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.
Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors).
SBS covers all activities of the non-financial business economy with the exception of agricultural activities and personal services. Limited information is available on banking, insurance and pension funds.
Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:
Business demographic variables (e.g. Number of enterprises)
"Output related" variables (e.g. Turnover, Value added)
"Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Employment, Hours worked); goods and services input (e.g. Total of purchases); capital input (e.g. Material investments)
3.2. Classification system
Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE): NACE Rev.1 was used until 2001, NACE Rev. 1.1 since 2002, and NACE Rev 2 is used from 2008 onwards. Key data were double reported in NACE Rev.1.1 and NACE Rev.2 for 2008. From 2009 onwards, only NACE Rev.2 data are available.
The regional breakdown of the EU Member States is based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). Detailed information about the consecutive NUTS Regulations can be found at Eurostat's website
The SBS coverage was limited to Sections C to K of NACE Rev.1.1 until 2007. Starting from the reference year 2008 data is available for Sections B to N and Division S95 of NACE Rev.2. With 2013 as the first reference year information is published on NACE codes K6411, K6419 and K65 and its breakdown.
Statistical unit enterprise, as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, is used for compiling the SBS data.
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population is comprised of active private companies, state and municipal enterprises, foreign affiliates, all types of partnerships, individual enterprises, natural persons carrying out economic activity. The economic activity of the enterprises cover sections B-N and division S95 of NACE Rev. 2.
3.7. Reference area
Country. The branches of foreign enterprises are included. The exclusion of the results relating to activities abroad is not performed as their impact is insignificant.
3.8. Coverage - Time
1995-2020
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.
Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.
Employment variables are expressed in units.
Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head.
Ratios are expressed in percentages.
Reference year 2020
Data refers to the fiscal year, which mostly coincides with the calendar year. The weight of the deviation (when fiscal year does not correspond to a calendar year) is low: the number of such enterprises accounts for 0.07 % of the SBS population, their turnover – 5 % of the total turnover.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
In the process of statistical data collection, processing and analysis and dissemination of statistical information, Statistics Lithuania fully guarantees the confidentiality of the data submitted by respondents (households, enterprises, institutions, organisations and other statistical units), as defined in the Confidentiality Policy Guidelines of Statistics Lithuania.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Restricted from publication
8.1. Release calendar
Statistical information is published in accordance with an approved release calendar.
Statistical information is published on the Official Statistics Portal according to an approved statistical information release calendar pursuant to the Rules for the Preparation and Dissemination of Statistical Information, approved by Order No DĮ-212 of 26 September 2014 of the Director General of Statistics Lithuania.
The final SBS results are disseminated on the national on-line database on 7 June 2022, the preliminary results - on 29 October 2021. Links to the on-line database: https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize#/
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Microdata are available and provided for scientific purposes according to the provisions set in the Description of Procedures for the Provision of Confidential Statistical Data for Scientific Purposes. More information is available on the Official Statistics Portal, at List of services.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
The data are provided to Eurostat and released as national data in the national database.
Statistical metadata is available on the website (in Lithuanian and English).
11.1. Quality assurance
The quality of statistical information and its production process is ensured by the provisions of the European Statistics Code of Practice. In 2007, a management system, conforming with the requirements of the international quality management system standard ISO 9001, was introduced at Statistics Lithuania.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Data quality is in accordance with principles of accuracy and reliability, timeliness and punctuality, coherence and compatibility. In 2020, a self-assessment of the survey was performed. It showed that the results of the survey meet the quality requirements of statistical information. Statistical information is considered reliable due to thorough verification and validation of the data. The consistency of the data is checked and the results of the survey are compared with the results of the previous year. In the event of significant deviations, the data providers are contacted and the reasons for the deviation explained.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Regular consultations are organised with the main internal user – the National Accounts Division, and an external user – the Central Bank – in order to satisfy their needs. The relevance of the variables collected and the needs of users are discussed.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
A survey related to the users' satisfaction regarding the availability of data for Annexes I to IV of the SBS Regulation is not organised.
12.3. Completeness
All data required by legislation are provided.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The overall accuracy of the results is considered as good. The survey is an exhaustive (census) survey based on statistical survey and administrative data. The definitions of the administrative data used meet the requirements of the Regulation, non-existent characteristics in administrative sources are estimated using statistical and mathematical estimation methods. The results are not significantly influenced by the estimation of missing values.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable
13.3. Non-sampling error
In 2020, the unit non-response stood at 3.4 per cent. It is considered that a unit has not responded if it did not provide data for any of the main data sources: did not fill in a statistical enterprise activity report F-01 (annual), annual financial (profit and loss) statement or profit tax return, while, according to other data sources, the enterprise was active.
Part of required indicators, which are not available in administrative data sources, is estimated/imputed using statistical/mathematical estimation methods. To assess this phenomenon, the weighted (by turnover) level of imputed values is calculated. In 2020, it stood at 10 per cent (in 2019 - 9 per cent).
14.1. Timeliness
At the national level, provisional statistical information (key indicators by NACE Rev. 2 at the 3-digit level) is published in 10 months, final (all indicators by NACE Rev. 2 at the 4-digit level, by size class and region) – in 18 months after the end of the reference year on the Official Statistical Portal.
14.2. Punctuality
Statistical information is provided to Eurostat in time and published at national level in accordance with an approved release calendar.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The geographical comparability of results is fully ensured.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Length of comparable time series is 1995-2004; 2005-2008; 2008-2017; 2018-2020. Since 2005, natural persons carrying out economic activity have been included in the survey population. Data for the reference years 1995–2008 are provided by NACE Rev. 1.1. Since 2018, SBS data has been produced according to the statistical unit enterprise. An enterprise is constituted by one legal unit, a combination of legal units or of part of legal unit (until 2017 an enterprise is constituted by one legal unit or part of legal unit).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The indicators of the number of enterprises and number of persons employed are produced in accordance with the SBS and BD requirements.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Statistical information is fully coherent internally.
In 2020, the average time spent by a respondent on the filling in of the statistical questionnaire was 4 hours 34 minutes (2019 – 4 hours 25 minutes). Compared to the previous year, the statistical reporting burden has increased insignificantly
17.1. Data revision - policy
Revisions of statistical indicators are performed in accordance with the General Principles behind the Performance, Analysis and Announcement of Revisions of Statistical Indicators approved by Order No DĮ-262 of 30 December 2013 of the Director General of Statistics Lithuania. Users are informed about scheduled revisions in advance through a Calendar of Scheduled Revisions of Statistical Indicators.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The revision of the data for reference years 2010-2017 has been conducted. During the revision, primary data used for the estimation of the production value and intermediate consumption indicators were checked and adjusted, particularly - turnover, purchases of goods and services and their items and etc. The main objective of this activity is potential improvement of the Lithuanian GDP and GNI data.
18.1. Source data
1. Statistical data sources:
1.1 Annual statistical questionnaire on enterprise activity F-01 and F-01 detailed.
2. Administrative sources:
2.1 Annual financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss account)
2.2 Annual profit tax declaration of individual enterprises
2.3 Annual income declaration of natural persons who are engaged in an economic activity in their own right
2.4 State social insurance fund board (SODRA) data on employees
2.5 VAT declaration
2.6 Annual profit tax declaration of limited liability companies
2.7 Annual declaration on transactions between associated persons
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual data collection
18.3. Data collection
Statistical data are collected via the electronic statistical data preparation and transfer system e-Statistics, also by e-mail.
18.4. Data validation
To ensure statistical data quality, data proceed several checking, editing and validation stages. Statistical data are corrected taking into account error types: some errors can be ignored, while others must be corrected. Administrative data are edited automatically using the SAS software. The final quality treatment is performed at the aggregated data level according to the rules integrated in to the EDIT tool prepared by Eurostat. The deviations are analysed, incorrect values are corrected or the reasons of deviations are identified.
18.5. Data compilation
The largest enterprises representing activity at NACE 3 digit level code (cover 75-80 per cent of accumulated turnover) are sampled using cut-off method. Those units provide statistical data according to SQ. The mass imputation is used to evaluate not sample enterprises (mostly small business) and to estimate the non-responce units and items. The main part of variables are collected from administrative data. Variables which are not available in the Admin data are estimated and imputed using donor values (the nearest neighbour method) or the structural coefficients of donor unit’s or the structural coefficients of the same enterprise from the previous year. Non-responding units are estimated and imputed using a data of donor unit.
The composite indicators (12120, 12130, 12150, 12170) are calculated from primary indicators.
When primary data have been approved as relaible, final aggregated statistical information is calculated by summing up the primary data by different breakdowns.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable
In 2018 a statistical unit enterprise was implemented. An enterprise is constituted by one legal unit, a combination of legal units or of part of legal unit (till 2017 an enterprise is constituted by one legal unit or part of legal unit). Enterprise corresponds to a combination of legal units in cases then legal units belongs to an Enterprise Group and their performace constitutes an operating segment. In that cases the non-additive variables (turnover, purchases, gross investments in fixed tangible and intangible assets) are consolidated (inter-unit transactions are eliminated).
Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors).
SBS covers all activities of the non-financial business economy with the exception of agricultural activities and personal services. Limited information is available on banking, insurance and pension funds.
Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:
Business demographic variables (e.g. Number of enterprises)
"Output related" variables (e.g. Turnover, Value added)
"Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Employment, Hours worked); goods and services input (e.g. Total of purchases); capital input (e.g. Material investments)
Statistical unit enterprise, as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, is used for compiling the SBS data.
The statistical population is comprised of active private companies, state and municipal enterprises, foreign affiliates, all types of partnerships, individual enterprises, natural persons carrying out economic activity. The economic activity of the enterprises cover sections B-N and division S95 of NACE Rev. 2.
Country. The branches of foreign enterprises are included. The exclusion of the results relating to activities abroad is not performed as their impact is insignificant.
Reference year 2020
Data refers to the fiscal year, which mostly coincides with the calendar year. The weight of the deviation (when fiscal year does not correspond to a calendar year) is low: the number of such enterprises accounts for 0.07 % of the SBS population, their turnover – 5 % of the total turnover.
The overall accuracy of the results is considered as good. The survey is an exhaustive (census) survey based on statistical survey and administrative data. The definitions of the administrative data used meet the requirements of the Regulation, non-existent characteristics in administrative sources are estimated using statistical and mathematical estimation methods. The results are not significantly influenced by the estimation of missing values.
Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.
Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.
Employment variables are expressed in units.
Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head.
Ratios are expressed in percentages.
The largest enterprises representing activity at NACE 3 digit level code (cover 75-80 per cent of accumulated turnover) are sampled using cut-off method. Those units provide statistical data according to SQ. The mass imputation is used to evaluate not sample enterprises (mostly small business) and to estimate the non-responce units and items. The main part of variables are collected from administrative data. Variables which are not available in the Admin data are estimated and imputed using donor values (the nearest neighbour method) or the structural coefficients of donor unit’s or the structural coefficients of the same enterprise from the previous year. Non-responding units are estimated and imputed using a data of donor unit.
The composite indicators (12120, 12130, 12150, 12170) are calculated from primary indicators.
When primary data have been approved as relaible, final aggregated statistical information is calculated by summing up the primary data by different breakdowns.
1. Statistical data sources:
1.1 Annual statistical questionnaire on enterprise activity F-01 and F-01 detailed.
2. Administrative sources:
2.1 Annual financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss account)
2.2 Annual profit tax declaration of individual enterprises
2.3 Annual income declaration of natural persons who are engaged in an economic activity in their own right
2.4 State social insurance fund board (SODRA) data on employees
2.5 VAT declaration
2.6 Annual profit tax declaration of limited liability companies
2.7 Annual declaration on transactions between associated persons
Twice per year
At the national level, provisional statistical information (key indicators by NACE Rev. 2 at the 3-digit level) is published in 10 months, final (all indicators by NACE Rev. 2 at the 4-digit level, by size class and region) – in 18 months after the end of the reference year on the Official Statistical Portal.
The geographical comparability of results is fully ensured.
Length of comparable time series is 1995-2004; 2005-2008; 2008-2017; 2018-2020. Since 2005, natural persons carrying out economic activity have been included in the survey population. Data for the reference years 1995–2008 are provided by NACE Rev. 1.1. Since 2018, SBS data has been produced according to the statistical unit enterprise. An enterprise is constituted by one legal unit, a combination of legal units or of part of legal unit (until 2017 an enterprise is constituted by one legal unit or part of legal unit).
