year (SNA 2008, § 1.52).
Although the level of aggregation of the released information is AN_F6 in accordance with ESA requirements, the working aggregation level by type of asset is the following:
AN.111 Dwellings: This asset is estimated by components according to the available information sources: new construction, expenditure on acquisition of assets and major improvements therein. In each component, the corresponding taxes are taken into account.
AN.112 Other buildings and structures: This asset is estimated by components according to the available information sources: new construction, expenditure on acquisition of assets and major improvements therein. In each component, the corresponding taxes are taken into account.
AN.1121 Buildings other than dwellings: It is based on data about surface area for non-residential buildings to be built. The own-account gross fixed capital formation of the product F41002_4, non-residential buildings, is added. The own-account gross fixed capital formation of the rest of the construction products, F42 and F43, has been assumed to be already included in the estimate of assets
AN.1122 Other structures (Same as the previous section)
AN.1123 Land improvements: This asset comprises both major land improvements and costs associated with the purchase and sale of land.
AN.113 Machinery and equipment: The products of this asset are calculated using a different method depending on the available data sources.
AN.1131 Transport equipment: Vehicles, Ships, Railways, Aircraft, Other transport equipment.
Motor vehicles (AN.11311): This asset is made up of two products, mainly the CPA.291 product (98%) and C292-C293 (2%).
Industrial products included in the Statistics on Spanish Foreign Trade as capital goods (commodity flow method).
Rest of the products in EIP not included in the Statistics on Spanish Foreign Trade as capital goods.
Other products.
AN.1132 ICT equipment:
11321 Computer equipment.
11322 Communications equipment.
AN.1139 Other machinery and equipment
AN.114 Weapon systems: Armored vehicles and tanks, Ships, ICT equipment, Aircraft, Other weapons systems
AN.115 Cultivated biological resources: This group of products includes the following:
AN.1151 Animal resources yielding repeat products: Variations in the number of livestock used in production over a number of years, such as breeding animals, animals for milk or wool production, or draft animals. Animals used for transportation, racing, or other purposes are also included. Animals used for meat are excluded, as is poultry.
AN.1152 Tree, crop and plant resources yielding repeat products: Variations in permanent plantations, such as vineyards, fruit trees, and in general all those that are cultivated for their fruit and the products obtained from them. Timber forests are not taken into consideration because they are considered works in progress.
AN.117 Intellectual property products:
AN.1171 Research and development: Estimation process: the R&D services have been estimated following the ESA 2010 conceptual framework, which defines the transactions and balancing items to be estimated, their valuation and accounting relations and interdependence. Furthermore, the guidelines established in the Manual on measuring Research and development in ESA 2010 have been followed so as to guarantee reliability and comparability of the Member States estimates
AN.1172 Mineral exploration and evaluation: This transaction comprises the value of the expenditures relative to the exploration of oil, natural gas and mineral deposits, including all the costs incurred to make the project possible.
AN.1173 Computer software and databases: This asset includes computer programs, program descriptions, and supporting materials for both systems and applications software. The development and filling of databases intended to be used for more than a year, whether or not they are traded, are also considered.
AN.1174 Entertainment, literary or artistic originals: This group of products includes films, sound recordings, manuscripts, tapes, etc., on which are recorded, or which contain original theatre performances, radio or television programs, musical works, literary or artistic productions, and so on.
AN.1179 Other intellectual property products: This asset has been considered not numerically significant, because after an exhaustive analysis, it was concluded that all intellectual property assets, at least the most relevant and for which some information was available, were already included in the previous sections.
The SNA 2008 does not formally include a division between tangible and intangible assets in the classification. However, we can make the following differentiation:
Tangible fixed assets are non-financial produced assets that consist of dwellings, other buildings and structures, machinery and equipment and cultivated assets.
Intangible fixed assets are non-financial produced fixed assets that mainly consist of mineral exploration, computer software, entertainment, literary or artistic originals intended to be used for more than one year.
Fixed capital is the value of capital assets available for production purposes at a given point in time. All capital goods are included which are accounted for in gross fixed capital formation. This is measured by the value of acquisitions less disposals of new or existing fixed assets.
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. In the gross stock, assets are treated as new until they are retired: it is assumed that they retain their full productive capacity until removed from the stock.
Net capital stock is equal to gross fixed capital stock reduced for the accumulated consumption of fixed capital. It is the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use.
Consumption of fixed capital (CFC, ESA code P.51c) reflects the decline in the value of the fixed assets of enterprises, governments and owners of dwellings in the household sector. Fixed assets decline in value due to normal wear and tear, foreseeable ageing (obsolescence) and a normal rate of accidental damage. Unforeseen obsolescence, major catastrophes and the depletion of natural resources, however, are not included. Unlike "depreciation" in business accounting, CFC in national accounts is not a method for allocating the costs of past expenditures on fixed assets over subsequent accounting periods. Rather, it is the decline in the future benefits of the assets due to their use in the production process.
A balance sheet is a statement, drawn up for a particular point in time, of the values of assets economically owned and of liabilities owed by an institutional unit or group of units. The balance sheet completes the sequence of accounts, showing the ultimate effect of the entries in the production, distribution and use of income, and accumulation accounts on the stock of wealth of an economy.
A balance sheet is drawn up for resident institutional sectors and subsectors, the total national economy, and the rest of the world. The balancing item of a balance sheet is called net worth (B.90). Net worth can be negative if liabilities are greater than the value of assets.
Gross capital formation (GCF, ESA code P.5) is measured by the total value of the gross fixed capital formation (P.51g), changes in inventories (P.52) and acquisitions less disposals of valuables (P.53) for a unit, an institutional sector or the whole economy.
P.5 = P.51g + P.52 + P.53
By deducting consumption of fixed capital (P.51c) net capital formation is obtained.
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF, ESA code P.51g) consists of resident producers’ investments, deducting disposals, in fixed assets during a given period. It also includes certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realized by producers or institutional units. Fixed assets are tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from production processes that are used repeatedly, or continuously, for more than one year.
Changes in inventories(CI, ESA code P.52) are measured by the value of entries to inventories less the value of withdrawals from inventories, and the value of any recurrent losses of goods held in inventories during a given period. Volumes at the prices of the previous year can be derived by the deflation of these components. In practice, however, it is rare for entries and withdrawals of stocks to be actually known, and often the only available information is the value of the stocks at the start and at the end of the period.
Acquisitions less disposals of valuables (ALDOV, ESA code P.53) valuables are non-financial goods that are not used primarily for production or consumption, do not deteriorate (physically) over time under normal conditions and are acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
3.5. Statistical unit
According to ESA 2010, two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used in national accounts:
Institutional unit: used to describe revenue, expenditure, and financial flows, as well as balance sheets
Local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU): used to describe production processes, input-output analysis, and regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterized by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is considered to constitute an institutional unit in the economic territory in which it has its predominant center of economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and keeps complete accounts or is capable of keeping complete accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer that are located in a single or nearby location and that contribute to the performance of an activity at the NACE Rev. 2 class (four-digit) level.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
Regarding the type of statistical units used from Spain in the production approach, for the institutional sector accounts the relevant unit is the institutional unit and for the industry approach is the KAU unit.
However, in practice, and depending on the availability of data from basic statistical sources, the units used in the production approach for national accounts and both approaches may be the enterprise.
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.
3.7. Reference area
The reference area for Balance Sheets is the total economy of Spain. Thus, it includes the Canary and Balearic Islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The national economic territory is comprised of:
The area (geographical territory) submitted to the management and cash control of a single administration.
Other free trade zones, including warehouses and factories under customs control.
The national airspace, territorial waters and the continental shelf located in international waters over which the country enjoys exclusive rights.
Territorial enclaves, which are geographic territories located in the rest of the world and used under international treaties or agreements between States, by public administrations in the country (embassies, consulates, military bases, etc.)
The deposits (oil, gas, etc.) located in international waters outside of the continental shelf in the country, exploited by resident units in the territory according to the previous points.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The temporal coverage (i.e., the length of the historical series) may differ for individual national series, but in the case of Spain, coverage begins in 1995.
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 Commission Decision 98/715/EC. Expressing variables at the prices of the previous year allows the calculation of volume indices between the current time period and the previous year. After a reference period is chosen as a benchmark, volume indices can be chain-linked and then applied to variables at current prices of the benchmark year. This generates volume estimates for any period of observation.
Data on Balance Sheets are available in current prices, million euro.
Data on Capital Stocks are available in current prices and previous year prices, million euro.
Data on GFCF are available in current prices, chain-linked volume and previous year prices, million euro.
Current prices (CUP) figures are available expressed in millions of euros. They can be directly observed but include inflation effects.
Chain-linked volume series (CLV) are obtained by successively applying previous year's price's growth rates to the current price figure of a specific reference year e.g. 2020. Chain-linking involves the loss of additivity for all years except the reference year and the directly following year, because these are the only periods expressed in prices of the reference year. For other years, chain-linked components will not sum to the totals.
Previous year prices (PYP) are expressed in millions of euros. Data in previous year’s prices are excluding the influence of inflation. These data are used to derive chain-linked volumes and included in the dissemination for advanced users to allow construction of custom aggregations and derived measures. Since the price base changes every year, the figures do not constitute a homogeneous time series.
The usual reference period for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
At national level, the compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, making compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2025-2028, approved by Royal Decree 1225/2024, of 3 December, is the Plan currently implemented.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Regional statistical offices, are regulated in the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 (Law of the Public Statistic Function).
This law also regulates statistical coordination mechanisms and establishes cooperation agreements between the various offices when necessary.
At natonal level, the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Data are anonymized and processed securely according to statistical confidentiality, if necessary.
The technical transmission standard SDMX allows countries to specify the confidentiality status of data. Confidential data (Flags ‘C’ and ‘D’) appear in Eurobase as a ‘C’ flag.
If Member States transmit data with a confidentiality flag or an embargo date, these data are not disseminated until the confidentiality flag is removed in a subsequent data transmission or the embargo expired.
In the case of Spain, there are no flags for these data.
8.1. Release calendar
EU/EA aggregates are compiled based on underlying national accounts transmitted by member states and European aggregates when available.
The publication of Capital Stocks for the EU and Euro area aggregates is included in Eurostat’s preannounced release calendar.
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's website almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice.
Annual data for gross fixed capital formation (tables (nama_10_an6, nama_10_nfa_fl, nama_10_a64_p5) are requested by t+9, t+21 or t+24 months, depending on the level of detail, where t is the end of the reference period,
Annual data for consumption of fixed capital (table nama_10_a64) are requested by t+9 or t+21 months, depending on the level of detail,
Cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks) (nama_10_nfa_st) are requested at t+24 months,
Balance sheets data are due after T+24 months (nama_10_nfa_bs) are requested at t+24 months.
Balance sheets data is published annually in September and the data transmitted to Eurostat at the same time with the national publication.
In addition to the documents above, Eurostat established in 2020 a DMES Task Force on fixed assets and estimation of consumption of fixed capital under ESA 2010 (TF FIXCAP) to develop recommendations towards harmonising the use of the perpetual inventory methods among NSIs and improve standardisation of compilation practices.
GNI Inventories contain very relevant information on the quality of the data underlying the GNI data transmitted by countries to Eurostat. GNI Inventories contain sections on the estimation of capital stocks, consumption of fixed capital, gross fixed capital formation and balance sheets. For BR2019, is available at the website of INE: Inventory of sources and methods.
11.1. Quality assurance
Quality is assured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by thorough validation of the data delivered by countries.
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).
Member States 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 a Commission Implementing Regulation 2016/2304 of 19 December 2016.
The implementation of the quality reporting and assessment exercise started in 2017 and is carried out annually. As part of the annual exercise, Eurostat assesses the results, prepares and publishes an overall assessment based on the national quality reports and other available information.
Users of annual national accounts data are typically interested in analysing structural changes in the economy from a medium-term perspective.
Produced fixed assets (together with labour inputs) are used not only as an important factor in production but also as a transmitter of embodied technical progress. This is the case for both tangible assets, like constructions or telecommunications and equipment, and intangible asset types, such as software and databases or research and development.
Reliable measurement of productivity, in particular capital productivity, depends on accurate capital related data. Data on capital stocks, gross fixed capital formation (investment), gross capital formation, and consumption of fixed capital, are key input when considering productivity developments and growth accounts. This is reflected in the National Accounts methodology. With the adoption of the SNA 2008 and the introduction
of ESA 2010, the work on capital stocks and the consumption of fixed capital and underlying data has become especially important.
At EU level, this data is also relevant for the estimation of potential output (and output gap) and to improve the quality of GDP estimates contributing to better comparability across countries.
Moreover, the data plays a prominent role in the EU fiscal policy surveillance in the context of the review of the EU Stability and Growth Pact launched in 2020. Investment and the monitoring of investment continue to play important role in the economic governance framework. This requires better data on net investment on which data on fixed assets are based.
The use of non-financial balance sheets and capital stocks data in economic analysis is wide. The sequence of accounts including the final step with balance sheets give a complete picture of the economy and of the relations with the main aggregates. Balance sheets can be used as an indicator of economic status as well as for studying wealth and growth accounts. They can also be used to analyse the relationship between changes in the value of non-financial assets and the business cycle and in research about sustainability.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
The INE has conducted general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and plans to continue conducting them every three years. The aim is to find out how users perceive INE statistics in terms of the quality of the information they use and the extent to which their needs are met. In addition, other special surveys are conducted to find out about specific aspects: dissemination of information, quality of certain publications, etc.
This operation fully complies with the information requirements established by the Eurostat Data Transmission Programme set out in Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 on the European System of National and Regional Accounts 2010, as well as those required by Regulation (EU) No 1287/2003 of 15 July on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices and Regulation (EU) No 479/2009 of 25 May on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Eurostat and INE assess the accuracy of national data by systematically applying validation checks to all national accounts transmissions of countries.
13.2. Sampling error
National accountants use primary statistics collected for other purposes (e.g. population, production, business, government, external trade, households) to compile national accounts data. The nature of these data sources is so varied that the concept of sampling error is meaningless and not applicable when compiling accounts based on such primary statistics.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
The main aggregates for year t are published, as preliminary results, nine months after the end of the reference period.
The final results for year t-2 are published 33 months after the end of the reference period.
The comparability is insured by the application of common definitions (European System of Accounts ESA 2010).
For compilation practices of data on gross fixed capital formation and fixed assets (stocks), Eurostat launched a questionnaire collecting information amongst compliers which is documented here: Non financial assets.
In 2020, Eurostat launched a Task Force on fixed assets and estimation of consumption of fixed capital under ESA 2010 to develop a set of recommendations aiming at further harmonising the parameters of the perpetual inventory model (PIM) widely used in compiling capital stocks and consumption of fixed capital data.
15.2. Comparability - over time
By using a common framework, the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), data can be 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
The ESA 2010 is consistent with the principles established in the Balance of payments and international investment position manual (BPM6) , meaning that the results of the rest of the world account in Spain's Annual National Accounts are broadly consistent with those of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics published by the Bank of Spain.
Furthermore, the Annual Public Sector accounts elaborated by the State Controller’s Office are integrated into Spain's National Accounts.
Furthermore, as these are summary statistics, the results of this operation are generally consistent with those of the statistical and administrative sources used in their preparation, although they are not fully consistent with them given the conceptual and methodological differences that exist between them.
Validation checks ensuring the coherence between various asset-related data, e.g. gross fixed capital formation, stocks of fixed assets, consumption of fixed capital, balance sheets are performed.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The accounting methodology established in the ESA 2010 ensures the compliance of all the identities established within the Spanish National Accounts and, with this, the consistency of all the measures established to describe the different parts of the economic process, allowing the joint and consistent analysis of the different aspects and phases of this and the behaviour of different economic agents.
The INE has a policy that regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, ensuring the transparency of processes and the quality of products. This policy is described in the document approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting on 13 March 2015. The document is available in the section Revision policy of the National Statistics Institute
This general policy sets out the criteria to be followed for different types of revisions: routine revisions - in cases of statistics that, by their nature, are revised on a regular basis - ; major revisions, due to methodological changes or changes in the basic reference sources for the statistics; and extraordinary revisions (e.g. those due to an error in already published statistics).
National accounts are a structural statistical product, which means that estimates of different operations and aggregates are subject to a process of revision and disaggregation until they become final. This process is determined by the dependence of national accounts on statistical information, in the sense that the more temporary and aggregated the base information is, the more provisional the nature of the national accounts estimate.
The revision of estimates is limited to a period of three years. During this period, three updates of the same accounting year will be available until the estimate for year t becomes final, all of which will be released in September.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Routine revisions for annual data
National accounts data at country level are subject to continuous routine revisions as new input data becomes available. Countries’ data are revised according to country schedules, and revisions become visible in Eurostat's online database as soon as new data is transmitted to and validated by Eurostat.
Countries’ revisions will typically result in revisions of the European aggregates, which are derived from these data, but updated estimations of the European aggregates are only released on specific dates. Annual data may be revised twice every quarter with the release of quarterly figures (65 days and approximately 110 days after the end of the reference quarter). The dates are pre-announced in the release calendar on Eurostat's website (see 8.2). On these occasions, previously published figures are subject to revision for all variables and all years. The depth of revisions observed for the aggregates depend on the depth of revisions of national data.
Data may be published even if they are missing for certain variables and/or countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability. They are replaced with final data once transmitted and validated. European aggregates are updated according to the pre-announced release calendar. The vast majority of NSIs have aligned their national
release dates with the calendar of Eurostat so that European aggregates are consistent with revised country data on the release day.
Routine revisions are documented and communicated through press releases and dedicated statistical analyses. A thorough analysis based on pre-selected revision indicators is also included in the annual national quality report.
Major or benchmark revisions
In 2014, all Member States disseminated revised data according to ESA 2010. The agreed guidelines specify that Member States should disseminate the results of the next benchmark revisions in 2019 and 2024 respectively. Spain carried out the subsequent benchmark revision in 2024.
INE use many sources to compile their national accounts, among them administrative data from government, population censuses, business surveys, external trade and balance of payments statistics... No single survey can hence be referred to. Different sources and methods are used for calculating stock of fixed assets.
INE estimates Balance Sheets and capital stocks by industry using the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM). This implies that the input data for the method is GFCF series for each asset and each institutional sector (or each industry) and price indexes series for each asset. So, the source data for Balance Sheets and capital stocks is the ones used in the estimates for GFCF flows and their price indexes (which includes the Structural Business Survey, administrative records, and the SUT balancing process). The PIM also has some parameters (basically, average service life, depreciation function and retirement function for each asset) whose values are aligned with the recommendations from the Eurostat’s Task Force mentioned in Section 15.1.
Deadlines for the transmission of Balance Sheets and Capital Stocks are specified in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) transmission programme is T+24 months. Deadlines for GFCF is T+9. For further details see section 10.3 (Dissemination format).
INE transmit national accounts data to Eurostat upon national publication and/or in line with the deadlines specified in the ESA 2010 transmission programme. Gross fixed capital formation data are transmitted t+9, t+21 or t+24 months, depending on the level of detail of the data. Stocks of fixed assets are transmitted at t+24 months and flows are transmitted at t+9 and t+21 months as well as consumption of fixed capital.
18.3. Data collection
The data used are statistics compiled by the INE itself or other agencies. Data collection varies according to the type of source and the way in which the information is disseminated (database, electronic publication, etc.). In general, the necessary information is published on websites, with direct access to the corresponding publication or database. With regard to unpublished information, it is sent directly to the National Accounts Department from the responsible agencies.
Section 18.1 Source data lists the source of the information.
18.4. Data validation
The units commonly used in statistical research are not always appropriate for national accounting purposes, as they are generally based on traditional legal, administrative or accounting criteria. First, the definitions of the units of analysis used in the ESA must be taken into account.
Furthermore, in order to record transactions correctly in accordance with the ESA 2010 methodology, certain adjustments must be made to adapt the information obtained in the surveys to the criteria established in the ESA, such as the unobserved economy, the inclusion of tips, insurance services, consistency in the recording of taxes and subsidies, valuation of transactions, etc.
On the other hand, the ESA includes many specific conventions. For example, the valuation of the output of general government, the valuation of the output of insurance services and financial intermediation services, the recording of public services as final consumption expenditure, etc. In these cases, based on the basic information, it is necessary to estimate output according to the criteria established in the ESA and make the corresponding adjustments to the users of this output.
18.5. Data compilation
The capital stocks, capital formation and gross fixed capital formation are compiled by INE using country specific data sources, methods and compilation techniques. Guidance documents on general and specific national accounts compilation issues are available.
See the GNI report following the benchmark revision 2019 is available at the website of INE: Inventory of sources and methods for more details.
This metadata is associated with the following tables:
Capital stocks by industry and by detailed asset type
Capital stocks by sector and by detailed asset type
Capital formation by industry and by detailed asset type
Annual gross fixed capital formation by main asset type
Stocks and flows are closely related. Stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the accounting period (SNA 2008, § 2.4).
Capital stocks by industry and by detailed asset type
This metadata is associated with table nama_10_nfa_st containing data on stocks of fixed assets (or capital stock) by type of asset and economic activity.
According with SNA 2008 and ESA 2010, an asset is a store of value representing a benefit or series of benefits accruing to the economic owner by holding or using the entity over a period of time. It is a means of carrying forward value from one accounting period to another (SNA 2008, §3.30; ESA 2010, §7.15). A liability is the obligation (agreed upon a contract) which requires debtors to provide a payment or a series of payments to creditors.
This metadata focuses on fixed assets which are a subset of produced non-financial assets: fixed assets (AN.11) are used repeatedly or continuously in production for more than one year.
In addition to fixed assets, produced non-financial assets also include inventories (AN.12) which are used up in production as intermediate consumption, sold or otherwise disposed of, and valuables (AN.13) which are not used primarily for production or consumption but are instead acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
Stocks of fixed assets can be valued in gross and net terms. Gross stock means the value of stock before deducting consumption of fixed capital (depreciation). In the gross stock, assets are treated as new until they are retired: it is assumed that they retain their full productive capacity until removed from the stock. Net capital stock is equal to gross capital stock minus consumption of fixed capital, i.e. the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use (OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms).
Stocks and flows are closely related. Stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the accounting period (SNA 2008, § 2.4). The data set can therefore be analysed on gross fixed capital formation and balance sheets.
The data publishes:
Data on gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and consumption of fixed capital (CFC):
Cross-classification of gross fixed capital formation by industry and by asset (flows) (nama_10_a64_p5): This table includes annual data transmitted under table T22 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme,
Data on stocks of fixed assets:
Cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks) (nama_10_nfa_st): This table includes annual data transmitted under table T20 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme,
The current metadata focuses on fixed produced non-financial assets (AN.11), more precisely on table nama_10_nfa_st (cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks)).
Capital stocks by sector and by detailed asset type
This metadata is associated with table nama_10_nfa_bs containing data on balance sheets for non-financial assets. Balance sheets show the stocks of assets, liabilities held by the total economy or broken down by institutional sector, as well as their balancing item (net worth) at the beginning and the end of an accounting period.
A balance sheet relates to the value of assets and liabilities at a particular moment of time. Balance sheets are compiled at the beginning and end of an accounting period; the opening balance sheet at the beginning of the period is the same as the closing balance sheet recorded at the end of the preceding period.
A basic accounting identity links the value of the stock of a specific type of an asset as shown in the opening balance sheet and the closing balance sheet as follows: The value of the stock of a specific type of asset in the opening balance Sheet, plus the total value of that asset acquired in transactions that take place during the accounting period (transactions) minus the total value of that asset disposed of in transactions that take place during the accounting period (transactions) minus consumption of fixed capital (if applicable) plus other positive changes in volume affecting that asset (other changes in the volume of assets) minus other negative changes in volume affecting that asset (other changes in the volume of assets) plus the value of nominal holding gains accruing during the period resulting from changes in the price of that asset (revaluations) minus the value of nominal.
Holding losses accruing during the period resulting from changes in the price of that asset (revaluations) equals the value of the stock of that asset in the closing balance sheet.
Most fixed assets can be recorded in balance sheets at current purchasers’ prices reduced for the accumulated consumption of fixed capital; this is known as the written-down replacement cost. The sum of the reduced values of all fixed assets still in use is described as the net capital stock.
Annual gross fixed capital formation by main asset type
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) data are produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) implemented by the European Statistical System. The ESA 2010 is aligned with the international statistical standard - the SNA 2008 - published by the United Nations.
According to ESA 2010 (§ 3.124) and SNA 2008 (§ 1.52 & 10.32), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF, identified with ESA code P.51) consists of resident producers’ acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period plus certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units. Fixed assets are produced assets used in production for more than one year.
Gross fixed capital formation is one component of gross capital formation (GCF):
GCF = GFCF + Changes in inventories + (Acquisitions – disposals of valuables)
or, using the SNA 2008 and ESA 2010 codes on products’ transactions,
P.5 = P.51 + P.52 + P.53
Gross fixed capital formation contributes (indirectly, through gross capital formation) to the expenditure approach of GDP defined as:
GDP = FCE + GOV + GCF + (EXP – IMP)
Where FCE is final consumption expenditure (by households and non-private institutions serving households), GOV is government final consumption expenditure, GCF is gross capital formation (as mentioned above) and (EXP-IMP) stand for exports and imports respectively.
In addition to contributing to the expenditure approach to GDP, data on gross fixed capital formation is key in compiling capital stocks data and balance sheets published in tables nama_10_nfa_st and nama_10_nfa_bs respectively.
Gross fixed capital formation data are transactions which contribute to the compilation of stocks of fixed assets. This data set can therefore be analysed together with other data, namely on capital stocks and balance sheets.
National accounts data on gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is transmitted through Tables 1, 3 and 22 of the ESA 2010 transmission programme.
Table 1 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*10 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year (annual data).
Table 3 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*10 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year; table 3 also includes data for consumption of fixed capital, changes in inventories and acquisitions less disposals of valuables.
Table 22 contains annual data for total economy and by NACE A*21 breakdown transmitted 9 months after the end of the reference year.
An economic asset is a store of value representing the benefits accruing to the economic owner by holding or using the entity over a period of time. It is a means of carrying forward value from one accounting period to another (ESA 2010, §7.15). Two main categories of assets in the balance sheets are distinguished in SNA 2008 and ESA 2010:
non-financial assets(denoted as AN) and
financial assets and liabilities(denoted as AF) (ESA 2010, §7.20).
Non-financial assets are divided into
produced non-financial assets(denoted as AN.1) and
non-produced non-financial assets(denoted as AN.2) (ESA 2010, §7.21).
Produced non-financial assets (AN.1) are outputs from production processes (ESA 2010,§7.20-7.22) and are further classified on the basis of their role in production:
fixed assets (AN.11) which are used repeatedly or continuously in production for more than one year;
inventories (AN.12) which are used up in production as intermediate consumption, sold or otherwise disposed of; and
valuables (AN.13) which are not used primarily for production or consumption but are instead acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
Non-produced non-financial assets are split into three categories,
natural resources,
contracts leases and licences, and
purchase and sale of goodwill and marketing assets (SNA2008, §A3.50).
Fixed assets consist of a subset of produced assets that are used repeatedly or continuously in production over periods of time of more than one year (SNA 2008, § 1.52).
Although the level of aggregation of the released information is AN_F6 in accordance with ESA requirements, the working aggregation level by type of asset is the following:
AN.111 Dwellings: This asset is estimated by components according to the available information sources: new construction, expenditure on acquisition of assets and major improvements therein. In each component, the corresponding taxes are taken into account.
AN.112 Other buildings and structures: This asset is estimated by components according to the available information sources: new construction, expenditure on acquisition of assets and major improvements therein. In each component, the corresponding taxes are taken into account.
AN.1121 Buildings other than dwellings: It is based on data about surface area for non-residential buildings to be built. The own-account gross fixed capital formation of the product F41002_4, non-residential buildings, is added. The own-account gross fixed capital formation of the rest of the construction products, F42 and F43, has been assumed to be already included in the estimate of assets
AN.1122 Other structures (Same as the previous section)
AN.1123 Land improvements: This asset comprises both major land improvements and costs associated with the purchase and sale of land.
AN.113 Machinery and equipment: The products of this asset are calculated using a different method depending on the available data sources.
AN.1131 Transport equipment: Vehicles, Ships, Railways, Aircraft, Other transport equipment.
Motor vehicles (AN.11311): This asset is made up of two products, mainly the CPA.291 product (98%) and C292-C293 (2%).
Industrial products included in the Statistics on Spanish Foreign Trade as capital goods (commodity flow method).
Rest of the products in EIP not included in the Statistics on Spanish Foreign Trade as capital goods.
Other products.
AN.1132 ICT equipment:
11321 Computer equipment.
11322 Communications equipment.
AN.1139 Other machinery and equipment
AN.114 Weapon systems: Armored vehicles and tanks, Ships, ICT equipment, Aircraft, Other weapons systems
AN.115 Cultivated biological resources: This group of products includes the following:
AN.1151 Animal resources yielding repeat products: Variations in the number of livestock used in production over a number of years, such as breeding animals, animals for milk or wool production, or draft animals. Animals used for transportation, racing, or other purposes are also included. Animals used for meat are excluded, as is poultry.
AN.1152 Tree, crop and plant resources yielding repeat products: Variations in permanent plantations, such as vineyards, fruit trees, and in general all those that are cultivated for their fruit and the products obtained from them. Timber forests are not taken into consideration because they are considered works in progress.
AN.117 Intellectual property products:
AN.1171 Research and development: Estimation process: the R&D services have been estimated following the ESA 2010 conceptual framework, which defines the transactions and balancing items to be estimated, their valuation and accounting relations and interdependence. Furthermore, the guidelines established in the Manual on measuring Research and development in ESA 2010 have been followed so as to guarantee reliability and comparability of the Member States estimates
AN.1172 Mineral exploration and evaluation: This transaction comprises the value of the expenditures relative to the exploration of oil, natural gas and mineral deposits, including all the costs incurred to make the project possible.
AN.1173 Computer software and databases: This asset includes computer programs, program descriptions, and supporting materials for both systems and applications software. The development and filling of databases intended to be used for more than a year, whether or not they are traded, are also considered.
AN.1174 Entertainment, literary or artistic originals: This group of products includes films, sound recordings, manuscripts, tapes, etc., on which are recorded, or which contain original theatre performances, radio or television programs, musical works, literary or artistic productions, and so on.
AN.1179 Other intellectual property products: This asset has been considered not numerically significant, because after an exhaustive analysis, it was concluded that all intellectual property assets, at least the most relevant and for which some information was available, were already included in the previous sections.
The SNA 2008 does not formally include a division between tangible and intangible assets in the classification. However, we can make the following differentiation:
Tangible fixed assets are non-financial produced assets that consist of dwellings, other buildings and structures, machinery and equipment and cultivated assets.
Intangible fixed assets are non-financial produced fixed assets that mainly consist of mineral exploration, computer software, entertainment, literary or artistic originals intended to be used for more than one year.
Fixed capital is the value of capital assets available for production purposes at a given point in time. All capital goods are included which are accounted for in gross fixed capital formation. This is measured by the value of acquisitions less disposals of new or existing fixed assets.
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. In the gross stock, assets are treated as new until they are retired: it is assumed that they retain their full productive capacity until removed from the stock.
Net capital stock is equal to gross fixed capital stock reduced for the accumulated consumption of fixed capital. It is the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use.
Consumption of fixed capital (CFC, ESA code P.51c) reflects the decline in the value of the fixed assets of enterprises, governments and owners of dwellings in the household sector. Fixed assets decline in value due to normal wear and tear, foreseeable ageing (obsolescence) and a normal rate of accidental damage. Unforeseen obsolescence, major catastrophes and the depletion of natural resources, however, are not included. Unlike "depreciation" in business accounting, CFC in national accounts is not a method for allocating the costs of past expenditures on fixed assets over subsequent accounting periods. Rather, it is the decline in the future benefits of the assets due to their use in the production process.
A balance sheet is a statement, drawn up for a particular point in time, of the values of assets economically owned and of liabilities owed by an institutional unit or group of units. The balance sheet completes the sequence of accounts, showing the ultimate effect of the entries in the production, distribution and use of income, and accumulation accounts on the stock of wealth of an economy.
A balance sheet is drawn up for resident institutional sectors and subsectors, the total national economy, and the rest of the world. The balancing item of a balance sheet is called net worth (B.90). Net worth can be negative if liabilities are greater than the value of assets.
Gross capital formation (GCF, ESA code P.5) is measured by the total value of the gross fixed capital formation (P.51g), changes in inventories (P.52) and acquisitions less disposals of valuables (P.53) for a unit, an institutional sector or the whole economy.
P.5 = P.51g + P.52 + P.53
By deducting consumption of fixed capital (P.51c) net capital formation is obtained.
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF, ESA code P.51g) consists of resident producers’ investments, deducting disposals, in fixed assets during a given period. It also includes certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realized by producers or institutional units. Fixed assets are tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from production processes that are used repeatedly, or continuously, for more than one year.
Changes in inventories(CI, ESA code P.52) are measured by the value of entries to inventories less the value of withdrawals from inventories, and the value of any recurrent losses of goods held in inventories during a given period. Volumes at the prices of the previous year can be derived by the deflation of these components. In practice, however, it is rare for entries and withdrawals of stocks to be actually known, and often the only available information is the value of the stocks at the start and at the end of the period.
Acquisitions less disposals of valuables (ALDOV, ESA code P.53) valuables are non-financial goods that are not used primarily for production or consumption, do not deteriorate (physically) over time under normal conditions and are acquired and held primarily as stores of value.
According to ESA 2010, two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used in national accounts:
Institutional unit: used to describe revenue, expenditure, and financial flows, as well as balance sheets
Local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU): used to describe production processes, input-output analysis, and regional analysis.
An institutional unit is an economic entity characterized by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is considered to constitute an institutional unit in the economic territory in which it has its predominant center of economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and keeps complete accounts or is capable of keeping complete accounts.
A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer that are located in a single or nearby location and that contribute to the performance of an activity at the NACE Rev. 2 class (four-digit) level.
An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.
Regarding the type of statistical units used from Spain in the production approach, for the institutional sector accounts the relevant unit is the institutional unit and for the industry approach is the KAU unit.
However, in practice, and depending on the availability of data from basic statistical sources, the units used in the production approach for national accounts and both approaches may be the enterprise.
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.
The reference area for Balance Sheets is the total economy of Spain. Thus, it includes the Canary and Balearic Islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The national economic territory is comprised of:
The area (geographical territory) submitted to the management and cash control of a single administration.
Other free trade zones, including warehouses and factories under customs control.
The national airspace, territorial waters and the continental shelf located in international waters over which the country enjoys exclusive rights.
Territorial enclaves, which are geographic territories located in the rest of the world and used under international treaties or agreements between States, by public administrations in the country (embassies, consulates, military bases, etc.)
The deposits (oil, gas, etc.) located in international waters outside of the continental shelf in the country, exploited by resident units in the territory according to the previous points.
The usual reference period for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.
Two basic kinds of information are recorded: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).
Eurostat and INE assess the accuracy of national data by systematically applying validation checks to all national accounts transmissions of countries.
Data on Balance Sheets are available in current prices, million euro.
Data on Capital Stocks are available in current prices and previous year prices, million euro.
Data on GFCF are available in current prices, chain-linked volume and previous year prices, million euro.
Current prices (CUP) figures are available expressed in millions of euros. They can be directly observed but include inflation effects.
Chain-linked volume series (CLV) are obtained by successively applying previous year's price's growth rates to the current price figure of a specific reference year e.g. 2020. Chain-linking involves the loss of additivity for all years except the reference year and the directly following year, because these are the only periods expressed in prices of the reference year. For other years, chain-linked components will not sum to the totals.
Previous year prices (PYP) are expressed in millions of euros. Data in previous year’s prices are excluding the influence of inflation. These data are used to derive chain-linked volumes and included in the dissemination for advanced users to allow construction of custom aggregations and derived measures. Since the price base changes every year, the figures do not constitute a homogeneous time series.
The capital stocks, capital formation and gross fixed capital formation are compiled by INE using country specific data sources, methods and compilation techniques. Guidance documents on general and specific national accounts compilation issues are available.
See the GNI report following the benchmark revision 2019 is available at the website of INE: Inventory of sources and methods for more details.
INE use many sources to compile their national accounts, among them administrative data from government, population censuses, business surveys, external trade and balance of payments statistics... No single survey can hence be referred to. Different sources and methods are used for calculating stock of fixed assets.
INE estimates Balance Sheets and capital stocks by industry using the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM). This implies that the input data for the method is GFCF series for each asset and each institutional sector (or each industry) and price indexes series for each asset. So, the source data for Balance Sheets and capital stocks is the ones used in the estimates for GFCF flows and their price indexes (which includes the Structural Business Survey, administrative records, and the SUT balancing process). The PIM also has some parameters (basically, average service life, depreciation function and retirement function for each asset) whose values are aligned with the recommendations from the Eurostat’s Task Force mentioned in Section 15.1.
Annual data for gross fixed capital formation (tables (nama_10_an6, nama_10_nfa_fl, nama_10_a64_p5) are requested by t+9, t+21 or t+24 months, depending on the level of detail, where t is the end of the reference period,
Annual data for consumption of fixed capital (table nama_10_a64) are requested by t+9 or t+21 months, depending on the level of detail,
Cross-classification of fixed assets by industry and by asset (stocks) (nama_10_nfa_st) are requested at t+24 months,
Balance sheets data are due after T+24 months (nama_10_nfa_bs) are requested at t+24 months.
Balance sheets data is published annually in September and the data transmitted to Eurostat at the same time with the national publication.
The main aggregates for year t are published, as preliminary results, nine months after the end of the reference period.
The final results for year t-2 are published 33 months after the end of the reference period.
The comparability is insured by the application of common definitions (European System of Accounts ESA 2010).
For compilation practices of data on gross fixed capital formation and fixed assets (stocks), Eurostat launched a questionnaire collecting information amongst compliers which is documented here: Non financial assets.
In 2020, Eurostat launched a Task Force on fixed assets and estimation of consumption of fixed capital under ESA 2010 to develop a set of recommendations aiming at further harmonising the parameters of the perpetual inventory model (PIM) widely used in compiling capital stocks and consumption of fixed capital data.
By using a common framework, the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), data can be 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.
