Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union; 

OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 

IMF: International Monetary Fund

UNSD: United Nations Statistics Division

Eurostat Unit C2 - National Accounts - production

For country data provided by Eurostat please contact: ESTAT-GDP-QUERY@ec.europa.eu

For country data provided by OECD please contact: Stat.Contact@oecd.org

For country data provided by IMF please contact: StatisticsQuery@imf.org

For country data provided by UNSD please contact: naq@un.org

For information which country data is provided by which organisation, please refer to section 3.1.

National accounts are a coherent set of macroeconomic indicators, which provide an overall picture of the economic situation and are widely used for economic analysis and forecasting, policy design and policy making.

The data presented in this collection are the results of a pilot exercise on the sharing selected main GDP aggregates, population and employment data collected by different international organisations. It was conducted by the Task Force in International Data Collection (TFIDC) which was established by the  Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG). 

The goal of this pilot was to develop a set of commonly shared principles and working arrangements for data cooperation that could be implemented by the international agencies. The data sets present national accounts data form various countries across the globe in one coherent folder, but users should be aware that these data are collected and validated by different organisations and not fully harmonised from a methodological point of view. 

The domain consists of the following collections:

The table below shows for each country which is the main authority validating the data.

For Eurostat countries national accounts are compiled using ESA 2010, which is compatible with SNA 2008 which is mostly used by other countries. 

Further methodological information can be found on the websites.

Data sources: National Statistical Institutes, transmitted to and technically validated by Eurostat, the OECD, the IMF and the UNSD. 

The national accounts classifications used in this data set are consistent with those in:

- Eurostat's RAMON classification database

- United Nations classification registry.

National accounts presented in this collection generally refer to the whole economy, with the exception of specific aggregates.

This domain encompasses the main aggregates on national accounts. Its main variables are: GDP and its components, employment, final consumption aggregates, gross capital formation aggregates, income, exports and imports as well as population and employment figures.

In principle, the pilot project for international data sharing covers the following indicators:

• Gross domestic product at market prices
• Statistical discrepancy (expenditure approach)
• Statistical discrepancy (production approach)
• Statistical discrepancy (income approach)
• Output
• Intermediate consumption
• Gross value added at basic prices
• Value added excluding FISIM
• Taxes less subsidies on products
• Total final consumption expenditure
• Government final consumption expenditure
• Household final consumption expenditure
• Individual consumption expenditure
• Gross capital formation
• Gross fixed capital formation
• Exports of goods (fob) and services
• Imports of goods (fob) and services
• External balance of goods and services
• Compensation of employees
• Gross wages and salaries
• Operating surplus and mixed income, gross
• Taxes less subsidies on production
• Net primary income from RoW
• Gross national income at market prices
• Consumption of fixed capital
• Net national income at market prices
• Net current transfers from RoW
• Disposable income, net
• Adjustments (net equity, PF)
• National saving, net
• Net capital transfers from RoW
• (+/-) non-financial non-produced assets
• Net lending or net borrowing of the nation
• Total population
• Employment, domestic concept
• Employees, domestic concept
• Self-employed, domestic concept

Please note that data for all indicators and countries are not fully available, but data coverage is progressively expanding.

For further explanations on the indicators see: nama_10 and namq_10 metadata.

National accounts aim to capture economic activity within the domestic territory. They combine data from a host of base statistics, and thus they have no common sampling reference frame.

National accounts combine data from many source statistics and administrative sources. The concept of statistical population is not applicable in a national accounts context.

Note that for some countries not covered in the national accounts domain, some central aggregates such as GDP may be available from the general statistics domain of Eurostat's online database.

Coverage in time depends on the country and indicator and varies within the dataset. For most EU member states ESA 2010 data is available from 1995 onwards.

Many non-EU countries compile volume estimates in constant prices. Because the base period varies across countries the volume series are presented as an index.

Base periods are not applicable to chain linked volume series

National accounts main aggregates data are typically transmitted in national currency, and expressed in current prices, previous year prices and chain-linked volumes, but some countries still use constant price series based on a specific base year. These series can then be converted into other currencies and used to derive indices or growth rates.

The units published in this dataset are currently the following:

• CP_MEUR: Current prices, million euro
• CP_MNAC: Current prices, million units of national currency
• CP_MUSD: Current prices, million US dollars
• CLV_I10: Chain linked volumes, index 2010=100
• KP_I10: Constant prices, index 2010=100
• THS_HW: Thousand hours worked
• THS_PER: Thousand persons

However, not all units are available for all countries and indicators.

For further explanations on the units see: nama_10 and namq_10 metadata.

The accounting period is the calendar year, with temporal coverage varying across geographical units.

Not applicable.

The data presented is based on an informal agreement between Eurostat, OECD, IMF and UNSD to provide data to other international organisations under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG). More information on the IAG can be found here: http://www.principalglobalindicators.org/?sk=E30FAADE-77D0-4F8E-953C-C48DD9D14735

Only data flagged free for publication is disseminated in this dataset.

Only data flagged free for publication is disseminated in this dataset.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Daily, as transmitted by the data providing organisation.

Not available.

Not available.

The same dataset is published by the following organisations in their dissemination systems: BIS, ECB, Eurostat, IMF, OECD, UNSD, World Bank.

Not applicable.

Not available.

SNA 93: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/sna1993.asp 

SNA 2008: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/sna2008.asp 

ESA 95: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/CA-15-96-001 

ESA 2010: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/esa-2010

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/national-accounts/methodology

For an overview of which methodology is followed by which reference area, please check the table in section 3.1

Not available.

Assured by the national statistical office and the data providing organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

Not available.

Users of national accounts data are typically interested in analysing structural changes in the economy from a short and medium-term perspective.

National accounts data are a key instrument for economic analysis.

National accounts data provide detailed breakdowns on production, consumption, investment and income. The international data cooperation dataset shows a subset of these data.

Managed by sending organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Managed by sending organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

Managed through dissemination policies by each receiving organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

The data are compiled using the national accounts terminology.

Note: data may not be directly comparable as countries use different methodologies i.e. ESA2010, SNA 2008, SNA93 and the volume indices may be in chain linked volumes or constant prices.

Note: Data may be comparable over time only if they are compiled using the same methodology.

Managed by sending organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

Managed by sending organisation (see section 3.1 above for corresponding sending organisation for each reference area).

Not available.

National data are revised according to national schedules, and revisions are applied to Eurostat's online database as soon as they become available to Eurostat.

European aggregates are regularly updated according to a pre-announced release schedule (see dedicated website and nama_10 and namq_10 metadata).

National accounts data are subject to continuous routine revisions as new input data becomes available. 

Countries use many sources to compile their national accounts, among them administrative data from government, population censuses, business surveys and household surveys. No single survey can hence be referred to. Sources vary from country to country and may cover a large set of economic, social, financial and environmental items, which need not always be strictly related to national accounts. In any case, there is no single survey source for national accounts

Data are collected from national sources.  As the breadth of the sources varies, so does the frequency of collection, from monthly to annually, and in the case of population censuses they are mostly collected every decade.  

Data are transmitted via SDMX which introduced standardised codes.

National Accounts combine data from many source statistics. Techniques of data collection vary widely, depending on the compilation approach, the source statistics available, the particular account in the system of accounts, the timeliness of data release and other factors.

Source data undergo a sequence of checks within national statistical institutes. The international organisation responsible for transmitting the series checks national data mainly for completeness (coverage of reference periods and variables) and consistency (accounting consistency, time-consistency between quarterly and annual accounts and consistency over time) and follows up with national statistical institutes on any lack of quality in this respect.

The data are compiled at a national level.  Eurostat converts volume series into indices to enable comparability of the estimates.

Not applicable.

Due to different revision policy between countries, there may be a difference between the aggregates and the appropriate sum of national data between updates.