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.
International Trade and Foreign Investment Statistics Division
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
29 Gedimino Ave., LT-01500 Vilnius, Lithuania
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
29 July 2024
2.1. Metadata last certified
9 June 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
9 June 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
9 June 2026
3.1. Data description
The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:
What kind of businesses are behind the trade flows of goods?
What is the contribution of a particular activity sector to trade?
What is the share of small and medium-sized enterprises to total trade?
What is the share of enterprises that trade with a certain partner country and the amount of trade value they account for?
For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
Available datasets
TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect:
1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees until 2021 and in term of number of employees and self-employed from 2022 reference year) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated.
2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified.
4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported.
5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group.
6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for.
7. Trade by type of ownership — The type of ownership is referring to the concept of control and to affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and, if domestically controlled, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. This indicator can be used to analyse the impact of globalisation on international trade and to estimate the importance of multinational companies for trade.
8. Trade by export intensity — Export intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. It refers to the share of exports in total turnover.
9. Trade by activity sector — In comparison with trade by activity and enterprise size class (first dataset), this indicator provides more details on the activity sector (2- or 3-digit level) but does not contain information about the enterprise size.
10. Trade by partner country and size class — This indicator aims to give insights into the internationalisation of small- and medium sized enterprises. It complements indicator 3 on trade by partner country and activity by applying the same detailed breakdown of partner countries but categorising enterprises by size class instead of activity sector.
3.2. Classification system
Classification of economic activities
Economic activities are classified according to the ‘statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community’ (NACE Rev. 2). NACE Rev. 2 is based on the fourth revision of the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 4). Within the international trade in goods statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of enterprises that are active in international trade in goods.
Product classification
As the TEC domain aims to categorise trade flows according to economic activities, product classifications which are based on the industrial origin of the goods are more suitable for analysis than classifications based on material of goods. For this reason, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is used as the product classification in TEC. CPA is a European version of the United Nations’ Central Product Classification (CPC), but arranged so that each product heading is assignable to a single heading of the European activity classification, the NACE Rev. 2. CPA version 2008 is used for TEC data relating to the reference years 2012-2015. CPA version 2.1 is used since 2016 as reference year.
Country classification
Except for the cases listed below, the reporting and partner countries are classified according to the ‘Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States’, known as the ‘Geonomenclature’. An alpha-2 coding applies, which means that each country is identified with a two-letter alphabetical code. See the publication Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information. Exceptions: code CN_X_HK instead of CN for China (except Hong Kong), code UK instead of GB for United Kingdom, code UKN instead of XI for United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), code EL instead of GR for Greece, and code RS instead of XS for Serbia.
TEC data cover all activity sectors, from sections A to U of the NACE Rev. 2 classification of economic activities.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Trade value
The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
Number of enterprises
The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to estimate the number of traders and trade value of the smallest traders which are exempted from Intrastat reporting.
Partner country
Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
For exports it is the country of destination of the goods. That is the last country to which it is known that, at the time of export, the goods are to be delivered.
For imports, the definition of the partner country differs between intra-Union and extra-Union trade in goods. For extra-Union imports it is the country of origin of the goods; for intra-Union imports it is the country (EU Member State) of consignment of goods.
Product
The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services.
Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.
Economic activity
The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services.
Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.
Number of employees and self-employed persons
The number of employees refers to the number of 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. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit).
A self-employed person is the sole or joint owner of the unincorporated enterprise (one that has not been incorporated i.e. formed into a legal corporation) in which he/she works, unless they are also in paid employment which is their main activity (in that case, they are considered to be employees). Self-employed people also include:
unpaid family workers;
outworkers (who work outside the usual workplace, such as at home);
workers engaged in production done entirely for their own final use or own capital formation, either individually or collectively
Until reference year 2021 only the number of employees was used to determine enterprise size classes. With the implementation of EBS Regulation, the number of employees and self-employed persons is the indicator which defines enterprise size from the reference year 2022 onwards.
This indicator is a mandatory variable in Statistical Business Registers for both enterprises and local units. It is measured as the average number of employees and self-employed persons associated with the statistical unit during the reference period, including eligible family workers and outworkers.
Type of traders
In the context of TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows.
The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.
Type of ownership
In the context of TEC data, the type of ownership refers to the concept of control and to the affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and, in the case of domestically controlled enterprise, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. In other words, the type of ownership refers to the delineation of enterprise groups and the categorisation of enterprises according to control relationships and group structure.
The classification is based on the concept of control, as defined in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 and consistent with the European System of Accounts (ESA). Control relationships between legal units are recorded in Statistical Business Registers and used to determine enterprise group affiliation. An enterprise is considered controlled when another institutional unit directly or indirectly controls more than 50% of the shareholders' voting power (or voting rights) or shares.
The type of ownership aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their global status. A distinction of enterprises into domestically and foreign controlled enterprises has specific interest because of the important role of foreign affiliates. Furthermore, if domestically controlled enterprises with own affiliates abroad are further distinguished from all domestically controlled enterprises, the population of multinational enterprises can be identified.
Exports intensity
The exports intensity refers to the share of exports of turnover (ratio between exports and turnover).
Exports intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. The recent developments in the area of global value chains have raised a question on the heterogeneity of enterprises. It has been traditionally assumed that enterprises in the same activity sector are homogenous in terms of their productivity as well as in generating value-added and employment. However, this may not be a valid assumption any more in the globalised economy as productivity, value-added and employment may depend on the international orientation of enterprises, i.e. their involvement and position in the global value chains. Enterprises with high exports intensity are often also large-scale importers.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit is the enterprise since the reference period 2018. Until 2018 the legal unit was used as a proxy for the statistical unit.
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in intra- and extra-Union trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Statistical Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated linkages or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:
Intra-annual business demography changes;
Large and complex businesses;
Incomplete business register data; and
VAT-groups.
The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Statistical Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade. The following are therefore excluded from the scope of TEC datasets:
Adjustments for missing trade where distribution by the enterprises is not available;
Trade carried out by non-resident traders as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Statistical Business Register; and
Trade carried out by private individuals.
3.7. Reference area
Lithuania
3.8. Coverage - Time
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
From 2012 as the reference year
TEC data disseminated at national level
From 2012 as the reference year
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general:
the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities for extra-Union trade; and
the calendar month during which VAT becomes chargeable on intra-EU acquisitions for intra-Union trade.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Legal acts and other agreements - EU level
General statistical legislation
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics
International trade in goods statistics legislation
Up to 31 December 2021, ITGS are based on the following regulations:
Intra-EU trade legislation
Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004
Extra-EU trade legislation
Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 92/2010
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 113/2010
As of 1 January 2022, ITGS are based on the following regulations
Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 on technical specifications and arrangements for European business statistics
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1225 on arrangements for the data exchanges
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704 on the statistical information to be provided by tax and customs authorities
Statistical Business Registers legislation
Up to 31 December 2020, Business Register is based on the following regulations
Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for Business Registers for statistical purposes
Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 192/2009
Implementing Commission Regulation (EU) No 1097/2010
As from 1 January 2021, Business registers are governed by the following regulations:
EU Regulation 2019/2152 on European business statistics, establishing the European framework for statistical business registers
EU Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 on technical specifications and arrangements for European business statistics
All regulations relevant for the European statistics on international trade in goods can be consulted from the ‘Legislation’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. All legal texts are also accessible online on Eur-Lex.
Resolution No 1086 of 10 July 2002 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the foreign trade and the value added tax data collection procedure (only in Lithuanian).
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
In the process of statistical data collection, processing and analysis and dissemination of statistical information, the State Data Agency fully guarantees confidentiality of the data submitted by respondents (households, enterprises, institutions, organisations and other statistical units), as defined in the Confidentiality policy guidelines of the State Data Agency.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
For TEC data, the principle of active confidentiality applies, which means that the National Statistical Authorities take the initiative to suppress the data whose dissemination would make it possible to identify an enterprise or a trader. The confidentiality rule applied is based on the number of observations: if single data cell comprises information of less than three enterprises then it is considered as confidential. Secondary confidentiality is also applied. The links between tables are taken into account when defining confidential records. This means that a record referring to an activity sector which is marked as confidential in one table should also be marked as confidential in a related table.
8.1. Release calendar
TEC data disseminated at national level
Statistical information on TEC is published on the Official Statistics Portal, according to an approved statistical information release calendar.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Statistical information is prepared and disseminated under the principle of impartiality and objectivity, i.e. in a systematic, reliable and unbiased manner, following professional and ethical standards (the European Statistics Code of Practice), and the policies and practices followed are transparent to users and survey respondents.
Statistical information is published following the Official Statistics Dissemination Policy Guidelines and Statistical Information Dissemination and Communication Rules of the State Data Agency approved by Order No DĮ-208 of 8 October 2024 of the Director General of the State Data Agency.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
No news release.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
TEC data disseminated at national level
Not applicable.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
Statistics Explained is an official Eurostat website presenting all statistical topics in an easily understandable way. Together, the articles make up an encyclopaedia of European statistics, completed by a statistical glossary clarifying all terms used and numerous links to further information and the very latest data and metadata.
The main information on TEC is available on the Official Statistics Portal. TEC data is disseminated as predefined tables for the reference year 2012 – 2021 and in Database of Indicators starting from the reference year 2022.
The information includes:
Trade by activity sector and number of employees;
Concentration of trade value by activity sector;
Trade by partner country;
Trade by number of partner countries and activity sector;
Trade by commodity and activity sector;
Trade by activity sector and type of trader.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Metadata completeness - rate is 100%.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
TEC data disseminated at national level
Not available.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat
See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
In 2007, a quality management system, conforming to the requirements of the international quality management system standard ISO 9001, was introduced at the State Data Agency. Main trends in activity of the State Data Agency aimed at quality management and continuous development in the institution are established in the Quality Policy.
Monitoring of the quality indicators of statistical processes and their results and self-evaluation of statistical survey managers is regularly carried out in order to identify areas which need improvement and to promptly eliminate shortcomings.
More information on assurance of quality of statistical information and its preparation is published in the Quality Management section on the State Data Agency website.
See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Data quality is in line with the principles of accuracy and reliability, timeliness and punctuality, coherence and compatibility. The results are compared with the results for the previous year; outliers are searched for and analysed.
See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Trade in goods data broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded are used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
No user survey on TEC data was carried out so far but direct feedback from main users like the Commission policy DGs indicates a good level of satisfaction as regards the data coverage and indicators available.
12.3. Completeness
See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
The accuracy is tackled at national and European levels, by eliminating as much as possible the non-sampling errors. It should be noted that the accuracy of TEC data depends not only on the accuracy of trade in goods statistics but also on the quality of the trade and business registers.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
Neither the international trade in goods statistics, nor the statistical business registers are affected by errors related to sample surveys.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Annual data by enterprise characteristics had to be provided by the reporting countries to Eurostat no later than 18 months after the end of the reference year. This means that data relating to the reference year Y (e.g. 2020) had to be provided by 30 June Y+2 (e.g. June 2022).
From reference period 2022
Annual data by enterprise characteristics have to be provided by the reporting countries to Eurostat no later than 12 months after the end of the reference year. This means that data relating to the reference year Y (e.g. 2025) have to be provided by 31 December Y+1 (e.g. December 2026).
The transmitted data are usually disseminated by Eurostat with a time lag of a couple of weeks.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Statistical Unit
The statistical unit has been the enterprise since the reference period of 2018. Prior to 2018, the legal unit was used as an approximation of the statistical unit.
Change to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas
Changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods will have an impact on the continuity of the time series. No methodological change occurred in recent years.
The only change relates to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas following Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013 and the United Kingdom withdrawal in 2020..
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
All time series are comparable. Comparability of time series may be influenced by changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods (see 15.2).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
TEC data are derived from information made available by two major statistical domains: the international trade in goods statistics and the business statistics. No specific data collection is then necessary, which means that the burden is null for the respondents, i.e. for the traders and businesses.
The cost of TEC data only relates to the compilation step carried out by the State Data Agency.
TEC statistics are based on the final annual ITGS data. They may be revised in the case of significant revisions to the ITGS data.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
ITGS microdata (the main data sources – customs declarations and Intrastat statistical reports)
Statistical Business Register (Statistical Register of Economic Entities)
VAT data
Structural business statistics (SBS)
18.2. Frequency of data collection
TEC data are compiled once a year.
18.3. Data collection
TEC statistics are compiled by linking ITGS and Business Register data; no additional data collection is carried out.
ITGS
Statistical information on international trade in goods with non-EU countries and territories is prepared based on customs declaration data. Statistical information on trade in goods with EU Member States is prepared based on data from the Intrastat statistical reports: Dispatches (UPS-01, monthly) and Arrivals (UPS-02, monthly).
Intrastat statistical reports are submitted by traders whose annual trade value exceeds the national Intrastat exemption threshold. Missing data, such as trade carried out by traders below the Intrastat exemption threshold and cases of non-response, are estimated
Business Register
The Business Register is built from statistical surveys and administrative data (register of legal entities, VAT, tax payers register, social insurance fund register, etc.), the State Data Agency has legal agreements with the suppliers of administrative data.
18.4. Data validation
To ensure statistical data quality, data checking and validation is performed. The results are compared with the results of the previous years, outliers are identified and analyzed. If inaccuracies are identified, the statistical data are corrected and the validity of the data is confirmed.
18.5. Data compilation
The compilation of trade flows by enterprise characteristics is based on linking ITGS microdata on intra- and extra-EU trade with information from the Business Register using a trader's ID number. The trade value of each trader, by product code and partner country, is combined with the main enterprise characteristics. The database formed is subsequently used for the production of statistical information.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
No imputation made by Eurostat
18.6. Adjustment
In the case of Lithuania, non-response estimates for intra-EU trade are allocated to an enterprise whenever possible, and the corresponding trade is then included in the reference population.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
All reference documents and relevant information on TEC data can be found on the Overview page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website.
The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:
What kind of businesses are behind the trade flows of goods?
What is the contribution of a particular activity sector to trade?
What is the share of small and medium-sized enterprises to total trade?
What is the share of enterprises that trade with a certain partner country and the amount of trade value they account for?
For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
Available datasets
TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect:
1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees until 2021 and in term of number of employees and self-employed from 2022 reference year) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated.
2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies.
3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified.
4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported.
5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group.
6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for.
7. Trade by type of ownership — The type of ownership is referring to the concept of control and to affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and, if domestically controlled, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. This indicator can be used to analyse the impact of globalisation on international trade and to estimate the importance of multinational companies for trade.
8. Trade by export intensity — Export intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. It refers to the share of exports in total turnover.
9. Trade by activity sector — In comparison with trade by activity and enterprise size class (first dataset), this indicator provides more details on the activity sector (2- or 3-digit level) but does not contain information about the enterprise size.
10. Trade by partner country and size class — This indicator aims to give insights into the internationalisation of small- and medium sized enterprises. It complements indicator 3 on trade by partner country and activity by applying the same detailed breakdown of partner countries but categorising enterprises by size class instead of activity sector.
9 June 2026
Trade value
The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
Number of enterprises
The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to estimate the number of traders and trade value of the smallest traders which are exempted from Intrastat reporting.
Partner country
Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
For exports it is the country of destination of the goods. That is the last country to which it is known that, at the time of export, the goods are to be delivered.
For imports, the definition of the partner country differs between intra-Union and extra-Union trade in goods. For extra-Union imports it is the country of origin of the goods; for intra-Union imports it is the country (EU Member State) of consignment of goods.
Product
The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services.
Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.
Economic activity
The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services.
Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.
Number of employees and self-employed persons
The number of employees refers to the number of 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. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit).
A self-employed person is the sole or joint owner of the unincorporated enterprise (one that has not been incorporated i.e. formed into a legal corporation) in which he/she works, unless they are also in paid employment which is their main activity (in that case, they are considered to be employees). Self-employed people also include:
unpaid family workers;
outworkers (who work outside the usual workplace, such as at home);
workers engaged in production done entirely for their own final use or own capital formation, either individually or collectively
Until reference year 2021 only the number of employees was used to determine enterprise size classes. With the implementation of EBS Regulation, the number of employees and self-employed persons is the indicator which defines enterprise size from the reference year 2022 onwards.
This indicator is a mandatory variable in Statistical Business Registers for both enterprises and local units. It is measured as the average number of employees and self-employed persons associated with the statistical unit during the reference period, including eligible family workers and outworkers.
Type of traders
In the context of TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows.
The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.
Type of ownership
In the context of TEC data, the type of ownership refers to the concept of control and to the affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and, in the case of domestically controlled enterprise, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. In other words, the type of ownership refers to the delineation of enterprise groups and the categorisation of enterprises according to control relationships and group structure.
The classification is based on the concept of control, as defined in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 and consistent with the European System of Accounts (ESA). Control relationships between legal units are recorded in Statistical Business Registers and used to determine enterprise group affiliation. An enterprise is considered controlled when another institutional unit directly or indirectly controls more than 50% of the shareholders' voting power (or voting rights) or shares.
The type of ownership aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their global status. A distinction of enterprises into domestically and foreign controlled enterprises has specific interest because of the important role of foreign affiliates. Furthermore, if domestically controlled enterprises with own affiliates abroad are further distinguished from all domestically controlled enterprises, the population of multinational enterprises can be identified.
Exports intensity
The exports intensity refers to the share of exports of turnover (ratio between exports and turnover).
Exports intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. The recent developments in the area of global value chains have raised a question on the heterogeneity of enterprises. It has been traditionally assumed that enterprises in the same activity sector are homogenous in terms of their productivity as well as in generating value-added and employment. However, this may not be a valid assumption any more in the globalised economy as productivity, value-added and employment may depend on the international orientation of enterprises, i.e. their involvement and position in the global value chains. Enterprises with high exports intensity are often also large-scale importers.
The statistical unit is the enterprise since the reference period 2018. Until 2018 the legal unit was used as a proxy for the statistical unit.
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in intra- and extra-Union trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Statistical Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated linkages or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:
Intra-annual business demography changes;
Large and complex businesses;
Incomplete business register data; and
VAT-groups.
The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Statistical Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade. The following are therefore excluded from the scope of TEC datasets:
Adjustments for missing trade where distribution by the enterprises is not available;
Trade carried out by non-resident traders as such traders cannot be associated to an enterprise via the national Statistical Business Register; and
Trade carried out by private individuals.
Lithuania
The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general:
the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the national authorities for extra-Union trade; and
the calendar month during which VAT becomes chargeable on intra-EU acquisitions for intra-Union trade.
The accuracy is tackled at national and European levels, by eliminating as much as possible the non-sampling errors. It should be noted that the accuracy of TEC data depends not only on the accuracy of trade in goods statistics but also on the quality of the trade and business registers.
Trade value in thousands of euros
Number of enterprises
The compilation of trade flows by enterprise characteristics is based on linking ITGS microdata on intra- and extra-EU trade with information from the Business Register using a trader's ID number. The trade value of each trader, by product code and partner country, is combined with the main enterprise characteristics. The database formed is subsequently used for the production of statistical information.
ITGS microdata (the main data sources – customs declarations and Intrastat statistical reports)
Statistical Business Register (Statistical Register of Economic Entities)
VAT data
Structural business statistics (SBS)
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised.
Up to reference period 2021
Annual data by enterprise characteristics had to be provided by the reporting countries to Eurostat no later than 18 months after the end of the reference year. This means that data relating to the reference year Y (e.g. 2020) had to be provided by 30 June Y+2 (e.g. June 2022).
From reference period 2022
Annual data by enterprise characteristics have to be provided by the reporting countries to Eurostat no later than 12 months after the end of the reference year. This means that data relating to the reference year Y (e.g. 2025) have to be provided by 31 December Y+1 (e.g. December 2026).
The transmitted data are usually disseminated by Eurostat with a time lag of a couple of weeks.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’.
Statistical Unit
The statistical unit has been the enterprise since the reference period of 2018. Prior to 2018, the legal unit was used as an approximation of the statistical unit.
Change to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas
Changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods will have an impact on the continuity of the time series. No methodological change occurred in recent years.
The only change relates to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas following Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013 and the United Kingdom withdrawal in 2020..
