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.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
F1 - Social indicators - Methodology and development; Relations with users
1.3. Contact name
Restricted from publication
1.4. Contact person function
Restricted from publication
1.5. Contact mail address
L-2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Restricted from publication
1.7. Contact phone number
Restricted from publication
1.8. Contact fax number
Restricted from publication
2.1. Metadata last certified
12 April 2019
2.2. Metadata last posted
29 January 2020
2.3. Metadata last update
1 February 2020
3.1. Data description
Culture statistics cover many aspects of economic and social life. According to the Europe 2020 strategy, the role of culture is crucial for achieving the goal of a "smart, sustainable and inclusive" growth. The international trade in cultural services is considered (alongside with the international trade in cultural goods) as one of the economic dimensions of culture. A specific set of statistics can be built based on Balance of Payments (BOP) data. The Balance of Payments (BoP) systematically summarizes all economic transactions between the residents and the non-residents of a country or of an economic area during a given period and provides harmonized information on international transactions which are part of the current account, the capital and the financial account.
Data on International Trade in Services (ITS), are an important component of the BoP current account, and are used, alongside with data on Foreign Direct Investment, to monitor the external commercial performance of different economies. ITS data are collected by national enterprise surveys, International Transaction System (ITRS) and administrative records.
Statistics on international trade in cultural services (as subset of BoP) provide the monetary value of such trade, with an analysis by the type of service and by partner country. These statistics are produced from the transactions recorded under a country’s balance of payments, which captures all transactions that take place between an economy’s residents and non-residents. Furthermore, international trade in cultural services statistics distinguishes between transactions between EU Member States (intra-EU transactions) and transactions with non-member countries (extra-EU transactions).
The international trade of cultural services covers the total value of credits (or exports), debits (or imports) and the net result or "balance" (credits minus debits) of the transactions with each partner.
3.2. Classification system
The services categories are described in the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS2010), which is consistent with the Balance of Payments Manual, 6th Edition (BPM6) but provides for more detailed breakdowns of the BPM6. Both EBOPS2010 and BPM6 give enhanced clarification for the measurement of international trade in services compared to previous versions of the standards for compilation of balance of payments. Alongside the main components, some complementary groupings of services are included in EBOPS 2010 classification.
Cultural categories can be seen as sub-items in items 8, 9, 10 and 11:
Item 8 Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. (SH) – regarding licences:
…
8.4 Licences to reproduce and/or distribute audio-visual and related products (SH4)
8.4.1 Licences to reproduce and/or distribute audio-visual products (SH41)
8.4.2 Licences to reproduce and/or distribute other products (SH42)
Item 9 Telecommunications, computer and information services (SI) – regarding news agency and information services
…
9.3 Information services (SI3)
9.3.1 News agency services (SI31)
9.3.2 Other information services (SI32)
Item 10 Other business services (SJ) – regarding advertising and architectural services
…
10.2.2 Advertising, market research and public opinion polling services (SJ22) (only advertising)
…
10.3.1.1 Architectural services (SJ311)
Item 11 Personal, cultural and recreational services (SK) – almost the whole item excluding health and education services
11.1 Audio-visual and related services (SK1)
11.1.1 Audio-visual services (SK11)
11.1.2 Artistic related services (SK12)
…
11.2.3 Heritage and recreational services (SK23)
Eurostat publishes data on international trade in the following cultural services:
Licences to reproduce and/or distribute audio-visual and related products (SH4)
Information services (SI3);
Architectural services (SJ33);
Audio-visual and related services (SK1);
Heritage and recreational services (SK23).
These data have to be used taking into consideration:
- insufficient availability of data for the item "Licenses to reproduce and/or distribute audio-visual and related products" (SH4) - the majority of countries do not provide these data because they are collected on voluntary basis;
- difficulties in isolating 'Advertising services' from the category "Advertising, market research and public opinion polling services" (SJ22);
- no availability of the detailed breakdown on 'heritage services' in item SK23 "Heritage and recreational services",
International trade in cultural services are the activities which involve the sale and delivery of an intangible cultural service between a producer and a consumer who are, in legal terms, based in different countries or economies.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
In the EU, the external trade in services is monitored, reported and registered in accordance to EU regulations establishing the legal frames for these statistics. The conceptual frames are provided by respective methodological manuals: EBOPS 2010 and the BMP6. Services are compiled according to the EP and Council Regulation No 184/2005 as amended by Commission Regulation No 555/2012 as of 22 June 2012.
Any individual, corporation or other institution that provides information on the cultural transactions between the residents and non-residents of a country during a given period.
3.6. Statistical population
BoP statistical population includes all the economic transactions between residents and non-residents. The coverage of the statistical population assured by the reported transactions can be very different for different BoP items. Information on the transaction can be provided by individuals, corporations, or institutions.
3.7. Reference area
The data generally cover the European Union, Euro area, EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Candidate Countries (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey).
However, both quarterly and annual statistics under balance of payments has a specific geographical coverage. Details are summarised in the BoP Vademecum.
Data on international trade in cultural services cover the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, EFTA, Candidate Countries.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Annual international trade in cultural services data according to the BPM6 methodology are available from 2010 onwards: however the first reference year for the compilation of data according to this new methology was 2013 with backward calculations for years 2010-2012.
For years prior to 2010, data are available only according to the BPM5 methodology.
For more details about the pool of texts regarding the EU legislation in the field of international trade in services statistics please consult the metadata file on international trade in services (BPM6) (bop_its6).
All legal texts of the EU are accessible on Eur-Lex.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Member States have the option to flag part of their data as confidential; this action represents the primary confidentiality. Eurostat performs then a secondary confidentiality treatment in order to avoid any (direct or indirect) recalculation of confidential cells. The outcome of the secondary confidentiality treatment is then submitted to the concerned country in order to give their agreement for the dissemination of the processed dataset.
Statistics on international trade in cultural services are not bound by a release calendar.
8.3. Release policy - user access
In line with the EU legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
Annual data on international trade in cultural services are disseminated in December (regular annual publication of data on international trade in services).
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
News release online could be possible from time to time but there is not a fixed calendar for it.
Eurostat prepares annual quality reports for the BoP domain in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 (OJ No L 336/15). It contains information on relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability and coherence.
The cultural sectors are a driver of economic growth and job creation. As a consequence, culture is becoming increasingly important at EU level. In accordance with article 167 of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU ‘shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common heritage to the fore’.
The EU supports these objectives through the Creative Europe programme, as well as a number of policy actions set out in the Work Plan for Culture (2015–2018) and Work Plan for Culture (2019–2022). The latest Work Plan adopted by EU Culture Ministers in November 2018, sets out the following main priorities for European cooperation in cultural policy-making: sustainability in cultural heritage, cohesion and well-being, ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content, gender equality and international cultural relations. The production of reliable, comparable and up-to-date cultural statistics, which are the basis of sound cultural policy-making, is a cross-sectorial priority of this Work Plan.
The production of reliable, comparable and up-to-date cultural statistics, which are the basis of sound cultural policy-making, is a cross-sectorial priority of this Work Plan.
Eurostat compiles culture statistics from several data collections conducted at EU level to provide policy-makers and other users with information on the main trends in employment, business, international trade in goods and services, participation and consumption patterns in the field of culture.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not available
12.3. Completeness
Eurostat data on international trade in cultural services are based on the EU legislation on statistics on international trade in services, which is directly applicable in the Member States.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
International Trade in Services data transmitted by the Member States are checked by Eurostat for their consistency and plausibility. If any problems (e.g. inconsistencies or omissions) are detected, Eurostat contacts the relevant Member State to check the figures and/or confirm correction/updates implemented by Eurostat.
While data on goods are generally based on Foreign Trade Statistics, data on services come from a variety of surveys where the data can be reported either by the banks or directly by the enterprises or the households. Data from national authorities are checked by Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) as elaborated in Section 18.4 "Data Validation".
Asymmetries are another way of assessing the accuracy of statistics on flows, where, values of trade services reported by European countries are compared with that of their partners within the EU. The resulting differences are evaluated.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable
14.1. Timeliness
Annual data on international trade in services are released around 11-12 months after the reference period. Preliminary data, with limited detail for partners and posts, are released 4 - 5 months after the reference period.
Data on international trade in cultural services as a component of statistics on international trade in services, are released alongside the main collection.
The underlying methodological framework, which is defined in BPM6, ensures a high degree of comparability across countries. Regulation (EU) No. 555/2012 contains the questionnaires, and also all the details on the coding system, the format of the data and the deadlines for transmission. Each country compiles their ITS statistics using the data coming from a number of surveys and administrative sources.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The data are generally considered highly comparable over time. The methodology is revised according to the revisions of the sixth edition of IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6). In some countries, methodological breaks can affect time series (normally on a temporary basis). Backward calculations of time series are provided to ensure full time coherence in case of methodological changes.
BREXIT: New EU-27_2020 aggregate
Due to Brexit, a new aggregate, (EU-27_2020), has been calculated from February 2020 for the entire time series.
The ‘Statistics explained’ articles will be updated with the new EU-27_2020 aggregate progressively in 2020.
All reported errors result in corrections of the disseminated data.
Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Data may be published even if they are missing for certain countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability for certain countries They are replaced with final data once transmitted and validated. European aggregates are updated for consistency with new country data in the next regular production and dissemination cycle.
Whenever new data are provided and validated, the already disseminated data are updated regular production and dissemination cycle.
The depth of revisions reflects recommendations of the CMFB Task Force on Harmonized European Revision Policy for Macroeconomic Statistics for routine revisions - quarterly estimates are usually revised retrospectively for up to four years, with unlimited depth of revisions in the third quarter. In case of the longer time span of the revisions, national compilers are requested to transmit all revised data to Eurostat so as to ensure consistency between data published nationally and by Eurostat. Further details are presented in the European Revision Policy for Macroeconomic Statistics.
Aggregates and components are revised at the same time in the next regular production and dissemination cycle.
There are routine revisions aiming at adjusting monthly/quarterly time series to have temporal consistency with the quarterly/yearly series.
There is no point at which the routinely revised data could be considered final. The revision calendar for the domain is published in the Balance of Payments Vademecum. Routine revisions are documented and communicated in national ESS-metadata handler. The impact of major revisions is analysed by the BOP team. Major revisions are documented according to the European revision policy for balance of payments/international investment position and national accounts statistics. Major revisions are pre-announced by the Member States to Eurostat. The impact of major revisions is communicated by the Member States.
Detailed primary data are checked and validated to verify the plausibility of the data (e.g. the development of time series), their internal consistency (aggregates should match the sum of the sub-items), their correspondence with data already disseminated by the same country on its NSI web-page.
In the compilation of BoP, responsibility is shared between Eurostat and the ECB. A Memorandum of understanding (with a Bop Annex) has been signed between the two parties. Eurostat produces Euro area information only regarding the annual detail in trade in Services. All the other monthly and quarterly BoP data related to the Euro area available in Eurostat's database are produced by the ECB. However, within Services, data concerning the Euro area do not match up exactly with those released by the European Central Bank for the same period. The reason lies in a small methodological difference in the data transmitted to Eurostat and the ECB by one Member State. Eurostat is currently working to minimize these discrepancies in the very near future. See the Annex for more details on this issue.
In regard with the compilation of EU aggregates, Eurostat compiles the EU figures by consolidating the EU Member States' transactions vis-à-vis non-residents of the EU. The balance of payments of the EU institutions is added to the EU aggregate. Intra-EU transactions are not included in the calculation of the aggregate.
This methodology, which is used to compile the BoP aggregates for the EU-15, the EU-25 and the EU-27, has been agreed between Eurostat and ECB, which computes the euro area aggregate in a similar way. This methodology has the advantage of skipping the problem of the existing intra-EU asymmetries. More details on the issue of intra EU asymmetries are available in Eurostat Working Paper Asymmetries in the intra-EU balance of payments.
Culture statistics cover many aspects of economic and social life. According to the Europe 2020 strategy, the role of culture is crucial for achieving the goal of a "smart, sustainable and inclusive" growth. The international trade in cultural services is considered (alongside with the international trade in cultural goods) as one of the economic dimensions of culture. A specific set of statistics can be built based on Balance of Payments (BOP) data. The Balance of Payments (BoP) systematically summarizes all economic transactions between the residents and the non-residents of a country or of an economic area during a given period and provides harmonized information on international transactions which are part of the current account, the capital and the financial account.
Data on International Trade in Services (ITS), are an important component of the BoP current account, and are used, alongside with data on Foreign Direct Investment, to monitor the external commercial performance of different economies. ITS data are collected by national enterprise surveys, International Transaction System (ITRS) and administrative records.
Statistics on international trade in cultural services (as subset of BoP) provide the monetary value of such trade, with an analysis by the type of service and by partner country. These statistics are produced from the transactions recorded under a country’s balance of payments, which captures all transactions that take place between an economy’s residents and non-residents. Furthermore, international trade in cultural services statistics distinguishes between transactions between EU Member States (intra-EU transactions) and transactions with non-member countries (extra-EU transactions).
The international trade of cultural services covers the total value of credits (or exports), debits (or imports) and the net result or "balance" (credits minus debits) of the transactions with each partner.
1 February 2020
In the EU, the external trade in services is monitored, reported and registered in accordance to EU regulations establishing the legal frames for these statistics. The conceptual frames are provided by respective methodological manuals: EBOPS 2010 and the BMP6. Services are compiled according to the EP and Council Regulation No 184/2005 as amended by Commission Regulation No 555/2012 as of 22 June 2012.
Any individual, corporation or other institution that provides information on the cultural transactions between the residents and non-residents of a country during a given period.
BoP statistical population includes all the economic transactions between residents and non-residents. The coverage of the statistical population assured by the reported transactions can be very different for different BoP items. Information on the transaction can be provided by individuals, corporations, or institutions.
The data generally cover the European Union, Euro area, EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Candidate Countries (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey).
However, both quarterly and annual statistics under balance of payments has a specific geographical coverage. Details are summarised in the BoP Vademecum.
Data on international trade in cultural services cover the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, EFTA, Candidate Countries.
The international trade in cultural services present annual data.
International Trade in Services data transmitted by the Member States are checked by Eurostat for their consistency and plausibility. If any problems (e.g. inconsistencies or omissions) are detected, Eurostat contacts the relevant Member State to check the figures and/or confirm correction/updates implemented by Eurostat.
While data on goods are generally based on Foreign Trade Statistics, data on services come from a variety of surveys where the data can be reported either by the banks or directly by the enterprises or the households. Data from national authorities are checked by Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) as elaborated in Section 18.4 "Data Validation".
Asymmetries are another way of assessing the accuracy of statistics on flows, where, values of trade services reported by European countries are compared with that of their partners within the EU. The resulting differences are evaluated.
The trade value of cultural services is expressed in millions of Euro.
In the compilation of BoP, responsibility is shared between Eurostat and the ECB. A Memorandum of understanding (with a Bop Annex) has been signed between the two parties. Eurostat produces Euro area information only regarding the annual detail in trade in Services. All the other monthly and quarterly BoP data related to the Euro area available in Eurostat's database are produced by the ECB. However, within Services, data concerning the Euro area do not match up exactly with those released by the European Central Bank for the same period. The reason lies in a small methodological difference in the data transmitted to Eurostat and the ECB by one Member State. Eurostat is currently working to minimize these discrepancies in the very near future. See the Annex for more details on this issue.
In regard with the compilation of EU aggregates, Eurostat compiles the EU figures by consolidating the EU Member States' transactions vis-à-vis non-residents of the EU. The balance of payments of the EU institutions is added to the EU aggregate. Intra-EU transactions are not included in the calculation of the aggregate.
This methodology, which is used to compile the BoP aggregates for the EU-15, the EU-25 and the EU-27, has been agreed between Eurostat and ECB, which computes the euro area aggregate in a similar way. This methodology has the advantage of skipping the problem of the existing intra-EU asymmetries. More details on the issue of intra EU asymmetries are available in Eurostat Working Paper Asymmetries in the intra-EU balance of payments.
Annual data on international trade in cultural services are disseminated in December (regular annual publication of data on international trade in services).
Annual data on international trade in services are released around 11-12 months after the reference period. Preliminary data, with limited detail for partners and posts, are released 4 - 5 months after the reference period.
Data on international trade in cultural services as a component of statistics on international trade in services, are released alongside the main collection.
The underlying methodological framework, which is defined in BPM6, ensures a high degree of comparability across countries. Regulation (EU) No. 555/2012 contains the questionnaires, and also all the details on the coding system, the format of the data and the deadlines for transmission. Each country compiles their ITS statistics using the data coming from a number of surveys and administrative sources.
The data are generally considered highly comparable over time. The methodology is revised according to the revisions of the sixth edition of IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6). In some countries, methodological breaks can affect time series (normally on a temporary basis). Backward calculations of time series are provided to ensure full time coherence in case of methodological changes.
BREXIT: New EU-27_2020 aggregate
Due to Brexit, a new aggregate, (EU-27_2020), has been calculated from February 2020 for the entire time series.
The ‘Statistics explained’ articles will be updated with the new EU-27_2020 aggregate progressively in 2020.
