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 Unit, Sector _Public Finance Statistics - Regional Account
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
16 Libertatii Bvd., Bucharest 5, Romania
Postal code 050706
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
31 January 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 January 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
31 January 2025
3.1. Data description
Regional accounts are a regional specification of the national accounts and therefore based on the same concepts and definitions as national accounts (see domain nama10). The main specific regional issues are addressed in chapter 13 of ESA2010, but not practically specified. For practical rules and recommendations on sources and methods see the publication "Manual on regional accounts methods".
Based on the experience accumulated since 1994, when Romania began cooperating with the French and Portuguese statistical institutes to develop the process for calculating regional accounts in accordance with ESA 95, the data were subsequently revised to comply with ESA 2010 and transmitted to Eurostat starting in the year 2000, with regard to their availability and reliability.
For regional accounts, in addition to the usual national accounts data sources (the Structural Business Survey – SBS and the Labor Force Survey – LFS), other industry-specific data sources from specialised departments of the National Institute of Statistics (INS) are also used, such as: the value of agricultural production by regions, data on local public utility activities, the labour force balance sheet, and others.
To compile GVA both at current prices and constant prices, data from several statistical surveys are used. These data are employed as allocation keys on the basis of which the national GVA for each division is regionalised. The data are aggregated at the A*10 level to obtain total GVA. According to the production method, based on the GVA obtained, product taxes and subsidies are regionalised in order to derive regional GDP. Similarly, for the regionalisation of employee compensation from the national level for each division, allocation keys are also applied. The data are aggregated into 10 activity branches and a total value is obtained.
For the estimation of employed population, various allocation keys drawn from statistical surveys are used. Based on these keys, national-level values for employed persons and employees are distributed across regions in order to estimate the number of persons and the number of hours worked corresponding to the employed population and employees. The number of self-employed is calculated as the difference between the employed population and the number of employees.
Regional accounts in Romania include: regional gross domestic product (GDP) in current prices (CP) and previous years’ prices (PYP) at NUTS 3; regional gross value added by activity at NUTS 3; compensation of employees at NUTS 2; household accounts (the allocation of primary income account and the secondary distribution of income account) at NUTS 2; gross fixed capital formation by activity at NUTS 2; total employment and employees by branches of activity (number of persons) at NUTS 3; and the number of hours worked by total employment and employees by branches of activity at NUTS 2.
Accordingly with the new table from Eurostat, in 2024, NIS Romania completed the new table T1001 with data regarding the self-employees (in number of persons _NUTS3 and hours worked _NUTS2. But due to the lack of sufficient information, these data were obtained by the difference between the total employment and the employees.
In addition to the indicators mentioned above, on the TEMPO online database of NIS Romania, the following indicators are also published: GDP/capita _NUTS 3, RGDP in current prices_NUTS3. Currently, we work underway to extend the GVA by industry from NUTS 2 to NUTS 3 as transmitted to Eurostat.
3.2. Classification system
The ESA 2010 provides a methodology on common standards, definitions, internationally harmonised classifications and accounting rules that are used for compiling national and regional accounts on comparable bases.
According to the ESA2010 submission program to Eurostat, Romania submits the NACE Rev2 classification at A6 and A10 level (Eurostat). According to the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010, the economic territory of a country can be divided into several regional territories and an extra regions territory, according to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) (Eurostat Nuts).
The economic territory of Romania comprises eight statistical regions and an extra-regional territory. The extra-regions territory is made up of parts of the economic territory of a country, which cannot be attached directly to a single region and include the:
Continental shelf located in the Black Sea;
Territorial enclaves (Romanian embassies and consulates from abroad).
The regional accounts are achieved on three administrative levels, according to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS): NUTS 1 – representing the 4 macro regions (the official names of macro regions are presented in tables, conventionally, in numerical expression), NUTS 2 – representing the 8 statistical regions, and NUTS 3 representing the 41 counties and Bucharest.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Regional Accounts are not available for all institutional sectors. Main regional aggregates are compiled for the total economy of the country. There are only regional accounts for the household sector, and transactions are limited to income distribution and redistribution.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation ([link to blue book on ESA2010 methodology] ), No 549/2013 and amended by [EU regulation 2023/734], may be referred to for more detailed explanations on methodology. For calculation methods and data collection, see the publication "Manual on regional accounts methods”. Regarding the top-down method and because the sources covering regional data are not sufficiently detailed by economic activity (at the level of the 99 industries used by the Input-Output table), all primary calculations were performed on 52 branches. Furthermore, the final regional GDP table covers 35 branches due to subsequent adjustments based on more aggregated information. In most cases, regionalization is done proportionally to the wages and gross incomes paid in a given industry and in a given region. These information’s comes from the Labor Cost Survey (the statistical unit type for this survey is KAU) and the Labor Force Balance Sheet. In Romania the regionalisation of allocation of primary income account of households is done transaction by transaction. Considering the types of flows and, especially, the available data sources, four main groups of transactions are recorded and regionalised independently, such as: net operating surplus, mixed income, gross wages and salaries, employers’ social contributions and property income. The main keys used for the regionalisation of the allocation of primary income account’s transaction are: agricultural production value, imputed rent, wages, average number of employees etc.
Instead for the regionalization of secondary distribution of income account, the main keys use for the regionalizing transaction are: population by age group, land tax, tax on buildings from individuals, tax on means of transport owned by individuals, other taxes and fees on property, school population, amounts due as pensions to IOVR (pensions granted to the disabled and war injured, to the descendants of those who died or went missing in the war) pensioners, agricultural insurance pensioners and state social insurance pensioners, integration aid, compensatory payments, other social protection expenses, gross salaries, average number of employees, resident population, scholarships for pupils and students, etc.. Regarding the MIXT method, this was applied for several industries (fishing and fish farming, metal ore mining, other mining activities, iron and steel, crude oil processing, electricity production, transmission, and distribution). This method is based on information provided by SBS (chapter on information about headquarters, local units and their main indicators - turnover, employee expenses, average number of employees, average number of persons involved in the unit's activities, gross and net investments).
The main principle followed in compiling regional accounts in NIS Romania is the residence principle – allocation according to the region in which the producing unit is located. Extra-regional data (e.g., value added created in national regions not located on the national territory, such as embassies, foreign military bases, energy production abroad, etc.) are treated like any other region; however, as there is no population in extra-regions, there is no GDP per capita for extra-regions.
The basic units used by NIS Romania to describe production and consumption in national accounts are enterprises and public administration units. In regional accounts, local units are generally used to measure the flows involved in the production and consumption of goods and services. Some units may have a single location in a single region, while other units may be considered to be located in several regions. Consequently, regional accounts are based on local units.
Also the multiregional units are typical for some industries, such as electricity generation and distribution, postal services, communications, gas and water supply. An enterprise may have several local units located in different regions. SBS, which is the main source of data for most activities at the national level, contains a special chapter on regional indicators that provides the information for calculating regional output. Unfortunately, the SBS cannot be used to calculate regional indicators for all industries. The survey samples used for some industries are only representative at the national level. Usually, most enterprises with local units in more than one region are covered in full by the survey, which solves the problem of multiregional units.
National accounts examine the economy (or its main subsectors) as a whole. They combine data from a wide range of statistical surveys. The key element considered is the institutional unit, defined as a basic economic decision-making center. Institutional units produce goods and services and often carry out multiple activities simultaneously. Therefore, for an effective analysis of the production process, these institutional units need to be divided into smaller, more homogeneous units according to the type of production. This leads to the creation of local kind-of-activity units (local KAUs), which are grouped into industries (activity branches), and homogeneous production units (HPUs), which are grouped into homogeneous branches. With regard to regional GDP, the economy is viewed as a whole, but the regional level is calculated according to the territorial breakdown known as NUTS 1, 2, and 3.
3.6. Statistical population
For estimating GDP per capita, as well as within the household sector, the resident population on July 1 is used by macroregions, development regions and counties.
The resident population includes persons who have immigrated to Romania, but excludes those who have emigrated from Romania. Starting with 2011, the number of residents has been estimated according to the usual residence criterion, using the component method and data from the most recent available census.
Also the regional account population data is in line with national account population data.
According to Law no. 315/2004 on regional development in Romania and the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics in Romania, along with the requirements of Regulation EC no. 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the stability of a common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – NUTS, published in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L 154/2003, the economic territory of Romania is made up of 8 statistical regions and one extra-regional territory.
Thus, regional accounts are carried out on three administrative levels: NUTS1 – representing the 4 macro-regions, NUTS2 – representing the 8 statistical regions plus the extra-regional territory, and NUTS3 – representing the 41 counties plus the Municipality of Bucharest (see section 3.2).
3.8. Coverage - Time
Regional accounts data are usually compiled for years. Regional accounts according to ESA 2010 are available from the reference year 2000 and 2001 for series compiled at previous year price.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
There are some exceptions concerning variables related to population and labor that are usually expressed in number of thousand of persons or hours worked, otherwise the data series show all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in millions of euro. In addition to measurement in current prices, some regional accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and growth rates (volume indices).
The periods required for the compilation of regional accounts data are expressed in calendar years.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The regional accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts ( ESA 2010 ) which was published in the Official Journal as Annex A of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013. The ESA 2010 transmission programme is covered in Annex B. The ESA 2010 has the form of a Regulation and it provides for:
a methodology (Annex A) on common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be used for compiling accounts and tables on comparable bases (link to blue book on ESA 2010 methodology);
a programme of data transmission (Annex B) setting out the time limits by which Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the accounts and tables (link to ESA 2010 transmission programme). Several separate acts, often regarding classifications such as: NACE Rev.2, NUTS 2013:
Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS),
Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006, establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains,
Manual on regional accounts methods, edition 2013.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
The exchange of data between the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and other institutions (ministries, autonomous agencies, and public entities) is carried out in accordance with Law no. 226/2009 on the organization and functioning of official statistics in Romania, as subsequently amended and supplemented.
Data is published on the website of the National Institute of Statistics, within the TEMPO Online database, at the end of January or the beginning of February. Through this platform, users can access and extract various datasets and metadata. The published data are also used by the county statistical directorates for the preparation of territorial statistical yearbooks and other territorial statistics, which are released in March.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The legal framework regarding the confidentiality rules (GDPR, confidential statistic provisions and the legal framework) is available at this website.
The Law no. 226/2009 on the organisation and functioning of official statistics in Romania, as amended and supplemented, is available at this website.
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the European statistics production and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. The European Statistics Code of Practice provides further conditions that have to be respected by statistical offices in regard to statistical confidentiality (Principle 5).
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). Law no. 190 of July 18, 2018 on measures to implement Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC on the general protection.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
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 expires.
In Romania, regional accounts data don’t have a confidentiality flag or embargoed data, because they are calculated according to national accounts estimations at T+24 months, after these become the final data.
Data confidentiality is ensured in accordance with Law no. 226/2009 on the organisation and functioning of official statistics in Romania, as amended and supplemented, which is available at this website.
The National Institute of Statistics (INS) also adopts the necessary logical, physical, and administrative measures to ensure the effective protection of confidential data, from data collection through to publication.
The questionnaires used in surveys include a legal clause informing respondents about the protection applied to the data collected.
8.1. Release calendar
The National Institute of Statistics (NIS) prepares annually the document entitled “Statistical Publications and Services”, which provides a comprehensive list of all publications scheduled for dissemination in the following year, along with their planned release periods.
In the above link are presented the specific publications and their period of release (see the Synthesis publications: Romanian Statistical Yearbook and REGIONAL NATIONAL ACCOUNTS). As the exact release date of the regional GDP dataset depends on data availability and national release dates, the regional GDP dataset is treated as a so-called ad-hoc release and is not included in the release calendar.
The frequency of dissemination for regional accounts data basically follows the requirements of the ESA 2010 Transmission Programme. For regional data, NIS Romania transmitted at the end of December the following table: T1001 at NUTS 2 (for estimations T+12 month) and NUTS 3, T1002 at NUTS 2 and T1300 at NUTS 2.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Not the case.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
The NIS issues annually the publication “Regional National Accounts”, which is available in the NIS bookstore, both in Romanian (in April of year T+24 months) and in English (in May of year T+24 months).
Also, NIS publishes annually the “Romanian Statistical Yearbook”, which is a reference work in the statistical publications system. This publication contains information on the socio-economic development of the country. The data series are organised in chapters and contain key information with regard to: administrative-territorial organisation, population, economy, international statistics, etc. See the website (chapter 11_national accounts).
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Estimates of regional accounts data are updated in line with annual national accounts estimates and are available in the TEMPO online database at T+25 months.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable, because regional accounts consist only of aggregated data.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Regional accounts are produced in accordance with European legislation and guidelines. These are detailed in Council Regulation (EC) No 549/2013 of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts, see the chapter 13 _Regional accounts . Also, specific guidelines for regional accounts are available in the “Manual on Regional Accounts Methods” developed by Eurostat, especially the chapter 4, 5 etc.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Different documents regarding on the quality management, like: Regional economic accounts (quality report_National accounts), Quality Guidelines for Official Statistics, etc), are available on the Romania NIS website at this website. The NIS’s quality policy is based on two documents: a Quality Declaration and Quality Guidelines for Romanian Official Statistics, both available on the NIS website.
11.1. Quality assurance
Quality of regional accounts data is assured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by applying the guidelines of the ESS Handbook for Quality Reports.
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). Also, the quality is assured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by thorough validation of the data delivered by countries. The NIS’s quality policy is based on two documents: a Quality Declaration and Quality Guidelines for Romanian Official Statistics, both available on the NIS website.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
ESA 2010 data transmissions are subject to regular quality assessment reviews. Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA 2010 Regulation) specifies that data covered by that Regulation are subject to the quality criteria of relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability and coherence, as set out in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Eurostat is required to provide the Commission with a report on the quality of the data transmitted relating to national and regional accounts. The modalities, structure, periodicity and assessment indicators of the reports on the quality of the data transmitted were specified in 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.
In order to ensure the quality of Romanian statistics, a project titled “Continuous Development of the Romanian Statistical System” was carried out. NIS was the beneficiary institution, which maintained close collaboration with international experts and provided the methodological documents and data necessary for the implementation of this project. For more information on the implementation and evolution of this project, see the link .
Users of regional accounts data are usually interested in comparisons between regions and in the analysis of structural changes in the economy from a medium-term perspective.
Users of statistical data are in principal the: central and local public authorities, institutions of the European Union (such as Eurostat and the European Commission), international organizations, the academic and research community, the business environment, the media, and citizens interested in economic and social developments. Each category of users has specific interests in the use of statistical data — whether for policy design, economic analysis, monitoring of socio-economic indicators, or for general documentation and information purposes.
Users’ needs primarily concern access to up-to-date, reliable, internationally comparable, and easily interpretable statistical data. Institutional users generally require detailed and long-term data series to support strategic decision-making and public policy development, while the academic and research community needs complex databases enabling in-depth analyses.
The business sector is mainly interested in relevant economic and territorial indicators for planning and evaluating economic activities, whereas the general public requires concise information presented in a clear and accessible manner.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
At a national level, the NIS Romania carried out a statistical survey to measure the degree of user satisfaction. The main objective of this survey is to observe how the statistical data produced and the methodological information provided by the NIS meet the information needs of users. This survey is conducted every three years.
The NIS Romania realised a publication, on wich ar presented the main results of the statistical survey regarding the satisfaction of statistical data users. That publication is on this website.
12.3. Completeness
The Regional GDP data are complete with the reference year 2000, as required by ESA 2010 Transmission Programme. Information on completeness rates can be seen in section 3.1.1 of National Quality Report (NQR).
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Overall accuracy increases with the size of the region concerned, e.g. NUTS2 data is more accurate than NUTS3 data. Information on accuracy can be seen in section 4 of National Quality Report (NQR).
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable as regional accounts are compiled on the basis of aggregated data.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable as regional accounts consist of aggregated data only.
14.1. Timeliness
The deadline for the transmission of basic data by NIS to Eurostat is according with the ESA 2010 Transmission Program, at the end of December.
14.2. Punctuality
Regional accounts data transmissions in the framework of the ESA 2010 transmission programme are delivered to Eurostat at the timeliness defined in the transmission programme (or before). Information on punctuality can be seen in section 5 of National Quality Report (NQR).
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The comparability is ensured by applying common concepts and definitions (European System of Accounts ESA 2010). Romania NIS ensures coherence between the NUTS level and the NACE Rev.2 classification by respecting and applying the methodological concepts specified in both the ESA 2010 (Regulation (EU) No 549/2013), Chapter 13, and in the publication “Manual on Regional Accounts Methods.” Information on comparability - geographical can be seen in section 6 of National Quality Report (NQR).
The document from this website is relevant for geographical comparability as it establishes harmonized concepts, classifications, and territorial breakdowns (NUTS) for compiling regional accounts, ensuring consistency and comparability of regional data across EU Member States.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Information on comparability – over time can be seen in section 6 of National Quality Report (NQR).
NIS Romania when realized the benchmark revision 2024 in regional accounts, it was a flag B on the indicator POP in 2012.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Regional data is broadly coherent with national accounts figures when they are released. However, national data are revised throughout the year, mainly between May and October, whereas Regional GDP is revised only once per year. As a result, the revisions of national data that occur after the regional release lead to differences between the data in domains nama10_r, nama_10 and nasa_10, which will be revised at the next transmission of regional accounts (December).
NIS Romania also applies the guidelines of Regulation 2304/2016 on the modalities, structure, periodicity and indicators for evaluating reports on the quality of data transmitted according to Regulation (EU) No. 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, in order to ensure consistency between the national accounts domains that apply to both annual and quarterly information.
NIS Romania prepares regional accounts (T+24 months) based on final data from national accounts, transmitted on September 30. Thus, the regional indicators at NUTS0 level transmitted in December to Eurostat (T+24 months and T+12 for certain indicators at NUTS2 level) are consistent with the data from national accounts transmitted on September 30. Information on comparability – cross domain can be seen in section 6 of National Quality Report (NQR).
15.4. Coherence - internal
Within the National Accounts Directorate of the Romanian National Institute of Statistics (NIS), data consistency is permanently ensured by maintaining coherence between regional indicators at the national level and the data produced by other statistical sectors.
Regional GDP data are based on other statistics, in particular national accounts and business statistics, and there is no additional burden on respondents.
17.1. Data revision - policy
In Romania, the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) implements the national revision policy described on its website, fully aligned with the European Statistics Code of Practice and the ESS Guidelines on Revision Policy. Revisions to national accounts are made in accordance with national programmes and reflect the continuous improvement of data sources and methodologies. Routine revisions occur when new or updated data become available, while benchmark revisions are applied less frequently, following major methodological or classification changes, such as the transition from ESA 95 to ESA 2010.
In the case of regional accounts, revisions are directly linked to the revision cycle of the national accounts. Regional accounts are compiled only after the publication of the final version of national accounts, ensuring full consistency between national and regional aggregates. Consequently, no regular revisions are carried out at regional level, and the figures remain stable from one year to another. However, any benchmark revision affecting national accounts — such as the incorporation of new structural data, reclassification of economic activities, or implementation of a new NUTS version — is subsequently reflected in the regional accounts to maintain methodological coherence.
The NIS ensures transparency in the revision process by announcing revisions in advance through press releases and the Revision Calendar published on its website. At dissemination, data are clearly labelled as preliminary, provisional, semi-definitive, or final, and users are informed about the reasons for revisions and any potential breaks in time series. Revised data are published in the TEMPO Online database and in regular statistical releases, maintaining consistency with the information transmitted to Eurostat. This approach guarantees that users have access to coherent, up-to-date, and methodologically sound regional and national accounts data.
17.2. Data revision - practice
In practice, the revision process of regional accounts involves updating the final national accounts data used in the compilation of regional GVA and, implicitly, regional GDP. Methodological updates are applied in parallel with those introduced at the national level to ensure consistency across sectoral and regional breakdowns. Once the revised national data are finalized, they are integrated into the corresponding regional estimates. The timing of revisions follows the annual data transmission calendar agreed with Eurostat. All revisions are communicated transparently to users through the Revision Policy section of the NIS website.
The Benchmark Revision 2024, covering the national and regional accounts series for the period 2007–2022, represented the most significant update, incorporating revised data from Government Finance Statistics, the Balance of Payments, and methodological adjustments resulting from the Gross National Income (GNI) verification process. These national-level changes were reflected in the regional accounts to maintain coherence and comparability across all territorial levels. For more details, see this document.
18.1. Source data
The basic data (i.e. gross value added, population data and national GDP) used to calculate regional gross domestic product are provided by the national accounts departments of the NIS. The basic statistics come from several sources, including administrative data from public administration, censuses and surveys of enterprises and households. Eurostat's domain specific metadata file. As in Romania regional GDP at market prices is calculated using the production method, we obtain GDP as the result of the sum of the gross value added of the different institutional sectors or branches of activity plus taxes, minus subsidies on products (which are not allocated to sectors and branches of activity).
In order to compile the data for regional accounts we used the methodology that are described in this website .
18.2. Frequency of data collection
The regional data is collected once per year, when the data are available from different surveys.
18.3. Data collection
In order to compile regional accounts in Romania, within the National Accounts Division of NIS, results of various surveys and the Statistical Yearbook are received, when they are available, which form the basis for creating the distribution keys necessary for the regionalization of GVA and, finally, the regional GDP.
Thus, in the first three quarters, data sources are processed, provided internally as well as from other external sources, and at the end of September data are used to finalize the regional accounts and to ensure comparability between domains.
18.4. Data validation
The data sources are subject to a series of checks within the NIS. In order to increase overall data quality and workflow efficiency, the European Statistical System (ESS) is moving towards more harmonisation of validation activities, including the definition of common standards, tools, and support for implementation (see ESS validation website).
Also, the source data undergo a sequence of checks within NSIs.
In the division of national account_NIS Romania, the verification of data between regional accounts and national accounts is carried out through a process of consistency, aimed at ensuring full concordance between regional totals and national aggregates. In practice, after the compilation of regional accounts, systematic comparisons are made between the sum of the values obtained at the regional level and the corresponding indicators from the national accounts. These checks mainly target key indicators such as GDP, GVA, compensation of employees, gross fixed capital formation, total employment and employees (number of persons and hours worked), and household account. Any discrepancies identified are analyzed and justified, and if they exceed the accepted thresholds, estimates are revised to restore consistency.
The validation process involves close cooperation between the teams responsible for national accounts and those preparing regional accounts. Both rely on the same basic data sources — structural business statistics, administrative data, balance of payments, and government finance statistics — and apply the same ESA 2010 methodologies to ensure uniform statistical treatment. Temporal consistency is also verified, ensuring that methodological changes or benchmark revisions applied at the national level are fully reflected in the regional accounts. Only after these consistency and reconciliation checks are completed are the regional data considered final and ready for publication, in line with Eurostat’s quality and comparability requirements.
18.5. Data compilation
Regional aggregates are taken from the annual national accounts at the time of publication and are not updated until the next publication of regional accounts.
The leading approach to compile GDP in the framework of regional accounts in Romania is the production approach. Within NIS Romania, the regionalisation of Gross Value Added (GVA) is carried out based on the available national data, primarily by applying the top-down method, and complementarily the mixed method, which is used for certain economic activities (such as the extraction and processing of minerals, the production and distribution of electricity, the chemical, petrochemical and tobacco industries, fishing, or postal services). The top-down method involves the allocation of national macroeconomic indicators to regions and counties, using specific distribution keys for each branch of activity, thus ensuring consistency between regional and national levels.
The distribution keys used for estimating GVA at regional level vary according to the specific characteristics of each economic activity. Similarly, product taxes (including VAT and customs duties) and subsidies are distributed across regions according to the structure of total regional GVA. The final outcome of this process is the Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP), calculated as the sum of regional GVA, product taxes, and customs duties, minus product subsidies, in accordance with the production approach.
18.6. Adjustment
Does not apply, because it is an annual operation.
Additional information regarding ESA 2010 is available at the following website.
Regional accounts are a regional specification of the national accounts and therefore based on the same concepts and definitions as national accounts (see domain nama10). The main specific regional issues are addressed in chapter 13 of ESA2010, but not practically specified. For practical rules and recommendations on sources and methods see the publication "Manual on regional accounts methods".
Based on the experience accumulated since 1994, when Romania began cooperating with the French and Portuguese statistical institutes to develop the process for calculating regional accounts in accordance with ESA 95, the data were subsequently revised to comply with ESA 2010 and transmitted to Eurostat starting in the year 2000, with regard to their availability and reliability.
For regional accounts, in addition to the usual national accounts data sources (the Structural Business Survey – SBS and the Labor Force Survey – LFS), other industry-specific data sources from specialised departments of the National Institute of Statistics (INS) are also used, such as: the value of agricultural production by regions, data on local public utility activities, the labour force balance sheet, and others.
To compile GVA both at current prices and constant prices, data from several statistical surveys are used. These data are employed as allocation keys on the basis of which the national GVA for each division is regionalised. The data are aggregated at the A*10 level to obtain total GVA. According to the production method, based on the GVA obtained, product taxes and subsidies are regionalised in order to derive regional GDP. Similarly, for the regionalisation of employee compensation from the national level for each division, allocation keys are also applied. The data are aggregated into 10 activity branches and a total value is obtained.
For the estimation of employed population, various allocation keys drawn from statistical surveys are used. Based on these keys, national-level values for employed persons and employees are distributed across regions in order to estimate the number of persons and the number of hours worked corresponding to the employed population and employees. The number of self-employed is calculated as the difference between the employed population and the number of employees.
Regional accounts in Romania include: regional gross domestic product (GDP) in current prices (CP) and previous years’ prices (PYP) at NUTS 3; regional gross value added by activity at NUTS 3; compensation of employees at NUTS 2; household accounts (the allocation of primary income account and the secondary distribution of income account) at NUTS 2; gross fixed capital formation by activity at NUTS 2; total employment and employees by branches of activity (number of persons) at NUTS 3; and the number of hours worked by total employment and employees by branches of activity at NUTS 2.
Accordingly with the new table from Eurostat, in 2024, NIS Romania completed the new table T1001 with data regarding the self-employees (in number of persons _NUTS3 and hours worked _NUTS2. But due to the lack of sufficient information, these data were obtained by the difference between the total employment and the employees.
In addition to the indicators mentioned above, on the TEMPO online database of NIS Romania, the following indicators are also published: GDP/capita _NUTS 3, RGDP in current prices_NUTS3. Currently, we work underway to extend the GVA by industry from NUTS 2 to NUTS 3 as transmitted to Eurostat.
31 January 2025
All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation ([link to blue book on ESA2010 methodology] ), No 549/2013 and amended by [EU regulation 2023/734], may be referred to for more detailed explanations on methodology. For calculation methods and data collection, see the publication "Manual on regional accounts methods”. Regarding the top-down method and because the sources covering regional data are not sufficiently detailed by economic activity (at the level of the 99 industries used by the Input-Output table), all primary calculations were performed on 52 branches. Furthermore, the final regional GDP table covers 35 branches due to subsequent adjustments based on more aggregated information. In most cases, regionalization is done proportionally to the wages and gross incomes paid in a given industry and in a given region. These information’s comes from the Labor Cost Survey (the statistical unit type for this survey is KAU) and the Labor Force Balance Sheet. In Romania the regionalisation of allocation of primary income account of households is done transaction by transaction. Considering the types of flows and, especially, the available data sources, four main groups of transactions are recorded and regionalised independently, such as: net operating surplus, mixed income, gross wages and salaries, employers’ social contributions and property income. The main keys used for the regionalisation of the allocation of primary income account’s transaction are: agricultural production value, imputed rent, wages, average number of employees etc.
Instead for the regionalization of secondary distribution of income account, the main keys use for the regionalizing transaction are: population by age group, land tax, tax on buildings from individuals, tax on means of transport owned by individuals, other taxes and fees on property, school population, amounts due as pensions to IOVR (pensions granted to the disabled and war injured, to the descendants of those who died or went missing in the war) pensioners, agricultural insurance pensioners and state social insurance pensioners, integration aid, compensatory payments, other social protection expenses, gross salaries, average number of employees, resident population, scholarships for pupils and students, etc.. Regarding the MIXT method, this was applied for several industries (fishing and fish farming, metal ore mining, other mining activities, iron and steel, crude oil processing, electricity production, transmission, and distribution). This method is based on information provided by SBS (chapter on information about headquarters, local units and their main indicators - turnover, employee expenses, average number of employees, average number of persons involved in the unit's activities, gross and net investments).
The main principle followed in compiling regional accounts in NIS Romania is the residence principle – allocation according to the region in which the producing unit is located. Extra-regional data (e.g., value added created in national regions not located on the national territory, such as embassies, foreign military bases, energy production abroad, etc.) are treated like any other region; however, as there is no population in extra-regions, there is no GDP per capita for extra-regions.
The basic units used by NIS Romania to describe production and consumption in national accounts are enterprises and public administration units. In regional accounts, local units are generally used to measure the flows involved in the production and consumption of goods and services. Some units may have a single location in a single region, while other units may be considered to be located in several regions. Consequently, regional accounts are based on local units.
Also the multiregional units are typical for some industries, such as electricity generation and distribution, postal services, communications, gas and water supply. An enterprise may have several local units located in different regions. SBS, which is the main source of data for most activities at the national level, contains a special chapter on regional indicators that provides the information for calculating regional output. Unfortunately, the SBS cannot be used to calculate regional indicators for all industries. The survey samples used for some industries are only representative at the national level. Usually, most enterprises with local units in more than one region are covered in full by the survey, which solves the problem of multiregional units.
National accounts examine the economy (or its main subsectors) as a whole. They combine data from a wide range of statistical surveys. The key element considered is the institutional unit, defined as a basic economic decision-making center. Institutional units produce goods and services and often carry out multiple activities simultaneously. Therefore, for an effective analysis of the production process, these institutional units need to be divided into smaller, more homogeneous units according to the type of production. This leads to the creation of local kind-of-activity units (local KAUs), which are grouped into industries (activity branches), and homogeneous production units (HPUs), which are grouped into homogeneous branches. With regard to regional GDP, the economy is viewed as a whole, but the regional level is calculated according to the territorial breakdown known as NUTS 1, 2, and 3.
For estimating GDP per capita, as well as within the household sector, the resident population on July 1 is used by macroregions, development regions and counties.
The resident population includes persons who have immigrated to Romania, but excludes those who have emigrated from Romania. Starting with 2011, the number of residents has been estimated according to the usual residence criterion, using the component method and data from the most recent available census.
Also the regional account population data is in line with national account population data.
According to Law no. 315/2004 on regional development in Romania and the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics in Romania, along with the requirements of Regulation EC no. 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the stability of a common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – NUTS, published in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L 154/2003, the economic territory of Romania is made up of 8 statistical regions and one extra-regional territory.
Thus, regional accounts are carried out on three administrative levels: NUTS1 – representing the 4 macro-regions, NUTS2 – representing the 8 statistical regions plus the extra-regional territory, and NUTS3 – representing the 41 counties plus the Municipality of Bucharest (see section 3.2).
The periods required for the compilation of regional accounts data are expressed in calendar years.
Overall accuracy increases with the size of the region concerned, e.g. NUTS2 data is more accurate than NUTS3 data. Information on accuracy can be seen in section 4 of National Quality Report (NQR).
There are some exceptions concerning variables related to population and labor that are usually expressed in number of thousand of persons or hours worked, otherwise the data series show all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in millions of euro. In addition to measurement in current prices, some regional accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and growth rates (volume indices).
Regional aggregates are taken from the annual national accounts at the time of publication and are not updated until the next publication of regional accounts.
The leading approach to compile GDP in the framework of regional accounts in Romania is the production approach. Within NIS Romania, the regionalisation of Gross Value Added (GVA) is carried out based on the available national data, primarily by applying the top-down method, and complementarily the mixed method, which is used for certain economic activities (such as the extraction and processing of minerals, the production and distribution of electricity, the chemical, petrochemical and tobacco industries, fishing, or postal services). The top-down method involves the allocation of national macroeconomic indicators to regions and counties, using specific distribution keys for each branch of activity, thus ensuring consistency between regional and national levels.
The distribution keys used for estimating GVA at regional level vary according to the specific characteristics of each economic activity. Similarly, product taxes (including VAT and customs duties) and subsidies are distributed across regions according to the structure of total regional GVA. The final outcome of this process is the Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP), calculated as the sum of regional GVA, product taxes, and customs duties, minus product subsidies, in accordance with the production approach.
The basic data (i.e. gross value added, population data and national GDP) used to calculate regional gross domestic product are provided by the national accounts departments of the NIS. The basic statistics come from several sources, including administrative data from public administration, censuses and surveys of enterprises and households. Eurostat's domain specific metadata file. As in Romania regional GDP at market prices is calculated using the production method, we obtain GDP as the result of the sum of the gross value added of the different institutional sectors or branches of activity plus taxes, minus subsidies on products (which are not allocated to sectors and branches of activity).
In order to compile the data for regional accounts we used the methodology that are described in this website .
The frequency of dissemination for regional accounts data basically follows the requirements of the ESA 2010 Transmission Programme. For regional data, NIS Romania transmitted at the end of December the following table: T1001 at NUTS 2 (for estimations T+12 month) and NUTS 3, T1002 at NUTS 2 and T1300 at NUTS 2.
The deadline for the transmission of basic data by NIS to Eurostat is according with the ESA 2010 Transmission Program, at the end of December.
The comparability is ensured by applying common concepts and definitions (European System of Accounts ESA 2010). Romania NIS ensures coherence between the NUTS level and the NACE Rev.2 classification by respecting and applying the methodological concepts specified in both the ESA 2010 (Regulation (EU) No 549/2013), Chapter 13, and in the publication “Manual on Regional Accounts Methods.” Information on comparability - geographical can be seen in section 6 of National Quality Report (NQR).
The document from this website is relevant for geographical comparability as it establishes harmonized concepts, classifications, and territorial breakdowns (NUTS) for compiling regional accounts, ensuring consistency and comparability of regional data across EU Member States.
Information on comparability – over time can be seen in section 6 of National Quality Report (NQR).
NIS Romania when realized the benchmark revision 2024 in regional accounts, it was a flag B on the indicator POP in 2012.
