Statistics Sweden

Economic statistics and analysis department. Balance of Payments unit

Elisabet Göransson

Economic statistics and analysis

Balance of Payments

Statistics Sweden

Solna strandväg 86, Solna

The different domains relevant for external sector statistics (Balance of Payments -BOP, International Investment Position - IIP, Foreign Direct Investment - FDI, and International Trade in Services - ITS) sent to Eurostat are based on the BOP Vademecum reflecting requirements laid down in the Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning BOP, ITS, and FDI, as amended by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 of 22 June 2012 and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016.

These datasets are broadly in line with the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment (BD4) and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in services 2010 (MSITS 2010).

Monthly and quarterly BOP summarize transactions between residents and nonresidents during a specific period. BOP data consist of the goods and services account, the primary income account, the secondary income account, the capital account, and the functional categories of the financial account (direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives and employee stock options, other investment and reserve assets). Differences between the current and capital account on the one hand and the financial account on the other hand are visible under Net errors and omissions that result from imperfections in source data, inconsistent reporting by enterprises and compilation issues. 

Quarterly IIP shows for a country all financial claims on nonresidents and a country’s liabilities to nonresidents at a certain point in time. The breakdown follows the functional categories of the financial account (direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives (other than reserve assets) and employee stock options, other investment, and reserve assets). The sign of the balance shows whether the domestic economic sectors have a net creditor or net debtor position vis-à-vis other countries. The other changes in financial assets and liabilities accounts (revaluations due to exchange rate, revaluations due to other price changes and other changes in the volume) reconcile the balance of payments and IIP for a specific period, by showing changes due to economic events other than transactions between residents and nonresidents.

Annual FDI statistics (consisting of financial account transactions, current account primary income figures and IIP position data) is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy (direct investor) having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy (direct investment enterprise). By convention, such a lasting interest exists when a direct investor owns 10% or more of the voting power or the equivalent (for an unincorporated enterprise). Operational definitions of control and influence are explained in BPM6 § 6.12. Furthermore, the definition of direct investment is the same as in the fourth edition of the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment.

Annual ITS statistics record services transactions between residents and non-residents and cover the following categories: manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others; Maintenance and repair services, not included elsewhere; transport; travel; construction; insurance and pension services; financial services; charges for the use of intellectual property, not included elsewhere; telecommunication, computer and information services; other business services; personal, cultural and recreational services; and government goods and services, not included elsewhere. The services categories are listed in the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010).

Classification used for the BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS statistics are in broad conformity with guidelines outlined in the relevant manual (e.g., BPM6, BD4).

Nonfinancial transactions in the BOP are generally grouped according to their nature and characteristics. Produced assets are covered in the goods and services account. Primary income captures returns for the provision of labour and financial assets and for renting of natural resources. Secondary income captures further redistribution of income through current transfers, such as by governments, private households or charitable organization in cash or in kind. The capital account is split into gross acquisitions and disposals of nonproduced nonfinancial assets and other capital transfers.

Positions and flows of financial assets and liabilities are primarily grouped according to the BPM6 functional categories. Five functional categories of investment are distinguished: (a) direct investment, (b) portfolio investment, (c) financial derivatives (other than reserves) and employee stock options, (d) other investment, and (e) reserve assets. These functional categories reflect on economic motivations and patterns of behaviour. Positions, the associated income and financial account transactions, and other changes are based on three broad categories of financial assets and liabilities: (1) equity and investment fund shares, (2) debt instruments, and (3) other financial assets and liabilities.

Annual FDI flows are classified according to the directional principle, that is grouping the FDI transactions according to the status of the resident entity; 1) FDI abroad, if the resident entity is the direct investor or, in the case of transactions between fellows companies, if the “Ultimate Controlling Parent (UCP)” is also located in the compiling economy,  2) FDI in the reporting economy, if the resident entity is the direct investment enterprise or, in the case of transactions between fellows companies, if the “Ultimate Controlling Parent (UCP)” is not located in the compiling economy. In the directional presentation, reverse investment can be seen as equivalent to the withdrawal of investment. The instrument classification differentiates between equity (other than reinvestment of earnings), reinvestment of earnings and debt instruments.

Annual FDI income shows amounts payable and receivable between resident and non-resident entities in return for providing financial direct investment assets to the rest of the world, or incurring direct investment liabilities vis-à-vis the rest of the world. The instrument classification differentiates between dividends, reinvested earnings, and income on debt.

FDI positions are also classified according to the directional principle, split into net FDI positions abroad and net FDI positions in the reporting economy. The instrument classification differentiates between equity (including reinvested earnings) and debt instruments.

For all FDI statistics, the geographical allocation is made according to the economic residence of the immediate direct investor or immediate direct investment enterprise, and the recommended classification by activity is that of the direct investment enterprise (to avoid asymmetry issues).  The industrial activity level is based on ISIC4/NACE Rev.2.

International Trade in Services data are presented in line with the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010).

Known deviations:

Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA2010) (par. 5.119) and the BPM6 Manual (par. 5.42) provide that funds between deposit-taking corporations are always recorded as deposits. Concerning deposit/loans liabilities of deposit-taking corporations to other counterparts, BPM6 foresees the additional convention that these are to be recorded as deposits, irrespective of the maturity, while ESA 2010 restricts this to short-term funds. Concerning deposit/loans assets of deposit-taking corporations vis-à-vis other counterparts BPM6 foresees the additional convention that these are to be recorded as loans, while ESA 2010 (in § 5.118) makes a similar reference for short-term loans.

Specifically for euro area: The definition of reserve assets is in line with BPM6 guidelines. However, as a member of the euro area, the definition of monetary reserves in a MS’s BOP includes (inter alia) only those liquid claims denominated in foreign currency that the MS’s central bank holds on non-euro area residents. Claims on residents of other euro area countries, regardless of the currency, are part of other external assets.

Specifically for Sweden: In FDI Statistics, the recommended classification by activity is that of the direct investment enterprise. Statistics Sweden uses the activity of the Swedish direct investor for activity allocation of outward FDI.

Institutional units are grouped into institutional sectors according to similar economic objectives, functions, and behaviour.

The sector classifications based on the BOP Vademecum are:

Central bank (S.121); Monetary Financial Institutions (MFI) other than central bank (S.122) (incl. Deposit-taking corporations except the central bank; Money Market Funds (S.123)); General government (S.13); and Other sectors.

The Other Sectors consist of Financial Corporations other than MFIs (S.12); Non-Financial Corporations (S.11); Households (S.14); and Non-profit institutions serving households (S.15).

Exception to BPM6:

A deviation from the BPM6 sector classification is that Money Market Funds are part of Other sectors (in BPM6) whereas they are part of the MFI sector for European Statistics according to the Vademecum.

The overall conceptual framework of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS are in broad conformity with the most recent manuals as well as the EC Guidelines and Eurostat’s Vademecum.

Statistical concepts and definitions relate to basic internationally accepted standards and guidelines for external sector statistics; for instance:

• All resident-nonresident transactions covered;
• The concept of residency adhered to;
• For the BOP, the concept of gross reporting is followed for the current and capital account; and the net basis for financial account transactions (separately for the individual asset and liability components);
• The change of economic ownership principle soundly applied;
• FDI is defined as equity ownership representing 10 percent or more of the voting power;
• The accrual basis is broadly applied;
• Market values or appropriate substitute measures are used;#
• the residence of Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) is attributed to the economy in which they are legally domiciled or incorporated;
• Overall, the classification, netting and ordering in the IIP is consistent with BPM6; current, capital, and financial accounts of the balance of payments statement are defined according to the BPM6.

Known Deviation (Source: Vademecum):

BOP/IIP data are to be compiled following the debtor/creditor approach, instead of the “transactor” approach. In other words, the geographical allocation of assets/credits is to be done on the basis of the residency of the issuer/debtor and not of the “transactor”. This is particularly relevant for portfolio and direct investment functional categories, which record tradable instruments. This approach is to be followed consistently in the geographical and sector allocation of investment income, financial transactions and stocks.

Specific deviations for Sweden: FDI equity positions in listed companies are not valued at market values. Instead they are valued at Own Funds at Book Value (OFBV), which also is the valuation method for non-listed companies.

Institutional units are defined in conformity with BPM6 and relate to those that have a predominant centre of economic interest in the country. In principle, any individual, corporation or other institution that provides information on the transactions/positions between the residents and non-residents of a country during a given period is included. Resident institutional units engaged with nonresidents also cover in principle:

-       incorporated or unincorporated affiliates of nonresident companies; and SPEs with little or no physical presence;

-       resident territorial enclaves in the rest of the world (e.g., embassies, military basis);

-       free zones/bonded warehouses/factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control;

-       Citizens who work or live temporarily in another country (seasonal and cross border commuters, students and patients).

Not applicable.

The reference area describes the geographical area covered by the data disseminated. According to the BOP Vademecum, the reference area is the economic territory, country, or region for which external sector statistics are provided. The country code list follows the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 classification and is a "cross-domain" code list, used also in National Accounts. The codes used for various regional groupings are harmonized across international agencies that use the BOP-DSD.

Not applicable.

All data sent to Eurostat are in Millions of Euro for Euro Area countries and in Millions of National currency for non-Euro Area countries. The unit of dissemination on Statistics Sweden's website is generally billions of Swedish Kronor (SEK), even though some data series are disseminated in SEK millions.

The monthly (MBOP), quarterly (QBOP) BOP, and quarterly FDI transactions summarize economic transactions between residents and nonresidents during the respective reference period.  The annual ITS dataset summarizes services transactions over the period of one year.

The quarterly IIP statement as well as the annual FDI stock statistics refer to a point in time at the end of the reference period; i.e., the last day of a quarter or year, respectively. The other changes in financial assets and liabilities of the IIP statement (revaluations due to exchange rate, revaluations due to other price changes and other changes in the volume) reconcile the BOP and IIP during a specific period.

Institutional Mandate – in national level

• The regulations on statutory reporting to the Riksbank for balance of payments statistics are laid down in Chapter 6, Article 9 of the Sveriges Riksbank Act (1988:1385). The reporting obligations are set out in the Riksbank’s Statute Book, which lays down the rules for statutory reporting to the Riksbank for b.o.p. statistics. It is possible for the Riksbank to make changes to the Statute Book at short notice. The current reporting obligations (RBFS 2002:4) became effective on 1 January 2003, the date on which the Riksbank’s rules on statutory reporting to the Riksbank ceased to be effective (RBFS 1997:4). The reporting obligations have been adapted to reflect the changes in the reporting system.

Institutional Mandate – in European level

• Regulation no 184/2005 of The European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 601/2006,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 602/2006,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 707/2009,
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012,
• Regulation (EU) 2016/1013
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/505 of 19 December 2018
• Quality reports for the BoP domain are prepared in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 (OJ No L 283/3).

The Regulation n°184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment (OJ L35/23 of 8/02/2005), was applied as from reference year 2006 onwards. In addition, Commission Regulation (EC) No 601/2006, Commission Regulation (EC) No 602/2006, Commission Regulation (EC) No 707/2009 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 have been published (OJ L106/7 and L106/10 of 18/04/2006), respectively implementing and amending Regulation (EC) No 184/2005. In the compilation of BoP, responsibility is shared between Eurostat and the ECB. Eurostat focuses on detailed ITS data as well as quarterly and annual aggregates of the EU (and subsequently also for the euro area), whereas the European Central Bank (ECB) is in charge of compiling and disseminating only the euro area monthly and quarterly balance of payments statistics. All legal related information can be accessed at: EUR-Lex website.

Statistics Sweden is commissioned by the Swedish central bank, the Riksbank, to produce balance of payments and international trade in services statistics. 

Rules on statistical confidentiality and secrecy are stipulated in Chapter 24, section 8 of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400). The rule provides strong protection for information on private parties (individuals, corporations, associations etc.). Statistical secrecy is, as a main rule, absolute, i.e. there are no special conditions (“requirements of damage”) that have to be met for the applicability of secrecy. The strong protection of confidentiality provided by the law is a result of a balance of interests between the possible interest of transparency according to the publicity principle and the confidentiality interest. The legislator has in this respect assessed that the interest in secrecy weighs very heavily while the transparency interest is insignificant.

As of May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation  (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 began to apply as a law in Sweden. The Data Protection Regulation then GDPR replaced the Personal Data Act (PUL).

BOP Vademecum (2022): Chapter V “Statistical confidentiality” of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics regulates protection and transmissions of confidential data within ESS and ESCB. Confidentiality status attribute is mandatory in BOP and FDI DSDs and thus each observation has to be flagged with a confidentiality status.

When the information is already released and disseminated by the national compiler (e.g. it is published on the national compiler's website) applying confidentiality status attributes such as C "Primary confidential statistical information", D “secondary confidentiality set and managed by the national compiler” or N "Not for publication, restricted for internal use only" is not justified.

Quality issues should be much less frequent for quarterly BOP and IIP data. The confidentiality status attribute "Not for publication, restricted for internal use only" - N flag – shall be used conservatively and rather in cases of more detailed breakdowns (e.g. geographical, instrument or sector breakdown). Using confidentiality status (C or D or N flags) to suppress publication of data with insufficient quality should be avoided. Observation status with U flag (low reliability) should be used instead. This would indicate existing observations and, at the same time, users will be aware of the low quality assigned.

At Statistics Sweden a data cell is considered as confidential when any individual reporting agent contributes to 75% or more to the aggregated cell value and/ or when any two individual reporting agents contributes to 90 % or more of the aggregated data cell value. Controls for preventing residual disclosure are applied for international reports and for nationally disseminated data series. Residual disclosure is prevented by suppression of additional data cells according to secondary confidentlialty rules.  

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 1.1.2. The analysis in this section focuses on the availability of the data to the users. The tables present the number of cells flagged as confidential and non - publishable, compared with the total number of cells that have to be provided according to the BOP Regulation.

Eurostat release calendar can be found under http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/release-calendar

Statistics Sweden has a publicly available advance release calendar that provides information about upcoming release dates for BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS, and data. 

The release calender for Swedish BOP and IIP data is available at Statistic's Sweden website: https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/publishing-calendar/. BOP and IIP statistics are sorted in the "Financial merkets" subject area. 

The release policy describes the publication of statistics that made available by Statistics Sweden. The policy describes how the statistics are to be published on Statistics Sweden's website. The policy also describes the basic principles in case of publishing incidents.

The release policy (available in Swedish only) can be found at at Statistics Swedens' website Publiceringspolicy (scb.se)

Eurostat Website:

BOP: monthly and quarterly

FDI flows and positions: annually

IIP: quarterly and annually        

ITS: annually

Statistics Sweden´s Website:

BOP: quarterly

FDI flows and positions: quarterly.

      Detailed FDI income flows and positions: annually

IIP: quarterly       

ITS: quarterly

Specific news releases, describing the developments for the main aggregates, are provided in connection to the quarterly publications of Swedish BOP, IIP and ITS data, and also when CDIS and CPIS data are disseminated on Statistics Sweden´s website.  

Press releases for Swedish BOP and IIP data are available at: Balance of Payments (BoP) (scb.se)

All regular and ad hoc publications and related data are available at Statistics Swedens website: Balance of Payments (BoP) (scb.se)

At Eurostat, the database for external sector statistics gives access to the following statistics:

• Monthly and quarterly BOP and quarterly IIP statistics;
• Annual data on ITS;
• Annual data on FDI positions, transactions and income;
• Detailed data on international transactions involving the European institutions.

Harmonized data is available for the European Union, the euro area, the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, EFTA countries, candidate and potential candidate countries.

 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/balance-of-payments/data/database

Data on Swedish BOP and IIP are available in the statistical database at Statistics Swedens website: Balance of Payments (BoP) (scb.se)

Not applicable.

At Statistics Sweden´s website Betalningsbalansen (BoP) (scb.se) the following core data series for BOP and IIP are available:

Microdata provided by and connected to individual enterprises and organisations are subject to rules on statistical confidentiality and secrecy (see section 7.1). Access to anonymised microdata from Statistics Sweden is possible, following a confidentiality assessment procedure, where Statistics Sweden considers if the applicant has the grounds to process the data. 

Swedish BOP and IIP data are used in the Rest Of the World sector in the Swedish National Accounts. The Swedish National Board of Trade disseminate and analyze Swedish foreign trade in goods and services and Swedish FDI data.

In addition to Eurostat, Swedish BOP and IIP as well as detailded FDI data are also provided to the IMF, OECD and UNCTAD. 

Not applicable.

Documentation regarding methodology used to compile the Swedish Balance of Payments statistics are produced can be found at Statistics Swedens website (available in Swedish only):

Statistikens framställning, Betalningsbalans och utlandsställning, 2022 (scb.se)

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

This indicator refers to the quality assurance framework (QAF) in place within an organisation to manage the quality of statistical products and processes.

A quality declaration for the Swedsih BOP and IIP is published and updated annually by Statistics Sweden (available in Swedish):

The general quality policy at Statistics Sweden is stated here below and is accessible at Statistics Sweden´s website at the following link QUALITY POLICY (scb.se)

Quality policy:

Statistics Sweden refines data into statistics. The needs of our users are central throughout the refinement process. This quality policy is a starting point for Statistics Sweden’s efforts to continuously improve statistical quality, process quality, and organisational quality. 

Statistical quality

• The statistics are objective, impartial and relevant.
• The statistics are based on scientific principles.
• The quality of statistics always relates to the purpose of the statistics. Official statistics are, at their official release, accompanied by a quality declaration and are evaluated annually according to the five quality components: relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, as well as comparability and coherence. Process quality
• The processes are transparent and documented.
• The processes prevent errors through a systematic approach.
• The processes are continually evaluated and improved.
• The data collection process makes it easier to provide data and ensures its quality.

Organisational quality

The organisation is characterised by:

• Systematic risk management and good internal governance and control.
• Openness, transparency and a common set of values.
• Confidence in the will and capability of managers and employees.
• A suitable distribution of tasks and a clear division of responsibilities.
• Continuous improvement of the working environment which is broadly supported and a long-term plan for competence supply.
• A comprehensive security management with the objective to safeguard collected data and the integrity of our respondents

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

The following text is an exerpt from Statistics Swedens website connected to ASPIRE, A System for Product Improvement, Review and Evaluation, ASPIRE (scb.se)

Statistics Sweden has a strategy for reaching its long-term goals. One of the main goals is to continuously meet the new and changing needs of users for statistics that are fit for purpose. Production is based on scientific principles and follows international and Swedish regulations and guidelines for quality as well as recognised quality standards. The quality framework and the work invested to uphold and improve quality are of strategic importance for Statistics Sweden. This section describes some aspects of Statistics Sweden’s work with quality over and above the requirements regarding quality given in the legal framework for Official Statistics of Sweden. The quality policy (Statistics Sweden 2020b) conveys the overall level of ambition of the agency’s work with quality as well as principles and values to characterise the whole organisation. The policy is a starting point for the efforts to continuously improve statistical quality, process quality, and quality management. Regarding statistical quality, Statistics Sweden applies the framework described in section 2.1.2 with the quality concept as a basis for descriptions of quality, for example in quality reports, and with the evaluation of the quality of official statistics where the purpose of the statistics is a starting point. ASPIRE complements this evaluation with its focus on accuracy for a selection of Statistics Sweden’s important products and the feature of external reviewers.

This indicator refers to the Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 7 and 8: Overall Assessment.

Statistics Sweden share the the views described in the most recent overall assessment from Eurostat regarding the quality of Swedish BOP and IIP data. This assessment by Eurostat is provided here below: 

"The overall quality of the BOP, IIP, ITS and FDI data is generally in line with the EU requirements. Eurostat sees the continuous methodological efforts, the implementation of the new security holding statistics, the ongoing cooperation between BOP and NA compilers and the participation in bilateral micro data exchanges as important steps to improve the data quality and narrow the size of the net E&O. To improve bilateral asymmetries for FDI data Eurostat also encourages Sweden to participate actively in the FDI Network and welcomes Sweden’s participation in the joint ESS/ESCB Task Force on FDI."

To guarantee the quality of results, European statistics shall be developed, produced and disseminated on the basis of uniform standards and of harmonised methods. In this respect, Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council quality criteria (a) ‘relevance’ refers to the degree to which statistics meet current and potential needs of the users. Meeting the requirements of the EC Regulation on community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment confirms relevance for the user “Eurostat” as recipient of the data sets on behalf of its user community.

Furthermore, relevance is also indirectly accomplished by countries participating in domain specific committees and working groups as well as the worldwide update of the manuals whose aim it is to keep the standards and statistics as relevant as possible going forward.

 The balance of payments and international investment position statistics are used as basis for analysis of the economy in the short and long term. For example, it is used as a basis for:

• the rest of the world accounts within the national accounts

• structural statistics and to highlight issues around foreign ownership of domestic companies (foreign direct investment)

• analysis of savings and investments

• analyzing different sectors' financing and debts towards abroad

• analyzing trading partners and connections and dependencies to other countries

• exchange rate analysis

Users are, among others, The Riksbank, the Ministry of Finance, the National Institute of Economic Research, the National Accounts, the National Board of Trade, economists, researchers and media. Eurostat, the European Central Bank, OECD, IMF, UNCTAD and other international bodies uses the statistics for analysis and further dissemination of international statistics.

No satisfaction surveys addressing user of Swedish BOP/IIP data have been carried out.

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 1.1.1. Data availability- completeness.

For data provided to Eurostat by Statistics Sweden the data completeness are in most cases 100% for the data that are provided. Quarterly revaluations are not provided to Eurostat by Statistics Sweden 

Data completeness – the provided cells expressed as % of required cells refers to the completeness of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS data provided to Eurostat based on the requirements of the BOP Regulation.

Accuracy of data is the closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values that the statistics were intended to measure.

Accuracy is being measured using three concepts: Reliability; Vintage Analysis; and Plausibility. See 13.1.

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 2.  

(i) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Reliability - defined as the closeness of the initial estimated value to the subsequent estimated value. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.1.1. Quantitative assessment of revisions. Complementary information on Revisions are also provided under S17 Data Revision.

The quantitative analysis focuses on the size of revisions, their direction and the reliability of trends using the data provided by countries to Eurostat.

For the Monthly BOP, Quarterly BOP and Quarterly IIP items, revisions are assessed using two types of indicators both of which are based on the comparison between first and last assessments:

- Directional stability indicators measure how often the first assessment is subsequently revised in the same direction (the upward revisions ratio and the directional reliability indicator).

- Relative size indicators measure the difference between the first and the last assessments. These absolute differences may be quantified relative to the underlying series (when strictly positive) or to the underlying outstanding amounts. These indicators are the symmetric mean absolute percentage ratio, mean absolute comparative ratio and for net/balance series the net relative revisions.

(ii) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Vintage Analysis. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.1.2 Vintage Analysis. For the assessment of annual data (ITSS, credit and debit, FDI flows and positions, inward and outward), the analysis focuses on the differences between the values as reported in the last 4 data deliveries to Eurostat. The counterpart area is Extra EU27 and Rest of the World.

(iii) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Plausibility – referring to the absence of unexplained changes. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.2. Plausibility. This concept calculates the share of unallocated partner or activity from total (%) for ITS, FDI flows and positions.

Statistics Sweden´s comments and reflections on accuracy in Swedish BOP ande IIP data:

Monthly BOP:

Services: The revisions are mainly due to the fact that the initial reporting is always forecasted monthly trade in services and the final reporting is from actual quarterly survey results.

FDI income on equity: The revisions are mainly due to that the initial reporting is forecasted income and the final reporting is from actual annual survey results.

Other investment income: The revisions are mainly due to the fact that the initial reporting is forecasted income for non-financial corporations and the final reporting is from actual quarterly survey results regarding non-financial corporations.

Secondary income: The revisions are mainly due to that the initial reporting is forecasted secondary income for most items and the final reporting is from actual quarterly reporting from respondents.

Quarterly BOP:

FDI income on equity: The revisions are due to the fact that the initial reporting is forecasted income and the final reporting is from actual (annual) survey results.

PI income: The revisions are partly due to the implementation of SHS, which is now also implemented for the reference years 2019 and 2020

Direct investment: The initial reporting av FDI flows comes from larger FDI enterprise groups that reports to Statistics Sweden on a monthly basis. In connection to the annual FDI survey, additional FDI transactions are captured from enterprises that do not report on a monthly basis. This is the main explanation for FDI revisions in the financial account.

Portfolio investments: The revisions are partly due to the implementation of SHS, which is now also implemented for the reference years 2019 and 2020

Quarterly IIP:

Direct investment:  The revisions are mainly due to the fact that the initial reporting is forecasted FDI stocks and the final reporting is from annual survey results from the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS).

Portfolio investment:  The revisions are partly due to the implementation of SHS, which is now also implemented for the reference years 2019 and 2020

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

According to the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 184/2005 and ECB Guideline ECB/2011/23 datasets are reported by countries to Eurostat with the following timeliness:

The BOP regulation defines the timeliness and sets the deadlines for the data transmission to Eurostat as follows:

-      Monthly BOP: 44 days after the end of the reference period;

-      Quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP and quarterly revaluations: 82/85 days after the end of the reference period;

-      ITS: 9 months after the end of the reference period;

-      FDI: 9 months after the end of the reference period (21 months for the activity breakdown).

Comments by Statistics Sweden: National data collection and processing timetables are adequate to meet timeliness and periodicity for disseminating the BOP, IIP, and ITS statistics according to the EC. The exception to this statement is the T+9 months timetable for delivering annual FDI data. It is a real challenge for Statistics Sweden to send provisional survey result data at T+9 months and Statistics Sweden continues to process annual FDI survey data until until the publishing of BOP Q3 in December each year. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Please see item 14.2.1 for details on punctuality of statistical deliveries

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report 3.1 Punctuality.

Punctuality is calculated as the actual date of data delivery minus the scheduled date of transmission to Eurostat. It shows how many calendar days this was behind (positive value) or ahead of (negative value) the legal deadline.

Coherence refers to the adequacy of the data to be reliably combined in different ways and for various uses.

In the Eurostat Quality Report, the analysis of coherence focuses on two aspects: internal consistency, that examines to which extent data are coherent within the dataset, and external consistency, that examines to which extent data are coherent with others statistics (e.g., NA) obtained by different sources or within different statistical frameworks.

Comparability refers to the measurement of the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and methodologies, measurement tools and procedures applied, when statistics are compared between geographical areas, sectoral domains (e.g., with QSA, ITGS data) or over time. 

This indicator refers to Chapter 5.3.1 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Asymmetries with regard to main ITS and FDI items.

Further information and country-specific feedback is provided below. 

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 5.3.1. Bilateral Intra-EU asymmetries are presented in Annex 3 to the Eurostat Quality report.

Asymmetries are the result of differences in measurement, in the procedures applied and in the interpretation of statistical concepts. Thus, asymmetries can be regarded as a measure of comparability.

National compilers are encouraged to perform regular checks of their FDI transactions and positions through the FDI network and possibly conduct bilateral exercises to reduce asymmetries in services.

FDI: Statistics Sweden participates in the FDI Network which is aiming to reduce the largest bilateral assymmetries.  For some specific bilateral discrepancies regarding FDI, the cause is well known being caused by different valuation methods.

ITS: Sweden and another MS had a case during 2022 within the Asymmetries Resolution Mechanism (ARM) for International Trade in Services statistics (ITSS) where conclusions were made by Eurostat.

The Balance of payments statistics follow the recommendations in the IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual Sixth Edition (BPM6) 

Information on this item is not yet available

Methodological guidelines for compiling BoP, ITS and FDI statistics are defined by the Balance of Payments manual of the IMF (6th edition) and further specified by Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations and the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investments (4th edition).

Methodological guidelines for compiling BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS statistics are defined by the BPM6, the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations, and the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investments (BD4). 

The methodology for Goods and Services is outlined in Chapter 10 of the IMF BPM6. For community statistics, countries are expected to record different values for Goods “national” and “community” concepts, if applicable. 

The methodology for Goods and Services is outlined in Chapter 10 of the IMF BPM6.

Statistics Sweden follow the manuals and they form the basis of the instructions to the respondents. Faulty reporting may occur, which we of course do our best to prevent, but that may lead to manual inconsistency in the case of eg respondents reporting accrual data.

Construction services deviate from the manual, where we follow the GAT concept, since the goods are collected through intra-/extrastat and woould be twice accounted for if we included them in service statistics.

The methodology for Primary Income is outlined in Chapter 11 of the IMF BPM6.

The methodology for Secondary Income is outlined in Chapter 12 of the IMF BPM6.

The methodology for the Capital Account is outlined in Chapter 13 of the IMF BPM6.

The methodology for Direct Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, 8 and Appendix 6 of the IMF BPM6.

Statistics Sweden genereally follows the manuals but do not compile reverse direct investment transactions/positions in equity below the 10% threshold or transactions/positions in equity between fellow enterprises below the 10% threshold, as described in the manuals. These items are instead treated as portfolio investment by Statistics Sweden. In addition, the value on these specific items are not large according to our own assessment. Statistics Sweden does not make a distinction between debt securites and other debt positions/ transactions in FDI data. Statistics Sweden do not distinguish listed and unlisted equities separately in FDI statistics data.

The methodology for Portfolio Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

Statistics Sweden calculates revaluation changes only for analysis purposes but those items are not disseminated as a part of official data sets or included in reporting to international organisations.

The methodology for Other Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

The methodology for Financial Derivatives is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

Information on this item is not yet available

Securities Holdings Statistics (SHS), is now also implemented for the reference years 2019 and 2020. Previously it was implemented starting with the reference year of 2021. 

These indicators refer to Chapter 6 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Coherence.

The comparability between BOP, IIP, FDI, ITS and National accounts is ensured by the application of common concepts and definitions of BPM6 and the 2008 SNA/ESA 2010.

Further information and country-specific feedback is provided below. 

The BOP/ IIP statistics by different frequencies produced by Statistics Sweden are reconcilable

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.2.1: BOP/ITGS reconciliation. The corresponding table – to be completed by countries is part of the Quality Report Annex 2 and is included in the Metadata Handler in form of a separate Excel Sheet.  

ITGS cover goods “which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory” (United Nations IMTS: Concepts and Definitions 1998, paragraph 14). This basis differs from the change of ownership between residents and nonresidents required for BOP, so adjustments are needed.

Please refer to BPM6 § 10.17 for cases that are included in the BOP definition of general merchandise because there is a change of ownership of goods between a resident and a nonresident.

Please refer to BPM6 § 10.22 for items to be excluded from general merchandise because there is no international transaction because there is no change of ownership of goods between a resident and a nonresident, or because the goods have no value. 

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.2.2: Consistency with National Accounts. The corresponding tables in the Eurostat Quality Report assess the external consistency between the BOP and Rest-of-the-World Account in NA. As the concepts for the BOP and NA accounting frameworks are, in principle, consistent with one another, an assessment of the consistency concludes on how far these two accounting frameworks have been consolidated with each other. 

The BOP unit at Statistics Sweden has been working together with the National Accounts in a long term project aiming at eliminating differences in the current account items between the BoP and the NA for the publishing of Q1 2020. At this first stage the project reduced differences in the net current account and as a result, the differences in the net current account have now been significantly reduced. The aim of the project was to reduce differences from 2018 and forward, where the main improvements can be seen. There are still differences in the gross values of exports and imports of goods and services. Work continues in cooperation with the national accounts in the long term to reduce these differences. During 2020, 2021 and 2022, the work has continued with coordinating the financial part of the balance of payments with the financial accounts of the NA.  

These indicators refer to Chapter 6 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Coherence.

Statistics Sweden´s view is that each BOP and IIP data set is internally consistent

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.3 Consistency between quarterly and monthly data: Quarters are compared with the sum of the corresponding three months for partners Extra EU27 and Rest of the World for Goods, Services and Secondary Income and partner Rest of the World for Primary Income. The discrepancy, computed as difference between the sum of the monthly and the quarterly data, is also shown as a share of the quarterly value. 

Internationally submitted data by Statistics Sweden shows consistency between quarterly and monthly data 

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.4 Consistency between BOP and IIP figures. 

Revaluations / other changes in volume have not yet been fully implemented in the Swedish BOP/IIP data reporting. As of today, there is asome work needed to be done for most parts of Swedish BOP/IIP to provide data on revaluations and other changes in volume.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.5 Errors and Omissions (E&O). Although the BOP accounts are, in principle, balanced, imbalances result in practice from imperfections in source data and compilation. This imbalance is labelled net errors and omissions. According to BPM6 § 2.25, “a consistent sign indicates a bias in one or more components. A persistent positive value of net errors and omissions suggests that credit entries have been understated or omitted or debit entries have been overstated. In contrast, a volatile pattern may suggest timing problems. However, although net errors and omissions can help point to some problems, it is an incomplete measure because errors and omissions in opposite directions offset each other.”

The size and the sign of the E&O item are analysed in the Eurostat Quality Report Tables.

Statistics Sweden is very much aware of the problem with net errors and omissions, especially since the cumulative sum of net E&O is substantial and negative. Some work is planned to asses the current status of errors and omissons in Swedish balance of payments statistics.    

Not applicable. 

Source: A Harmonised European Revision Policy for Macroeconomic Statistics; CMFB October 2017. Macroeconomic statistics, such as national accounts, the balance of payments and the international investment position, are produced from a large variety of data sources. These data sources are reconciled using an approach based on an agreed set of international guidelines. The sources used to estimate macroeconomic aggregates are provided with varying degrees of timeliness, taking up to three years or more in the case of structural sources. As users need national and international data as fast as possible, particularly on certain key aggregates like gross domestic product (GDP), data are produced using the sources and related indicators that are more readily available. As more complete data are obtained from these sources in due course and the structural sources are made available, the statistics are updated to incorporate the new information.

Such revisions of macroeconomic statistics are necessary to improve quality, but can be inconvenient for users. To minimise this inconvenience, revisions should ideally be coordinated within one country, across different statistics, and then across countries. International comparability – and the compilation of EU and euro area aggregate statistics – is hampered when different revision policy schemes are applied in different countries. As the schedule of revision of national accounts and balance of payments statistics varies from country to country, this creates inconsistencies among different statistical domains.

The European Statistical System (ESS) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) try to strike the right balance between incorporating the necessary statistical revisions and maintaining an acceptable degree of consistency across domains and countries. To this end, the two systems have worked together to draw up guidelines for a harmonised revision policy for macroeconomic statistics.

A distinction should be made between 'routine' revisions and 'major' or 'benchmark' revisions. Routine revisions refer to the changes made to the economic data published initially and to its subsequent releases for a particular reference quarter or year. The earlier estimates typically undergo the most significant revision. In routine revisions, the number of past periods being revised (the 'depth' of the revision) is typically relatively limited. Benchmark revision is carried out at much longer time intervals. Its purpose is to incorporate the main new data sources and major changes in international statistical methodology (such as ESA 2010 or BPM6). In benchmark revision, many years are open for revision in order to create the longest possible consistent time series.

The National Statistical Offices and the National Central Banks are not legally bound by this common policy, but voluntarily agree to it and commit to gradually implement it with the aim of delivering more consistent statistics to users. The level of adherence to the guidelines of countries' revision policies will be monitored regularly.

 
The revision policy for Swedish BOP and IIP statistics is as follows:

In addition,further periods can be revised due to changes in methodology or due to new and updated data that gives a significantly changed picture of the balance of payments.

Not applicable. 

This quality concept refers to whether the composition of data sources (surveys, ITRS (International Transactions Reporting System), administrative data, ITGS, monetary and financial statistics, etc.), in principle, sufficiently covers the compilation of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS. 

Data source: The Swedish data collection system is basically a direct reporting system supported by settlement data. Other sources are listed below.

• Goods: Customs statistics and Intrastat supplemented by data from ship registers, surveys on bunkers and other goods procured in ports.
• Sea transport: Quarterly sample survey.
• Services:  data on trade in services is collected from a survey. The survey is divided into two parts, the first of which covers general foreign trade in services, and it is aimed at the industry and size of the companies. The second part collects information about travel currency, and it is aimed at banks.
• Investment income: From an annual sample survey and estimations.
• Portfolio investment: Debt securities: Data from reference period 2019 and onwards is based on national databases Securities holding statistics and Securities issues. Foreign holdings in Swedish debt securities are estimated by subtracting Swedish investors’ holdings from total Swedish issues of debt securities.  Verification and other statistical practices: coverage of debt securities is compared against results of the creditor data published in the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey. 
• Direct investment: Stock data and reinvested earnings are based on an annual sample survey.
• Trade credits: Quarterly sample survey.
• Reserve assets: Data are based on Sveriges Riksbank's balance sheet data.

Please refer to Table Data-Sources Detail (Annex, table 18.1)

Not applicable.

The following sub-categories refer to the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010) data collection. The EBOPS 2010 classification provides a breakdown of the Balance of Payments Trade in Services items (debit and credit) as defined in BPM6, by types of services. The classification thereby meets a number of user requirements, including the provision of more detailed information on Trade in services as required in connection with the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

EBOPS 2010 is a primarily product-based classification of types of services, which in many cases may be described in terms of international classification of products as contained in CPC Ver. 2. However, the classification also includes transaction-based criteria (for example, Travel, Government services, and Construction Services).

The geographical allocation of resident/non-resident EBOPS 2010 transactions are implemented according to the centre of predominant economic interest (residence) of participating units. 

EBOPS 2010 transactions are based on market prices.

EBOPS 2010 transactions are recorded on an accrual basis. 

 Data reported, calculated or estimated for Swedish BOP and IIP are not based on the market exchange rate for the actual transaction dates. Instead monthy, quarterly or annual averages are used. For positions data, exchage rates for the actual date are used. 

The following main EBOPS 2010 items are broken down by partner country:

Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.
Transport
Travel
Construction
Insurance and pension services
Financial services
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.
Telecommunications, computer, and information services
Other business services
Personal, cultural, and recreational services
Government goods and services n.i.e.

Statistics Sweden compiles and/or publishes information on ITS for categories beyond EBOPS 2010 and its complementary groupings. 

When the majority of the incoming data for the current reference period has been received and all significant calculations have been made, a review of macro data for the entire balance of payments begins. This review includes a fair consideration of any major values in different units and sub-items, that these are correct and that they also have a offsetting transaction in the balance of payments. There are also controls in place so that the items that automatically should have a offsetting transaction in the balance of payments also have it, and if the values are in accordance with established rules and assumptions.

The review of macro data also includes making a general so-called reconciliation between transactions in the financial balance sheet and changes in the stocks' values regarding assets and liabilities in the international investment position. In addition to transactions, stock values are affected by e.g. of interest rate changes and exchange rate changes as well as of the development of the various stock markets.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The Balance of Payments and the National Accounts are two of Statistics Sweden’s products that publish figures on exports and imports. Long-term cooperation between the two products aims to coordinate and develop these statistics. In recent years, there has been a focus on coordinating sources and methods in the calculation of the current account in order to increase the consistency between these two sets of statistics. With a few exceptions, the Balance of Payments now adjusts exports and imports of goods and services data in the same way as in the National Accounts.

Seasonal adjusted current account is produced using the X13-Arima modell. Sum concistency is reached by using a top-down approach.