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.
The annual Business demography data collection covers variables which explain the characteristics and demography of the business population. The methodology allows for the production of data on enterprise births (and deaths), that is, enterprise creations (cessations) that amount to the creation (dissolution) of a combination of production factors and where no other enterprises are involved (enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not considered).
A summary of the available indicators is listed below. The data is available at EU, country and regional level, with breakdowns for type of activity, legal form and size class.
For the population of active enterprises:
Number of active enterprises,
Number of enterprise births,
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years,
Number of enterprise deaths,
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons).
For the population of active employer enterprises:
Number of enterprises having at least one employee,
Number of enterprises having the first employee,
Number of enterprises having no employees anymore,
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years,
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons).
For high-growth enterprises, the following indicators are available at EU and country level:
Number of high-growth enterprises (growth by 10% or more),
Number of employees of high-growth enterprises,
Number of young high-growth enterprises (up to five years old high-growth enterprises),
Number of employees of young high-growth enterprise.
3.2. Classification system
From 2008 onwards NACE Rev.2 classification (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community) is used for all indicators.
Starting with reference year 2021, BD data cover the economic activities of market producers within the NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R and Divisions S95 and S96. The total economy is presented as Industry, Construction and Services (code BTSXO_S94).
For the reference years 2008-2020, data for the Sections P, Q, R and S were provided on a voluntary basis and K64.2 was not covered.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
BD constitutes an important and integrated part of the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Concerning active enterprises, the criteria required by Regulation were used. In particular, the population of active enterprises including all employers and non-employers consists of all enterprises that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period.
The birth/death dates from the Business Register are used to decide if units are active,since the Business Register serves as the source for the Business Demography Data.The Business Register provides Survivals as well.
The target population is the market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96, including all active enterprises.
Data from the National Statistical Business Register is processed to produce data on births, deaths and survivals.
In the additional datasets on employer business demography, the threshold is set to one employee at any time of the reference period.
The following thresholds are used:
1 employee - population of employer enterprises,
10 employees in the beginning of the growth - population of high-growth enterprises and young high growth enterprises (gazelles) (10%).
3.7. Reference area
The data collection covers the government controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus.
Data includes branches of foreign enterprises.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are available for the period 2007-2022.
For the period 2007-2020, data have been collected under previous Regulations.
From the reference year 2021, BD data are available following new requirements.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
The number of active, birth, death and survival enterprises, as well as high-growth enterprises is expressed in units.
The number of employees is counted as head counts and is expressed in units.
The number of persons employed is the sum of number of employees and self-employed persons.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work, measured in annual average headcounts, expressed in units.
Derived indicators are expressed in units or percentages.
The basic reference period is the year. The latest reference year is 2022.
The population of active enterprises refers to any enterprises that were active at any time in the reference period, even for a limited time.
Births refer to units born 'from scratch' without the involvement of other units during the reference period.
Deaths relate to real enterprise deaths during the reference period. However deaths are not confirmed until after two years to exclude the possibility of a unit reactivating.
Therefore, final data on deaths and related variables are reported one year later than the other data.
Employment is an annual average head count calculated over the calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Starting with reference year 2021, two new regulations form the legal basis of BD statistics:
Before reference year 2021, EU Regulation 2008/295 on structural business statistics, Annex IX, was providing a legal basis for the BD data collection. The Commission implementing EU Regulation 2014/439 ensured data collection on employer enterprises (with at least one employee), high-growth enterprises (more than 10% annual growth over three years) and their employment.
Up to reference year 2006 data have been collected under gentlemen's agreement within the context of the development of Structural Business Statistics.
Article 3 of the national Official Statistics Law, No. 25(I) of 2021 defines the functions of the Statistical Service of Cyprus regarding the production and dissemination of official statistics. Moreover, Article 13, explicitly stipulates the mandate for data collection and introduces a mandatory response to statistical enquiries by stipulating the obligation of respondents to reply to surveys and provide the data required. This relates not only to national but also to European statistics which, by virtue of Article 8 of the said Law, are incorporated in the annual and multiannual programmes of work without any further procedure.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Official statistics are released in accordance to all confidentiality provisions of the following:
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and its later amendments (especially Chapter 5 on statistical confidentiality).
The treatment of confidential data is regulated by CYSTAT's Guidelines for the Protection of Confidential Data.
Primary and secondary confidentiality is applied on the data.
Confidentiality primary rules are based on the number of enterprises (fewer than 3 enterprises).
Secondary confidentiality is used, in order to protect primary confidential data.The rules and methods used are the ones laid out by Eurostat.
7.2.1. Confidentiality rules (primary and secondary)
Data treatment
Remarks
Confidentiality rules applied
yes
Threshold of number of enterprises (Number)
3
Number of enterprises non confidential, if number of employments is confidential
no
Dominance criteria applied
no
If dominance criteria is applied, specify the threshold (in %) and the method of applying the dominance rules
Secondary confidentiality applied
yes
If secondary confidentiality is applied, explain the rules and the methods used
Secondary confidentiality is coordinated with SBS.
7.2.2. Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
Remarks
Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
yes
If measures have been taken, describe them briefly
With effect from the reference year 2022, confidentiality is applied based on the population of enterprises in a given cell and not based on the number of high-growth enterprises in that cell.
Impact of these measures
very good
8.1. Release calendar
Data is only transmitted to Eurostat but not disseminated nationally.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
According to the Dissemination and Pricing Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (section 2.3) CYSTAT΄s main channel for dissemination of statistics is the web portal, which offers the same conditions to everyone and is updated at the same time every working day (12:00 noon). No privileged pre-released access is granted.
In addition to the annual release calendar, users are informed of the various statistical releases through the “Alert” service provided by CYSTAT.
No publications in which BD data are made available to the public.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
No dissemination of BD data.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not requested.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Statistical micro-data from CYSTAT’s surveys are accessible for research purposes only and under strict provisions as described below:
Under the provisions of the Official Statistics Law, CYSTAT may release microdata for the sole use of scientific research. Applicants have to submit the request form "APPLICATION FOR DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES" giving thorough information on the project for which micro-data are needed.
The application is evaluated by CYSTAT’s Confidentiality Committee and if the application is approved, a charge is fixed according to the volume and time consumed for preparation of the data. Micro-data may then be released after an anonymization process which ensures no direct identification of the statistical units but, at the same time, ensures usability of the data. The website for the application (Contact form).
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Data is sent to Eurostat to be used in European aggregates or to be released as national data.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not requested.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
There is no national documentation on methodology available.
The quality assessment is based on requirements of relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, coherence and comparability.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main national users of BD data are goverment departments and researchers.
The main users at internationnal level are Eurostat and international organisations.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Since 2008 (with the exception of 2010, 2013 and 2020) CYSTAT carries out an annual online “Users Satisfaction Survey”. The results of the surveys are available on CYSTAT’s web portal at the link attached below.
Overall, there is a high level of satisfaction of the users of statistical data published by CYSTAT.
The results of Cystat's user satisfaction surveys can be found at this website (User Satisfaction Survey).
12.3. Completeness
BD requirements according to the EU regulations are fulfilled.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
The data availability rate for all the datasets is 100%.
No missing details-series.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Not requested.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
The proportion of enterprises wrongly designated active and non-active is estimated to be about 0,22%.
The proportion of false matches and non-matches is not applicable, since data is extracted from the Business Register.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not requested.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not requested.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not requested.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
No significant processing errors have appeared in the final data collection process.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not requested.
14.1. Timeliness
Data on final employment are received from the administrative sources at t+9 months after the end of the reference year.
BD data are transmitted at t+18 months.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Not requested.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Not requested.
14.2. Punctuality
Transmission deadlines of data on Business Demography for the reference year 2022 are met.
More specifically:
EBSBDS_ALL: submitted 3 days ahead of the deadline;
EBSBDS_EMP: submitted 5 days ahead of the deadline;
EBSBDS_REG: submitted 23 days ahead of the deadline;
EBSBDS_FHW: submitted 3 days ahead of the deadline;
EBSBDS_PHW: submitted 13 days ahead of the deadline.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not requested.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Not requested.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
First reference year available (calendar year): 2007.
Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks: No breaks in time series.
Outliers in time series: No.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The length of comparable time series is 2007-2022.
Regional Business Demography data have been sent for the first time for the reference year 2021, since the collection becomes mandatory with EBS regulation.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The number of enterprises may differ slightly between SBS and Business Demography due to minor inconsistencies. These are due to the different snapshot dates of Business Register taken for the SBS and Business Demography data. Between the different snapshots classification corrections may occur.
Comparisons of the common indicators ENT, EMPL, and SAL reveal differences of less than 2%, with the sole exception being section F, where a 3.77% difference is observed in the number of employees (SAL). This difference is due to the application of weights in the SBS Survey.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not requested.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Not requested.
Not requested.
17.1. Data revision - policy
A data revision policy is in place at CYSTAT. It is published on CYSTAT’s web portal, at the following website (Revision Policy).
CYSTAT also publishes a list of scheduled revisions (regular or major revisions), also published on its web portal, at the following webiste (Revision).
17.2. Data revision - practice
Revisions will be done whenever necessary. There is no official revision calendar for the BD data, except for preliminary enteprise death data, they are revised annually and replaced with final data ( according to the definition and as required by the EBS Regulation).
As calculated by Eurostat, the Relative Mean Absolute Revisions (RMAR) for the reference year 2022 are as follows:
total population: RMAR_ENT_DTH = 0.27
population of employer enterprises: RMAR_ENT_DTH = 0.32
high-growth enterprises: RMAR_ENT_HGTH = 0.1
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Administrative sources, as well as surveys, are used to update the Βusiness Register. Minor differences between preliminary and final data may occur due to updates received after the deadline for submitting the preliminary data.
The method of calculating the survived enterprises has been improved in order to eliminate the need for any required revisions.
18.1. Source data
Type of data source: Administrative sources (Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Tax Services, Value Added Tax, Social Insurance Services), data from SBS surveys.
Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register): All NACE classifications and legal forms are fully covered. Employment is the primary criterion for inclusion in SBR. Please note that the VAT threshold in Cyprus is €15,600.
Matching, profiling or imputation: matching by registration number (for Ltd companies or registered partnerships) and by Social Security and ID number(for self-employed).
18.1.1. Concepts and sources
The raw source of SBR contain all information needed.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual.
18.3. Data collection
Business demography variables are compiled from the national statistical business register.
18.3.1. Data matching
Data matching process and tools: Link of unique numbers in the Business Register.
Matching: pair-wise matching of unique id numbers. The Business Register may use Name,Phone number and NACE (combined) as additional matching criteria.
Units moving in scope were not added. Units moving out of scope were excluded.
No problems encountered when the matching procedure was carried out.
18.3.2. Manual checks
For the reference year 2022, births and deaths of large enterprises (20 or more employees), as well as enterprises with no employees but significant turnover, were manually checked.
As a result of these checks, 80% of large births were confirmed as real births, and 25% of large deaths were confirmed as real deaths. All of these companies are limited liability companies.
18.4. Data validation
Before sending to Eurostat, the following checks are performed:
validation of format and file structure checks,
validation of coherence between variables,
validation between the SBS and BD domains.
All validation performed using the tools provided by Eurostat.
18.5. Data compilation
Estimation of preliminary deaths is made by combining available information from different sources, like the date of cessation, employment and turnover for reference years t and t+1.
Computation of the annual average of employees and self-employed persons in active enterprises is made by SBR. The main source of employment is the Social Insurance Services. Employment is calculated by category (employees and self employed perssons) on a year average.
Enterprises with no employees and self-employed are included.The percentage of those enterprises is 1,04%.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work.
Family workers and outworkers, whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit, are also included.
Employment in the national Business Register is updated using the feedback provided by the Cystat surveys.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not requested.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
No further comments.
The annual Business demography data collection covers variables which explain the characteristics and demography of the business population. The methodology allows for the production of data on enterprise births (and deaths), that is, enterprise creations (cessations) that amount to the creation (dissolution) of a combination of production factors and where no other enterprises are involved (enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not considered).
A summary of the available indicators is listed below. The data is available at EU, country and regional level, with breakdowns for type of activity, legal form and size class.
For the population of active enterprises:
Number of active enterprises,
Number of enterprise births,
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years,
Number of enterprise deaths,
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons).
For the population of active employer enterprises:
Number of enterprises having at least one employee,
Number of enterprises having the first employee,
Number of enterprises having no employees anymore,
Number of enterprise survivals up to five years,
Related variables on employment: 'employees' and 'persons employed' (employees and self-employed persons).
For high-growth enterprises, the following indicators are available at EU and country level:
Number of high-growth enterprises (growth by 10% or more),
Number of employees of high-growth enterprises,
Number of young high-growth enterprises (up to five years old high-growth enterprises),
Number of employees of young high-growth enterprise.
20 December 2024
BD constitutes an important and integrated part of the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Concerning active enterprises, the criteria required by Regulation were used. In particular, the population of active enterprises including all employers and non-employers consists of all enterprises that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period.
The birth/death dates from the Business Register are used to decide if units are active,since the Business Register serves as the source for the Business Demography Data.The Business Register provides Survivals as well.
The target population is the market producers of NACE Sections B to N and P to R and divisions S95 and S96, including all active enterprises.
Data from the National Statistical Business Register is processed to produce data on births, deaths and survivals.
In the additional datasets on employer business demography, the threshold is set to one employee at any time of the reference period.
The following thresholds are used:
1 employee - population of employer enterprises,
10 employees in the beginning of the growth - population of high-growth enterprises and young high growth enterprises (gazelles) (10%).
The data collection covers the government controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus.
Data includes branches of foreign enterprises.
The basic reference period is the year. The latest reference year is 2022.
The population of active enterprises refers to any enterprises that were active at any time in the reference period, even for a limited time.
Births refer to units born 'from scratch' without the involvement of other units during the reference period.
Deaths relate to real enterprise deaths during the reference period. However deaths are not confirmed until after two years to exclude the possibility of a unit reactivating.
Therefore, final data on deaths and related variables are reported one year later than the other data.
Employment is an annual average head count calculated over the calendar year.
Not requested.
The number of active, birth, death and survival enterprises, as well as high-growth enterprises is expressed in units.
The number of employees is counted as head counts and is expressed in units.
The number of persons employed is the sum of number of employees and self-employed persons.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work, measured in annual average headcounts, expressed in units.
Derived indicators are expressed in units or percentages.
Estimation of preliminary deaths is made by combining available information from different sources, like the date of cessation, employment and turnover for reference years t and t+1.
Computation of the annual average of employees and self-employed persons in active enterprises is made by SBR. The main source of employment is the Social Insurance Services. Employment is calculated by category (employees and self employed perssons) on a year average.
Enterprises with no employees and self-employed are included.The percentage of those enterprises is 1,04%.
The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work.
Family workers and outworkers, whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit, are also included.
Employment in the national Business Register is updated using the feedback provided by the Cystat surveys.
Type of data source: Administrative sources (Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Tax Services, Value Added Tax, Social Insurance Services), data from SBS surveys.
Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register): All NACE classifications and legal forms are fully covered. Employment is the primary criterion for inclusion in SBR. Please note that the VAT threshold in Cyprus is €15,600.
Matching, profiling or imputation: matching by registration number (for Ltd companies or registered partnerships) and by Social Security and ID number(for self-employed).
Annual by transmitting to Eurostat.
Data on final employment are received from the administrative sources at t+9 months after the end of the reference year.
BD data are transmitted at t+18 months.
Not requested.
First reference year available (calendar year): 2007.
Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks: No breaks in time series.
