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).
Market producers
Business Demography statistics take the enterprise as a type of statistical unit. These enterprise-based statistics in EBS are limited to market producers as defined by ESA 2010, meaning institutional units classified into the following institutional sectors:
S.11 Non-financial corporations,
S.12 Financial corporations,
S.141 and S.142 Households as employers and own-account workers
They exclude non-market producers, notably the general government (S13) and non-profit institutions serving households (S15). As well, the rest of the world sector (S.2) is excluded from the Business Demography statistics.
NACE Rev. 2
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). However, K section is not covered.
For the reference years 2015-2020, data for the Sections P, Q, R and S is provided on a voluntary basis and K section is not covered.
Surviving enterprise always stays in the initial NACE activity during all the survival years.
Employee size class
0 employees
1 to 4 employees
5 to 9 employees
10 or more employees
There is no size, net turnover or gross investment thresholds for the main populations of Business Demography statistics. All legal forms are included in the main populations of Business Demography statistics.
A methodology has been developed 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. In other words, enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not included in this data. The complete Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics is available from the Eurostat website. However, the methodology applied for activity criteria estimation differs from the common methodology as laid down in the ”Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics” taking into account changes introduced by the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Activity criteria with respect to EBS Regulation.
Within the Business Demography context, activity is defined as any net turnover and/or paid employment and/or gross investment in the period from 1st January to 31st December in a given year. This definition complements the concept of activity in the Business Registers glossary. In 'employer business demography' an enterprise is considered active as long as it has at least one employee.
The main statistical variables, such as births, deaths and survivals have been derived based on activity criteria. The definitions of the concepts of births, deaths, survivals and high growth enterprises, employees and self-employed persons and employees are as follows:
Employees
Employees are defined as those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. The relationship of employer to employee exists when there is an agreement, which may be formal or informal, between an enterprise and a person, normally entered into voluntarily by both parties, whereby the person works for the enterprise in return for remuneration in cash or in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he or she receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit). A worker from a temporary employment agency is considered to be an employee of the temporary employment agency and not of the unit (customer) in which they work. In particular the following are considered as employees:
paid working proprietors;
students who have a formal commitment whereby they contribute to the unit's process of production in return for remuneration and/or education services;
employees engaged under a contract specifically designed to encourage the recruitment of unemployed persons;
homeworkers if there is an explicit agreement that the homeworker is remunerated on the basis of the work done and they are included on the pay-roll.
Employees include part-time workers, seasonal workers, and persons on strike or on shortterm leave, but excludes those persons on long-term leave. Employees do not include voluntary workers.
Note: Employees corresponds to the International Labour Office definition of ‘paid employment’.
Enterprise Birth
A birth amounts to the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Births do not include entries into the population due to mergers, break-ups, split-off or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include entries into a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity. When operation of enterprise moves between identification numbers, it is not considered to be an enterprise birth unless two of the following three conditions are met; operation is in another economic sector according to NACE Rev. 2, operation is carried out at another location or the majority of staff has been changed.
The number of births of market enterprises is registered to the concerned population after error correction (“pyramiding” of taxes).
A birth occurs when an enterprise starts from scratch and actually starts activity. An enterprise creation can be considered an enterprise birth if new production factors, in particular new jobs, are created. If a dormant unit is reactivated within two years, this event is not considered a birth.
Employer Enterprise Birth
Birth of an enterprise with at least one employee. This population consists of enterprise births that have at least one employee in the birth year and of enterprises that existed before the year in consideration, but were below the threshold of one employee.
In other words, "employer enterprise births" comprise all "enterprise births" of a given year minus the non-employer births of the same year plus former non-employer enterprises that have become employers in the given year. Therefore the dataset on "employer business demography" does not have any size class "0 employees" but usually has higher number of "employer births" particularly in size class "up to 4 employees".
Enterprise Death
A death amounts to the dissolution of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Deaths do not include exits from the population due to mergers, take-overs, break-ups or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include exits from a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity. When operation of enterprise moves between identification numbers, it is not considered to be an enterprise death unless two of the following three conditions are met; operation is in another economic sector according to NACE Rev. 2, operation is carried out at another location or the majority of staff has been changed.
The number of deaths of market enterprises is registered to the concerned population after error correction (“pyramiding” of taxes).
An enterprise is included in the count of deaths only if it is not reactivated within two years. Equally, a reactivation within two years is not counted as a birth.
Employer Enterprise Death
An employer enterprise death occurs either as an enterprise death with at least one employee in the year of death or as an exit by decline, moving below the threshold of one employee.
This is the opposite event to the employer enterprise birth. "Employer enterprise deaths" comprise all "enterprise deaths" of a given year minus the non-employer deaths of the same year plus former employer enterprises that have become non-employers in the given year. Therefore the dataset on "employer business demography" usually has higher number of "employer deaths" particularly in size class "up to 4 employees" than the complete dataset covering also non-employers in size class "0 employees".
Survival
In the Business Demography context, survival occurs if an enterprise is active in terms of paid employment and/or net turnover and/or gross investment in the year of birth and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished:
1. An enterprise born in year xx is considered to have survived in year xx+1/2/3/4/5 if it is active in terms of net turnover and/or gross investment and/or paid employment in any part of year xx+1/2/3/4/5 (= survival without changes).
2. An enterprise is also considered to have survived if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
Employer Survival
In the Business Demography context, employer survival occurs if an enterprise is active in terms of paid employment in the year of birth and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished:
1. An enterprise born in year xx is considered to have survived in year xx+1/2/3/4/5 if it is active in terms of paid employment in any part of year xx+1/2/3/4/5 (= survival without changes).
2. An enterprise is also considered to have survived if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
High-Growth Enterprises and Gazelles (growth can be measured by the number of employees or by turnover)
Commission implementing regulation (EU) No 439/2014 set the definition and compalsory collection of high-growth enterprises with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth in number of employees greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period.
In addition, the high-growth enterprises that are four and five years old (Gazelles) with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth (employment) greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available.
As well, on a voluntary basis, the high-growth enterprises, with 1 or more employees and less than 10 employees and with average annualised growth, measured in employment, greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available. In addition, on a voluntary basis, collection of high-growth enterprises and four and five years old (Gazelles) with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth in turnover greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available.
Enterprises with the growth in the number of employees or turnover due to mergers and takeovers are not be considered a high-growth enterprises. As well, it does not include enterprises that were born in t-3 and had survived to t, because these enterprises could begin operations in the second half of reference year. In such a case, average annualised growth measured in paid employment or turnover would be overestimated.
The number of persons employed (employees and self-employed persons)
The number of persons employed is defined as the total number of persons who work in the observation unit (inclusive of working proprietors, partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers), as well as persons who work outside the unit who belong to it and are paid by it (e.g. sales representatives, delivery personnel, repair and maintenance teams). The variable refers to persons absent for a short period (e.g. sick leave, paid leave or special leave), and also those on strike, but not those absent for an indefinite period. It also includes part-time workers who are regarded as such under the laws of the country concerned and who are on the pay-roll, as well as seasonal workers, apprentices and home workers on the pay-roll.
The number of persons employed excludes manpower supplied to the unit by other enterprises, persons carrying out repair and maintenance work in the enquiry unit on behalf of other enterprises, as well as those on compulsory military service.
Unpaid family workers refer to persons who live with the proprietor of the unit and work regularly for the unit, but do not have a contract of service and do not receive a fixed sum for the work they perform. This is limited to those persons who are not included on the payroll of another unit as their principal occupation.
3.5. Statistical unit
The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
3.6. Statistical population
The target population is the private sector economy, including all active enterprises for NACE 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). However, K section for IS is not covered.
In the additional datasets on employer business demography, the threshold is set to one employee at any time of the reference period.
As mentioned above, a threshold of 1 to 10 and 10+ employees is used to define the population of high-growth enterprises and 'gazelles'.
3.7. Reference area
The whole teritory of Iceland is covered.
The regional coverage is inapplicable due to derogation.
All branches of foreign enterprises are included in BD statistics collection that do not belong to the rest of the world sector (S.2).
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data covers the period 2015-2023.
Attention: BD data collection (period 2015-2023) that is in line with EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation) is not comparable with historical BD data collection (2008-2020), which was produced according to EU Regulation 2008/295(old activity creteria).
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
Reference period is 2023
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.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
[Not applicable]
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Statistics Iceland's Rules of Procedure for Treating Confidential Data are accessible on the Statistics Iceland website:
Fundamental data is kept as confidential information at Statistics Iceland. Only employees of Statistics Iceland who directly work with data have access to basic data. Statistics Iceland does not provide access to basic data, though it is possible to have it especially processed.
7.2.1. Confidentiality rules (primary and secondary)
Data treatment
Remarks
Confidentiality rules applied
no
Threshold of number of enterprises (Number)
none
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
no
If secondary confidentiality is applied, explain the rules and the methods used
7.2.2. Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
Measures
Data treatmen
Remarks
Measures taken to reduce the number of confidential cells
yes
If measures have been taken, describe them briefly
data are not confidential
Impact of these measures
not applicable
8.1. Release calendar
There is advance notice of release dates.
The data published at the national level differs from the data sent and published by Eurostat.
Main differences occurs due to:
Difference in the size of business population definition with respect to NACE classification. Data on fisheries and aquaculture economic activities is very important for users at national level. However, these NACE economic activities currently are not part of EBS regulation for the Business Demography.
Final administrative data transferred to Statistics Iceland after deadline dates to Eurostat. That can create small divergency from data transferred to Eurostat.
NACE classification updates.
8.2. Release calendar access
Release calendar is accessible to users on the Statistics Iceland website:
in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/1197 on European business statistics
At the Statistics Iceland, the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) is the cornerstone of the quality framework and sets the standards for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. It defines 16 key principles for the institutional environment under which the EU and national statistical authorities operate, as well as for the statistical processes and output European Statistics Code of Practice - Quality - Eurostat
The main characteristics of the following quality aspects of the indicator in question:
PRINCIPLE 11 Relevance European Statistics meet the needs of users.
11.1 Procedures are in place to consult users, to monitor the relevance and value of existing statistics in meeting their needs, and to consider and anticipate their emerging needs and priorities. Innovation is pursued to continuously improve statistical output.
11.2 Priority needs are being met and reflected in the work programme.
11.3 User satisfaction is monitored on a regular basis and is systematically followed up.
PRINCIPLE 12 Accuracy and Reliability European Statistics accurately and reliably portray reality.
12.1 Source data, integrated data, intermediate results and statistical outputs are regularly assessed and validated.
12.2 Sampling errors and non-sampling errors are measured and systematically documented according to the European standards.
12.3 Revisions are regularly analysed in order to improve source data, statistical processes and outputs.
PRINCIPLE 13 Timeliness and Punctuality European Statistics are released in a timely and punctual manner.
13.1 Timeliness meets European and other international release standards.
13.2 A standard daily time for the release of statistics is made public.
13.3 The periodicity of statistics takes into account user requirements as much as possible.
13.4 Divergence from the dissemination time schedule is publicised in advance, explained and a new release date set.
13.5 Preliminary results of acceptable aggregate accuracy and reliability can be released when considered useful.
PRINCIPLE 14 Coherence and Comparability European Statistics are consistent internally, over time and comparable between regions and countries; it is possible to combine and make joint use of related data from different data sources.
14.1 Statistics are internally coherent and consistent (i.e. arithmetic and accounting identities observed).
14.2 Statistics are comparable over a reasonable period of time.
14.3 Statistics are compiled on the basis of common standards with respect to scope, definitions, units and classifications in the different surveys and data sources.
14.4 Statistics from the different data sources and of different periodicity are compared and reconciled.
14.5 Cross-national comparability of the data is ensured within the European Statistical System through periodical exchanges between the European Statistical System and other statistical systems. Methodological studies are carried out in close co-operation between the Member States and Eurostat.
Eurostat prepares a summary quality reports on the rate of confidential cells, data availability rate, specification of missing details, punctuality annex, cross domain coherence, estimated versus final data, relevance and accuracy, which is discussed in a yearly meeting with Member States. .
According to the information available from the quality reports, data is of very good quality.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Main external users are Eurostat and OECD.
Main internal users are public entities, enterprises, media, special interest groups and the public who use data for a variety of purposes, including market research and economic analysis.
Figures on the number of enterprises, the number of persons employed, gross investment and net turnover are intended to show broad trends of the long-term development of individual industries.
BD data published at the national level are different from the data sent to Eurostat (to fulfill the national needs). The main reason for that is data on fisheries and aquaculture economic activities is very important for users at national level. However, these NACE economic activities currently are not part of EBS regulation for the Business Demography.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
No user satisfaction has been measured.
12.3. Completeness
Starting with the reference year 2015, 100% complete.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
100%
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
Within the Business Demography context, activity is defined as any net turnover and/or paid employment and/or gross investment in the period from 1st January to 31st December in a given year. This definition complements the concept of activity in the Business Registers glossary. In 'employer business demography' an enterprise is considered active as long as it has at least one employee.
Majority of errors may be explained by errors in tax returns reports or that enterprises/ individuals do not submit tax returns reports to the Directorate of Internal Revenue. As well, employers do not always provide data in a timely manner. Incorrect business registration of enterprises can also cause an error. Therefore estimated proportion of enterprises wrongly designated as non-active is aprox. 0,2%.
In some cases, enterprises change its ID numbers in the middle of the year and move its employees to new enterprises. It could cause wrong matching and counting of employees, persons employed and enterprises. Therefore estimated proportion of enterprises false non-matches is aprox. 0,3%.
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
There are no processing errors in the final data collection process.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
[Not requested]
14.1. Timeliness
There are no thresholds for paid employment, gross investment or net turnover (variables that are defining activity). In general the coverage of the register is the full coverage of the business demography project. Some units in the liberal professions that have no employees in paid employment may be missing. There are no duplicates, because each enterprise has unique personal ID no. or CPR no.
The main data source is business regester. The time lag between registration at the Directorate of Internal Revenue and registration at the statistical business register is one day. The time lag between registration at the statistical business register and the actual start of economic activities is about 3 months on average. So, this will result in a little over coverage. The time lag between the actual end of economic activities and deregistration is unknown, and long. In fact, many registered units will never become active. On average about 20% of registered enterprises are not active in the scope of BD.
As well, there are tax returns reports for business operators (RSK 1.04) and tax returns reports for self-employed persons (RSK 4.11) from the Directorate of Internal Revenue. Therefore, reliability of data depends on compliance with mandatory obligation and precision during filling in tax forms. In some cases, tax reports do not give a clear picture of business operations. It could happen when enterprises are restructured during fiscal year and operations previously belonging to a parent company are transferred to a subsidiary. Therefore, the parent company becomes a holding company or headquarters in the future. Alternatively, it could refer to when enterprises are divided, merged or reorganized in other ways that tax reports are affected. In some cases, tax reports are not available for individual years.
The number of employees is estimated based on payroll data from the Directorate of Internal Revenue. Therefore, accuracy of data depends on employers´ precision during filling in payroll data forms. Remuneration, when business owners calculate their own salary but do not list them as personnel cost, is not taken into consideration. The number of individuals, which received compensations for their work from a particular company, is calculated on a monthly basis. Later on, an average is calculated for those months that compensations were paid out. Such methodology gives the best representation for enterprises that operate only a part of the year. However, it can cause double counting when a company changes its ID number in the middle of the year and moves its employees to new company. As well, it should be pointed out that here is calculated the number of persons who received compensations from enterprises rather than the number of full-time jobs.
Attempts have been made to clear off vacation payments to former employees. However, it is possible that some part of those payments may still be counted in to payroll data. As a result, it could cause employees´ overestimation. Likewise, it is impossible to correct for back payments to former employees, e.g. in relation to collective agreements.
Industry classifications are based on the EU NACE Rev. 2 and requirements for the Business Register of Statistics Iceland. The most enterprises fall within definitions of one group according to Industry Classification Standard, while some larger enterprises are in more than one professional activity. In that case, a company will be assigned to the industrial group where it earns higher operating income.
Final statistics are transferred to Eurostat no later than 18 months after the end of the reference year.
Final statistics dissemination is in accordance with the publication schedule of Statistics Iceland. The publication schedule is published on the website of Statistics Iceland each year in October.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
[Not requested]
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
[Not requested]
14.2. Punctuality
There are no delays in the transmission of data to Eurostat.
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
a) First reference year available (calendar year): 2015
b) Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks: None
c) Outliers in time series: 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
2015-2023 is the length of comparable time series, no breaks in time series.
Data is comparable between years because uniform methods were applied during calculation and processing of annual data.
However, comparability of numbers may be disrupted due to changes in sources, methods or submission process at the Directorate of Internal Revenue. Also, the Business Register is basing its industry classifications on the calendar year. Therefore, if a company changes an industry, it is considered to be a part of this industry since the beginning of the year when change took place.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
BD 100% coherent with SBS with respect to number of enterprises, employees and persons employed across all devisions.
BR has a little over coverage in comparison with BD, because on average about 20% of registered enterprises are not active in the scope of BD.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Preliminary versus final data revisions are due to availability of new and/or delayed administrative data.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Preliminary versus final data revisions are due to availability of new and/or delayed administrative data.
18.1. Source data
a) Type of data source:
Statistics Iceland uses a number of data sources: Statistical Business Register, Tax reports, PAYE data, VAT data, Data on enterprise assets from Tax Authority, Database on enterprise Sectors according to ESA2010, Annual reports, Enterprise ownership records, news reports we have flagged because of mergers, aquisitions or restructuring as well as high growth.
b) Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register):
All economic activities, sectors and legal forms are included in SBR. There are no thresholds on gross turnover, paid employment and VAT during process of enterprise inclusion in SBR. Any existing assets and/or debt are the criteria for inclusion in SBR, as well. Therefore, SBR has a little over coverage in comparison with BD, because on average about 20% of registered enterprises are not active in the scope of BD.
c) Matching, profiling or imputation: All matching, profiling or imputation is carried out only by BD statistician in line that is specified in the methodological guidelines:
Administrative data on enterprise
Location and Economic Activity
Location and Name
Economic Activity and Name
Links between enterprises: based on employment, ownership, outliers for paid employment, net turnover and gross investment, news
18.1.1. Concepts and sources
SBR do not do imputations or estimations of missing data. All matching, profiling, estimation and imputation for missing data, births and deaths done only for BD variables in the BD data base which is separate from SBR.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Three times a year. Statistics Iceland uses a number of data sources: Statistical Business Register, Tax reports, PAYE data, VAT data, Data on enterprise assets from Tax Authority, Database on enterprise Sectors according to ESA2010, Annual reports, Enterprise ownership records, news reports we have flagged because of mergers, aquisitions or restructuring as well as high growth.
18.3. Data collection
The data processing starts by establishing a series of annual snapshots of the business register. The populations in each of these snapshots are then matched in order to identify the target populations and to be able to follow each unit across the time period considered. Other sources are used to update some of the information (such as employment, net turnover, gross investment). It is done by an extraction from a data base, where data from different administrative sources is collected. A unit is considered active if it shows paid employment and/ or net turnover and/ or gross investment during any time of a calendar year. As well, the missing data from tax reports is estimated based on PAYE and VAT data. Births and deaths are separated from other creations and cessations by eliminating mergers, take-overs, break-ups and split-offs. ID numbers are used to identify all new enterprises. Thus, reactivations of inactive units can be followed as well. A reactivation of an enterprise after more than two years is considered a birth, while a death is confirmed only after two years of inactivity. No changes in production are foreseen at this given moment
It should be noted that the survival enterprises are classified to their activity, sector and size strating in the year they were born. For the evaluation of survival and growth rates these classifications are fixed for the duration of the study. For the population of active/ birth/ death/ high growth enterprises (and the indicators related to enterprise deaths) these two classifications (activity and size) reflect the classifications in each reference year.
18.3.1. Data matching
a) Data matching process and tools:
Administrative data on enterprise
Location and Economic Activity
Location and Name
Economic Activity and Name
Links between enterprises: based on employment, ownership, outliers for paid employment, net turnover and gross investment, news
MDL (micro-data linking) between various databases is main tool/ technique for data matching.
b) Matching:
Administrative data on enterprise and Links between enterprises: based on employment, ownership, outliers for paid employment, net turnover and gross investment during birth and/ or death, news are additional matching criterias that are used.
All enterprises assigned to their headquarters, location wise. Therefore, multi-site units are treated as enterprise.
It should be noted that the survival enterprises are classified to their activity, sector and size strating in the year they were born. For the evaluation of survival and growth rates these classifications are fixed for the duration of the study. For the population of active/ birth/ death/ high growth enterprises (and the indicators related to enterprise deaths) these two classifications (activity and size) reflect the classifications in each reference year. BD is produced for all activities and sectors on the first stages of production, later the data processed with respect to more precise constrictions. Around 1 to 3 enterprises may move in or out of scope (e.g. to or from NACE Rev. 2 sections A, O or S99). However, it is needed to add that there is an additional preparation stage set, moving enterprises into the scope (when it is unknown activity) that is based on the tax reports data and/ or the newest known or the previously known activity in SBR.
On average, around 10% of all enterprises births´ are reactivations. We encountered no problems when carrying out the matching procedure.
As well, around 10% of all enterprises births´ will be counted as enterprises deaths´ for the given year, as well.
18.3.2. Manual checks
All the births and deaths with 2 or more employees were manually investigated.
All the births and deaths with 650,000 EUR or more in net turnover that do not belong to K642, K649, P, Q, R, S sections were manually investigated.
All the births and deaths with 130,000 EUR or more in net turnover that do belong to K642, K649, P, Q, R, S sections were manually investigated.
All the births and deaths with 1,000,000 EUR or more in gross investment were manually investigated.
MDL method is used to verify the results for surviving enterprises that is based on activity creteria.
18.4. Data validation
1. Validation of format and file structure checks:
BD data is prepared following the required technical specification, and is pre-validated by using Eurostat provided validation tool.
2. Intra-dataset checks
BD data is prepared following the required methodological specification, and is pre-validated pre-validated by using Eurostat provided validation tool.
3. Inter-dataset checks
As soon as single flows are validated, inter-dataset validation can be run by merging all files in one and sending this merged file to the pre-validation by using Eurostat provided validation tool.
4. Intra-domain, intra-source checks
Coherence between variables is also verified for example to ensure that there are not more surviving enterprises in a stratum than there were births the previous year. A number of apparent inconsistencies exist for methodological reasons. For example if employment is measured in full-time equivalents then it is possible to have a lower level of employment in a stratum than there are enterprises. All inconsistencies are verified with the data provider and methodological notes made of any practices that explain apparent incoherence.
5. Plausibility or consistency checks between two domains available in the same Institution
Data is validated on reception. This involves a pre-treatment to align received data to the standard transmission format when this has not been fully respected. If activity and size aggregations have not been provided these are calculated. If they have been provided they are checked for coherency. In addition to the standard NACE classification, some special activity aggregates are available, notably Sections C to E, Sections G to K, Sections M to O, Sections P to S, various ICT aggregates, and various special aggregations of services activities such as Knowledge Intensive Business Services.
A check is done to ensure that all data sets are complete in terms of variables provided and activity and population coverage. In the event that records are missing it is verified whether this is because the data is not available or because in fact there are no enterprises in the data concerned. In the case of not available data it is recorded as missing and in the case of no enterprises present in the strat and it is recorded as a zero.
6. Plausibility or consistency checks between the data available in the Institution and the data / information available outside the Institution.
None.
18.5. Data compilation
The missing number of self-employed persons is estimated for the BD compilation and also for the Business Register.
Preliminary deaths are estimated since there is no information on reactivation at the time of preparation of data. For net turnover as proxy is used VAT data, and employment is estimated based on PAYE data.
The annual average of employees and self-employed persons in active enterprises is calculated:
If there are no employees, but positive net turnover or/ and gross investment - then at least one employee and self-employed person per enterprise for each self-employed enterprise. Zero person employed for each other legal form if no paid employment. If paid employment>0 and <1 for other legal form - then person emploed is 1. If paid employment >=1 then the annual average of employees = the annual average of employees and self-employed persons. Because, data for paid employment is based on administrative source of PAYE data.
Annual average is calculated by taking headcount of employees or self-employed persons per shortest observation period (month, week, day) and dividing by number of periods in year. A month is the denominator that is used. No, the number of employees or self-employed at the end of the reference year is not used as approximation for annual average.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
[Not requested]
18.6. Adjustment
[Not applicable]
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
[Not applicable]
None.
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
30 June 2025
BD constitutes an important and integrated part of the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Market producers
Business Demography statistics take the enterprise as a type of statistical unit. These enterprise-based statistics in EBS are limited to market producers as defined by ESA 2010, meaning institutional units classified into the following institutional sectors:
S.11 Non-financial corporations,
S.12 Financial corporations,
S.141 and S.142 Households as employers and own-account workers
They exclude non-market producers, notably the general government (S13) and non-profit institutions serving households (S15). As well, the rest of the world sector (S.2) is excluded from the Business Demography statistics.
NACE Rev. 2
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). However, K section is not covered.
For the reference years 2015-2020, data for the Sections P, Q, R and S is provided on a voluntary basis and K section is not covered.
Surviving enterprise always stays in the initial NACE activity during all the survival years.
Employee size class
0 employees
1 to 4 employees
5 to 9 employees
10 or more employees
There is no size, net turnover or gross investment thresholds for the main populations of Business Demography statistics. All legal forms are included in the main populations of Business Demography statistics.
A methodology has been developed 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. In other words, enterprises created or closed solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not included in this data. The complete Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics is available from the Eurostat website. However, the methodology applied for activity criteria estimation differs from the common methodology as laid down in the ”Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics” taking into account changes introduced by the EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European Business Statistics (EBS Regulation).
Activity criteria with respect to EBS Regulation.
Within the Business Demography context, activity is defined as any net turnover and/or paid employment and/or gross investment in the period from 1st January to 31st December in a given year. This definition complements the concept of activity in the Business Registers glossary. In 'employer business demography' an enterprise is considered active as long as it has at least one employee.
The main statistical variables, such as births, deaths and survivals have been derived based on activity criteria. The definitions of the concepts of births, deaths, survivals and high growth enterprises, employees and self-employed persons and employees are as follows:
Employees
Employees are defined as those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. The relationship of employer to employee exists when there is an agreement, which may be formal or informal, between an enterprise and a person, normally entered into voluntarily by both parties, whereby the person works for the enterprise in return for remuneration in cash or in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he or she receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit). A worker from a temporary employment agency is considered to be an employee of the temporary employment agency and not of the unit (customer) in which they work. In particular the following are considered as employees:
paid working proprietors;
students who have a formal commitment whereby they contribute to the unit's process of production in return for remuneration and/or education services;
employees engaged under a contract specifically designed to encourage the recruitment of unemployed persons;
homeworkers if there is an explicit agreement that the homeworker is remunerated on the basis of the work done and they are included on the pay-roll.
Employees include part-time workers, seasonal workers, and persons on strike or on shortterm leave, but excludes those persons on long-term leave. Employees do not include voluntary workers.
Note: Employees corresponds to the International Labour Office definition of ‘paid employment’.
Enterprise Birth
A birth amounts to the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Births do not include entries into the population due to mergers, break-ups, split-off or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include entries into a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity. When operation of enterprise moves between identification numbers, it is not considered to be an enterprise birth unless two of the following three conditions are met; operation is in another economic sector according to NACE Rev. 2, operation is carried out at another location or the majority of staff has been changed.
The number of births of market enterprises is registered to the concerned population after error correction (“pyramiding” of taxes).
A birth occurs when an enterprise starts from scratch and actually starts activity. An enterprise creation can be considered an enterprise birth if new production factors, in particular new jobs, are created. If a dormant unit is reactivated within two years, this event is not considered a birth.
Employer Enterprise Birth
Birth of an enterprise with at least one employee. This population consists of enterprise births that have at least one employee in the birth year and of enterprises that existed before the year in consideration, but were below the threshold of one employee.
In other words, "employer enterprise births" comprise all "enterprise births" of a given year minus the non-employer births of the same year plus former non-employer enterprises that have become employers in the given year. Therefore the dataset on "employer business demography" does not have any size class "0 employees" but usually has higher number of "employer births" particularly in size class "up to 4 employees".
Enterprise Death
A death amounts to the dissolution of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Deaths do not include exits from the population due to mergers, take-overs, break-ups or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include exits from a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity. When operation of enterprise moves between identification numbers, it is not considered to be an enterprise death unless two of the following three conditions are met; operation is in another economic sector according to NACE Rev. 2, operation is carried out at another location or the majority of staff has been changed.
The number of deaths of market enterprises is registered to the concerned population after error correction (“pyramiding” of taxes).
An enterprise is included in the count of deaths only if it is not reactivated within two years. Equally, a reactivation within two years is not counted as a birth.
Employer Enterprise Death
An employer enterprise death occurs either as an enterprise death with at least one employee in the year of death or as an exit by decline, moving below the threshold of one employee.
This is the opposite event to the employer enterprise birth. "Employer enterprise deaths" comprise all "enterprise deaths" of a given year minus the non-employer deaths of the same year plus former employer enterprises that have become non-employers in the given year. Therefore the dataset on "employer business demography" usually has higher number of "employer deaths" particularly in size class "up to 4 employees" than the complete dataset covering also non-employers in size class "0 employees".
Survival
In the Business Demography context, survival occurs if an enterprise is active in terms of paid employment and/or net turnover and/or gross investment in the year of birth and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished:
1. An enterprise born in year xx is considered to have survived in year xx+1/2/3/4/5 if it is active in terms of net turnover and/or gross investment and/or paid employment in any part of year xx+1/2/3/4/5 (= survival without changes).
2. An enterprise is also considered to have survived if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
Employer Survival
In the Business Demography context, employer survival occurs if an enterprise is active in terms of paid employment in the year of birth and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished:
1. An enterprise born in year xx is considered to have survived in year xx+1/2/3/4/5 if it is active in terms of paid employment in any part of year xx+1/2/3/4/5 (= survival without changes).
2. An enterprise is also considered to have survived if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
High-Growth Enterprises and Gazelles (growth can be measured by the number of employees or by turnover)
Commission implementing regulation (EU) No 439/2014 set the definition and compalsory collection of high-growth enterprises with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth in number of employees greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period.
In addition, the high-growth enterprises that are four and five years old (Gazelles) with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth (employment) greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available.
As well, on a voluntary basis, the high-growth enterprises, with 1 or more employees and less than 10 employees and with average annualised growth, measured in employment, greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available. In addition, on a voluntary basis, collection of high-growth enterprises and four and five years old (Gazelles) with at least 10 employees in the beginning of their growth and having average annualised growth in turnover greater than 10% per annum, over a three year period are available.
Enterprises with the growth in the number of employees or turnover due to mergers and takeovers are not be considered a high-growth enterprises. As well, it does not include enterprises that were born in t-3 and had survived to t, because these enterprises could begin operations in the second half of reference year. In such a case, average annualised growth measured in paid employment or turnover would be overestimated.
The number of persons employed (employees and self-employed persons)
The number of persons employed is defined as the total number of persons who work in the observation unit (inclusive of working proprietors, partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers), as well as persons who work outside the unit who belong to it and are paid by it (e.g. sales representatives, delivery personnel, repair and maintenance teams). The variable refers to persons absent for a short period (e.g. sick leave, paid leave or special leave), and also those on strike, but not those absent for an indefinite period. It also includes part-time workers who are regarded as such under the laws of the country concerned and who are on the pay-roll, as well as seasonal workers, apprentices and home workers on the pay-roll.
The number of persons employed excludes manpower supplied to the unit by other enterprises, persons carrying out repair and maintenance work in the enquiry unit on behalf of other enterprises, as well as those on compulsory military service.
Unpaid family workers refer to persons who live with the proprietor of the unit and work regularly for the unit, but do not have a contract of service and do not receive a fixed sum for the work they perform. This is limited to those persons who are not included on the payroll of another unit as their principal occupation.
The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
The target population is the private sector economy, including all active enterprises for NACE 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). However, K section for IS is not covered.
In the additional datasets on employer business demography, the threshold is set to one employee at any time of the reference period.
As mentioned above, a threshold of 1 to 10 and 10+ employees is used to define the population of high-growth enterprises and 'gazelles'.
The whole teritory of Iceland is covered.
The regional coverage is inapplicable due to derogation.
All branches of foreign enterprises are included in BD statistics collection that do not belong to the rest of the world sector (S.2).
Reference period is 2023
[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
The missing number of self-employed persons is estimated for the BD compilation and also for the Business Register.
Preliminary deaths are estimated since there is no information on reactivation at the time of preparation of data. For net turnover as proxy is used VAT data, and employment is estimated based on PAYE data.
The annual average of employees and self-employed persons in active enterprises is calculated:
If there are no employees, but positive net turnover or/ and gross investment - then at least one employee and self-employed person per enterprise for each self-employed enterprise. Zero person employed for each other legal form if no paid employment. If paid employment>0 and <1 for other legal form - then person emploed is 1. If paid employment >=1 then the annual average of employees = the annual average of employees and self-employed persons. Because, data for paid employment is based on administrative source of PAYE data.
Annual average is calculated by taking headcount of employees or self-employed persons per shortest observation period (month, week, day) and dividing by number of periods in year. A month is the denominator that is used. No, the number of employees or self-employed at the end of the reference year is not used as approximation for annual average.
a) Type of data source:
Statistics Iceland uses a number of data sources: Statistical Business Register, Tax reports, PAYE data, VAT data, Data on enterprise assets from Tax Authority, Database on enterprise Sectors according to ESA2010, Annual reports, Enterprise ownership records, news reports we have flagged because of mergers, aquisitions or restructuring as well as high growth.
b) Coverage of SBR (Statistical Business Register):
All economic activities, sectors and legal forms are included in SBR. There are no thresholds on gross turnover, paid employment and VAT during process of enterprise inclusion in SBR. Any existing assets and/or debt are the criteria for inclusion in SBR, as well. Therefore, SBR has a little over coverage in comparison with BD, because on average about 20% of registered enterprises are not active in the scope of BD.
c) Matching, profiling or imputation: All matching, profiling or imputation is carried out only by BD statistician in line that is specified in the methodological guidelines:
Administrative data on enterprise
Location and Economic Activity
Location and Name
Economic Activity and Name
Links between enterprises: based on employment, ownership, outliers for paid employment, net turnover and gross investment, news
Annual
There are no thresholds for paid employment, gross investment or net turnover (variables that are defining activity). In general the coverage of the register is the full coverage of the business demography project. Some units in the liberal professions that have no employees in paid employment may be missing. There are no duplicates, because each enterprise has unique personal ID no. or CPR no.
The main data source is business regester. The time lag between registration at the Directorate of Internal Revenue and registration at the statistical business register is one day. The time lag between registration at the statistical business register and the actual start of economic activities is about 3 months on average. So, this will result in a little over coverage. The time lag between the actual end of economic activities and deregistration is unknown, and long. In fact, many registered units will never become active. On average about 20% of registered enterprises are not active in the scope of BD.
As well, there are tax returns reports for business operators (RSK 1.04) and tax returns reports for self-employed persons (RSK 4.11) from the Directorate of Internal Revenue. Therefore, reliability of data depends on compliance with mandatory obligation and precision during filling in tax forms. In some cases, tax reports do not give a clear picture of business operations. It could happen when enterprises are restructured during fiscal year and operations previously belonging to a parent company are transferred to a subsidiary. Therefore, the parent company becomes a holding company or headquarters in the future. Alternatively, it could refer to when enterprises are divided, merged or reorganized in other ways that tax reports are affected. In some cases, tax reports are not available for individual years.
The number of employees is estimated based on payroll data from the Directorate of Internal Revenue. Therefore, accuracy of data depends on employers´ precision during filling in payroll data forms. Remuneration, when business owners calculate their own salary but do not list them as personnel cost, is not taken into consideration. The number of individuals, which received compensations for their work from a particular company, is calculated on a monthly basis. Later on, an average is calculated for those months that compensations were paid out. Such methodology gives the best representation for enterprises that operate only a part of the year. However, it can cause double counting when a company changes its ID number in the middle of the year and moves its employees to new company. As well, it should be pointed out that here is calculated the number of persons who received compensations from enterprises rather than the number of full-time jobs.
Attempts have been made to clear off vacation payments to former employees. However, it is possible that some part of those payments may still be counted in to payroll data. As a result, it could cause employees´ overestimation. Likewise, it is impossible to correct for back payments to former employees, e.g. in relation to collective agreements.
Industry classifications are based on the EU NACE Rev. 2 and requirements for the Business Register of Statistics Iceland. The most enterprises fall within definitions of one group according to Industry Classification Standard, while some larger enterprises are in more than one professional activity. In that case, a company will be assigned to the industrial group where it earns higher operating income.
Final statistics are transferred to Eurostat no later than 18 months after the end of the reference year.
Final statistics dissemination is in accordance with the publication schedule of Statistics Iceland. The publication schedule is published on the website of Statistics Iceland each year in October.
[Not requested]
a) First reference year available (calendar year): 2015
b) Breaks in time series and reasons for the breaks: None
c) Outliers in time series: 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic
