Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union

Unit C5 – Integrated Global Accounts and Balance of Payments

Eurostat, 2920 Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG

This domain refers to applications of the European Union’s inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (EU IC-SUIOTs), also referred to as FIGARO tables – Full International and Global Accounts for Research in Input-Output analysis. It presents estimates of employment supported or value added generated in EU Member States, either directly or indirectly, by exports to non-EU countries. Results are included in two datasets, ‘naio_10_faex’ and ‘naio_10_favx’ that capture employment and value added, respectively.

Data are available annually for the period from 2010 to T-2, with T being the current year. Data are broken down by the EU 27 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden) and 64 industries (see Section 3.3). The definitions and concepts of the European System of Accounts - ESA 2010 are followed:

• Employment covers all employees or self-employed persons engaged in productive activity within the production boundary of national accounts. Data are presented in thousands of persons.
• Value added comprises the value generated by producing goods and services within the production boundary of national accounts. It is equivalent to: (1) output in basic prices less intermediate consumption in purchaser’s prices, and (2) compensation of employees + gross operating surplus + other taxes less subsidies on production. Data are presented in million euros.

Results are obtained through the Leontief model applying input-output analysis. The dataset ‘naio_10_faex’ combines data from two official sources of Eurostat statistics:

• FIGARO tables available in Eurobase under: Database by themes > National accounts (ESA 2010) > Supply, use and input-output tables > EU inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) (naio_10f);
• National accounts employment data available in Eurobase under: Database by themes > National accounts (ESA 2010) > Detailed breakdowns of main GDP aggregates > National accounts employment data by industry (up to NACE A*64) (nama_10_a64_e).

The dataset ‘naio_10_favx’ uses data from the FIGARO tables only.

Employment and value added data in tables ‘naio_10_faex’ and ‘naio_10_favx’ follow the principles, concepts, and definitions of the European System of Accounts – ESA 2010 (see Section 3.4).

The 64 industries are classified according to the Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Revision 2). The breakdown into 64 industries follows broadly the two-digit level of this classification.

The data cover employment and value added in EU Member States related to exports to non-EU countries. Intra-EU trade is not considered. Although not individually modelled, non-EU countries include 18 main trading partners of the EU (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and a ‘Rest of the world’ region as covered in the FIGARO tables (naio_10_f). Data are presented by country (for each of the 27 EU Member States) and by 64 economic activities according to NACE Rev. 2.

Employment and value added data as well as the underlying FIGARO tables adhere to the concepts and definitions of the European System of Accounts – ESA 2010. The classification of industries follows the Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Revision 2; see Section 3.2).

Of particular relevance are differences in how imports and exports are defined in international trade statistics versus national accounts. Whereas trade statistics track the physical movement of goods across borders, ESA 2010 considers imports and exports as transactions between residents and non-residents following a change in ownership. This definition does not necessarily require that imported or exported goods physically cross a country border. The FIGARO tables used to establish this dataset on employment supported and value added generated by EU exports follow the ESA 2010 definition. For more information on the methodology to reconcile trade statistics with national accounts concepts, see Sections 15 and 18 in the metadata for tables ‘naio_10_fcp’.

Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used for national accounts: (a) institutional units and (b) local kind-of-activity units (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure, output and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.

An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.

A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the four-digit level of NACE Rev. 2.

An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.

The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see Section 3.5). A unit is a resident of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.

National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.

Results are presented for each of the 27 EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden), and they refer to the direct or indirect trade with non-EU countries.

Employment and value added data are released annually for the period from 2010 to year T-2, with T being the current year.

The concept of 'base period' is not applied in national accounts.

Employment is expressed in thousand persons (THS_PER). Value added is expressed in million Euro and basic prices.

Reference period is the calendar year.

While Eurostat produces national supply, use and input-output tables under Regulation (EU) No 549/2013, there is no regulation mandating the production of data on employment supported and value added generated in EU Member States by EU exports. Eurostat plans to complement the present data by additional global value chain indicators based on FIGARO tables in the coming years.

Eurostat Unit C5 has been developing and producing FIGARO tables and the related applications in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). Compilation issues, results, and data quality are discussed with stakeholders in bi-annual meetings of the Integrated Global Accounts Expert Group (IGA-EG).

There is no institutional mandate on data sharing. However, Eurostat considers sharing input data and methodologies for the compilation of the underlying FIGARO tables in the context of the GIANT (Global Input-Output Accounts) initiative, which is an inter-agency network under the umbrella of the OECD Group on Regional-Global Trade in Value Added (RG-TiVA) initiatives. The members of the GIANT initiative are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Commission (EC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The employment and value added data based on FIGARO tables are produced in line with the statistical principles of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. Confidentiality is preserved according to the rules for receiving, processing and disseminating confidential data laid out in Council Regulation (CE) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 (Official Journal No L 52/1) and Council Regulation (EURATOM, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 (Official Journal No L 151/ 1).

Confidentiality is relevant only for the underlying data sources, namely 1) FIGARO tables and 2) national accounts employment data. Eurostat uses reference data sets to compile employment supported and value added generated by EU exports. These reference data sets include confidential information that is replaced by averages in the disseminated data. However, whereas confidential data enter the input-output modelling, the resulting employment and value added data are not confidential.

The release of the FIGARO tables and related applications is announced in Eurostat’s release calendar a few weeks before publication.

The release calendar is available on the Eurostat website under the tab ‘News’. Direct access to the release calendar is also available here.

Eurostat disseminates data on employment and value added generated by EU exports through its official website in accordance with the Legal Framework for European Statistics and the European Statistics Code of Practice. Users have equal access and are treated equitably.

The data are released annually. The actual release date may vary, depending on the publication of source data and the necessity for data revisions and methodological improvements.

The data are released as part of a dissemination package consisting of the datasets, a Eurostat ‘News’ release, and two Statistics Explained articles.

The data are featured in two dedicated Statistics Explained articles: (1) Employment content in EU exports – an analysis with FIGARO data and (2) Value added content in EU exports – an analysis with FIGARO data.

The data are available in Eurostat’s online database under the tabs ‘Data navigation tree’ > ‘Detailed datasets’ > ‘Economy and finance’ > ‘National accounts’ > ‘Supply, use and input-output tables’ > EU inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) > FIGARO applications (naio_10_fa).

Not applicable.

Data on the employment and value added generated by EU exports are also available on Eurostat’s thematic section for supply, use and input-output tables. Users can download the complete time series in Excel format.

The concepts and definitions of national accounts, including supply, use and input-output tables, are documented in the European System of Accounts – ESA 2010. A more detailed methodological description of underlying supply, use and input-output tables, including input-output modelling is available in two handbooks: (1) Eurostat Manual of Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, 2008 edition and (2) United Nations Handbook on Supply and Use Tables and Input-Output Tables with Extensions and Applications, 2018 edition. The methodology of the FIGARO tables is described in Eurostat’s publication ‘EU Inter-Country Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables – Full International and Global Accounts for Research in Input-Output Analysis (FIGARO)’, 2019 edition.

The quality management of Eurostat is documented in the European Statistics Code of Practice, which defines 16 principles for the statistical data production. The quality requirements for supply, use and input-output tables as well as national accounts main aggregates are documented in the ESA 2010 – Handbook on Data Validation. Eurostat’s quality assessment of national accounts data transmitted by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway is available in annual quality reports.

Eurostat applies a solid quality assurance procedure. Overall, data quality is ensured by the strict application of national accounts concepts as defined in the European System of Accounts – ESA 2010.  Any input data are obtained from official Eurostat publications. The calculated employment and value added data are verified for plausibility and internal consistency.

Eurostat assesses the quality of calculated employment and value added data. To that end, data visualisation and plausibility checks are used before disseminating the data and when preparing the related Statistics Explained articles.

Users may include policy makers, economists, researchers, statisticians, and the general public with an interest in global value chains. User needs are related to a wide range of applications, including:

• economic and econometric analyses of global value chains, economic inter-dependencies, strategic autonomy, or risk exposure of industries in EU Member States;
• trade analyses, including the direct and spill-over effects of EU trade;
• policy making in areas such as economic development, international trade, social welfare, and regional development.

Eurostat obtains regular user feedback through: (1) bi-annual meetings of the Expert Group on Integrated Global Accounts, (2) bi-annual meetings of the National Accounts Working Group, (3) collaboration with international organisations under the GIANT initiative, which aims to harmonise international data sources and methodologies for globally-consistent inter-country SUIOTs, and (4) collaboration with international stakeholders and the International Input-Output Association (IIOA). Users are invited to provide direct feedback through the following mailbox: ESTAT-FIGARO@ec.europa.eu.

The data on employment supported and value added generated by EU exports can be considered as complete as the underlying FIGARO tables cover >99.1% of the global population and >99.8% of global GDP.

The overall data accuracy depends on the accuracy of input data used for the input-output modelling, namely: (1) the FIGARO tables (naio_10f), and (2) the national accounts employment data (nama_10_a64_e). It is difficult, if not infeasible, to quantify meaningful uncertainty margins for the present employment supported and value added generated by EU exports.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The data are produced annually with a time delay of T-2, where T is the year of publication (e.g. the data release in 2023 covers the period of 2010-2021).

There is no specific publication deadline. Eurostat intends to release data in the second quarter of each year. The actual publication date may vary depending on the availability of input data.

Geographical comparability is ensured by the application, in all 27 EU Member States, of common concepts and definitions according to the European System of Accounts - ESA 2010 and the statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Revision 2).

Comparability over time is ensured by: (1) applying a consistent methodology, and (2) using the same data sources from official statistics across all years. Before the release of employment and value added indicators, Eurostat checks the data against estimates from previous releases in order to detect potential inconsistencies. Furthermore, Eurostat ensures time-series consistency of the underlying FIGARO data, e.g., by checking national accounts main aggregates and balanced international trade data against earlier data vintages.

Cross-domain coherence is ensured by benchmarking employment and value added data against official main GDP aggregates published by Eurostat and OECD for a few non-EU countries, specifically the breakdowns of main GDP components and employment by industry.

Eurostat ensures internal coherence by applying a consistent methodology and the same statistical data sources across all years. Coherence of underlying FIGARO tables is critical and ensured through an extensive quality assurance procedure that accompanies all steps of the FIGARO compilation.

Eurostat compiles the data on employment and value added content in EU exports. There is no burden for National Statistical Institutes.

All disseminated indicators are based on data already disseminated in Eurobase by the following domains:

• EU Inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) (naio_10_f)
• Main GDP aggregates (nama_10), specifically national accounts employment data by industry (nama_10_a64_e)

The revision policy is therefore effectively the revision policy of those domains. In practice, the statistical indicators in table ‘naio_10_fa’ are revised annually after the update of EU inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) (naio_10_fcp). Each year, new data is released for year T-2, with T representing the year of publication. Data are revised at least for years T-3 and T-4. The entire time series from 2010 onwards may be revised following major revisions of the underlying data. Metadata were established for the first time in 2023; they are to be reviewed annually after each data release.

The revision practice corresponds to the revision practice of the domains listed under sub‑concept 17.1 (data revision – policy), and in particular the revision practice for EU inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) (naio_10_fcp). Eurostat has been revising so far the entire time series of underlying FIGARO tables for each annual release. Consequently, also the time series of derived employment and value added indicators has been revised each year.

Two official Eurostat statistics are used to calculate employment and value added content in EU exports (see also Section 18.3):

• FIGARO tables (naio_10f), which capture the domestic and international production, income and trade of goods and services, including the related value;
• National accounts employment data (nama_10_a64_e).

The source data are collected annually.

All input data are collected from official Eurostat statistics:

• FIGARO tables including value added data are available in Eurobase under: Database by themes > National accounts (ESA 2010) > Supply, use and input-output tables > EU inter-country supply, use and input-output tables (FIGARO) (naio_10_f);
• National accounts employment data are available in Eurobase under: Database by themes > National accounts (ESA 2010) > Detailed breakdowns of main GDP aggregates > National accounts employment data by industry (up to NACE A*64) (nama_10_a64_e).

All input data are obtained from official Eurostat statistics, which undergo rigorous validation before their release. In addition, Eurostat verifies principal data correctness such as the absence of outliers in the input data before calculating the employment supported and value added generated by EU exports.

Employment supported and value added generated by EU exports is calculated through Leontief-type input-output modelling using the FIGARO inter-country input-output tables (industry-by-industry). A detailed description of the methodology is available in the annex.

For data on employment and value added generated by EU exports, no further adjustments are necessary compared to the ones applied to the FIGARO source data (see also Section 17 ‘Data revision’).

The employment and value added indicators are a new statistical product such as the FIGARO tables from which they are derived. Eurostat is still fine-tuning their methodology and integrating new data sources as these become available. Eurostat plans to publish additional global value chain indicators in the coming years.