Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT)

Business Statistics Division

Statistical Service of Cyprus

Michael Karaolis Str.

CY-1444 Nicosia

CYPRUS

Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors). SBS covers all activities of the business economy with the exception of agricultural activities, public administration and (largely) non-market services such as education and health. Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:

• "Business demographic" variables (e.g. Number of active enterprises)

• "Output related" variables (e.g. Net turnover, Value added)

• "Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Number of employees and self-employed persons, Hours worked by employees); goods and services input (e.g. Purchases of goods and services); capital input (e.g. Gross investments)

Business services statistics (BS) collection contains harmonised statistics on business services. From 2008 onwards BS become part of the regular mandatory annual data collection of SBS. The BS’s data requirement includes variable “Turnover” broken down by products and by type of residence of client. 

The annual regional statistics collection includes three characteristics due by NUTS-2 country region and detailed on NACE Rev 2division level (2-digits).

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE):  NACE Rev.2 is used from 2008 onwards. Key data were double reported in NACE Rev.1.1 and NACE Rev.2 only for 2008. From 2002 to 2007 NACE Rev. 1.1 was used and until 2001 NACE Rev.1

The regional breakdown of the EU Member States is based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). 

The product breakdown is based on the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) as stated in the Regulation establishing CPA 2008 and its amending Commission Regulation (EU) No 1209/2014  (from reference year 2015 onwards).

Starting reference year 2021 onwards SBS cover the economic activities of market producers within the NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R and Divisions S95 and S96.
Until 2007 the SBS coverage was limited to Sections C to K of NACE Rev.1.1 and from the reference year 2008 to 2020 data was available for Sections B to N and Division S95 of NACE Rev.2.

From 2013, as the first reference year, to 2020 information is published on NACE codes K6411, K6419 and K65 and its breakdown.

From 2008 reference year data collection BS covers NACE Rev 2 codes: J62, N78, J582, J631, M731, M691, M692, M702, M712, M732, M7111, and M7112.

SBS constitutes an important and integrated part of the new European Business Statistics Regulation N° 2152/2019

Data requirements, simplifications and technical definitions are defined in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197

Enterprise.

All active market enterprises with main activity in sections B-N, P-R and divisions S95 and S96 of NACE Rev. 2 classification system. The statistical business register is the frame for identifying units for the population. No thresholds are applied.

For section K, the identification of the units for the population is based on the business register of Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). In order to achieve better coverage, a cross comparison is carried out between the information from the business register of Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat) and CBC register.  

Republic of Cyprus.

1995-2021 for sections B-N and division S95. Only 2021 for sections P-R and division S96.

Not applicable.

• Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.

• Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.

• Employment variables are expressed in units.

• Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head. 

Ratios are expressed in percentages.

2021

The reference period is the calendar year.

A very small number of enterprises which use a different period, provide data for the business year that cover the biggest period of the SBS reference year. These data are adjusted to the calendar year.

Starting with reference year 2021 two new regulations currently form the legal basis of SBS:

• · Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (EBS Regulation), and
• · Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements (general implementing act) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152

Year 1995 was the first year for the implementation of the Council Regulation No 58/97 (SBS Regulation).

The Council Regulation No 58/97 has been amended three times: by Council Regulation No 410/98, Commission Regulation No 1614/2002 and European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2056/2002. As a new amendment of the basic Regulation it was decided to recast the Regulation No 58/97 in order to obtain a new "clean" legal text.

In 2008 the European Parliament and Council adopted Regulation No 295/2008 and the provisions of this Regulation were applicable from the reference year 2008 to reference year 2020. Regulation No 295/2008 was amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 446/2014.

Not applicable.

Official statistics are released in accordance to all confidentiality provisions of the following:

• Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021) (especially Article 16 on statistical confidentiality).

• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and its later amendments (especially Chapter 5 on statistical confidentiality).

• European Statistics Code of Practice (especially Principle 5 on statistical confidentiality).

• CYSTAT's Code of Practice for the Collection, Publication and Storage of Statistical Data.

The Statistical Service is obliged to treat all data collected as confidential. The information is exclusively used for the production of statistics only and no person or public authority has access to the individual data of any enterprise.

The treatment of confidential data is regulated by CYSTAT's Code of Practice for the Collection, Publication and Storage of Statistical Data.

No data are published for individual firms and/or when there is only one or two firms in an activity breakdown, unless prior agreement has been obtained from the enterprise concerned, or in cases where the enterprise was a semi-government organisation or a public company.  The most common practice for secondary confidentiality is to censor the activity with the lowest turnover.

The confidentiality pattern is applied using the tau-argus and Ms Excel softwares. 

Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on CYSTAT’s website. The annual release calendar, announced during the 4th quarter of each year, includes provisional dates which are finalised the week before publication.

Regarding NACE section K, data are only transmitted to Eurostat and not disseminated on Cystat’s website.

Link to CYSTAT’s release calendar:

https://www.cystat.gov.cy/AnnouncementList 

According to the Dissemination Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (section 2.3) CYSTAT΄s main channel for dissemination of statistics is the website, which offers the same conditions to everyone and is updated at the same time every working day (12:00 noon). Privileged pre-released access (of no more than 1 day in advance) has been granted to a few selected users for specific statistics. These are specified in the Dissemination Policy (section 2.3). In addition to the annual release calendar, users are informed of the various statistical releases through the “Alert” service provided by CYSTAT.

Dissemination and Pricing Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus:

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/DISSEMINATION_POLICY-EN.pdf 

CYSTAT provides available additional information to everyone with a specific request.

Annual.

There are ad-hoc news releases or infographics when disseminating SBS data.

There are ad-hoc electronic publications when releasing SBS data. All publications are available in greek and english.

Links to electronic publications:

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/INDUSTRY-A08-21_EL-060723.xlsx

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/INDUSTRY-SUMMARY_TABLES-A2008-21-031123.xls

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/INDUSTRY-INDUSTRIAL_SURVEY_RESULTS-A2021-031123.xls

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/CONSTRUCTION-1995_2022-EL-070723.xls

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/WHOLESALE_AND_RETAIL_TRADE-2005_21-EL-040723.xlsx

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/TRADE_SURVEY-SUMMARY-A-2008_2021-161123.xlsx

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/TRADE_SURVEY_RESULTS-A2021-161123.xlsx

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/SERV-RESULTS-A2008_2021-EL-110723.xls

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/SERVICES_TRANSPORT_SURVEY-RESULTS-A2021-021023.xlsx

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/SERVICES-TRANSPORT_SURVEY-SUMMARY-2008_2021-211123.xlsx

No on-line database is available.

Microdata are not disseminated.

Statistical microdata from CYSTAT’s surveys are accessible for research purposes only and under strict provisions as described below:

Under the provisions of the Official Statistics Law, CYSTAT may release microdata for the sole use of scientific research. Applicants have to submit the request form "APPLICATION FOR DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES" giving thorough information on the project for which micro-data are needed. The application is evaluated by CYSTAT’s Confidentiality Committee and if the application is approved, a charge is fixed according to the volume and time consumed for preparation of the data. Microdata may then be released after an anonymisation process which ensures no direct identification of the statistical units but, at the same time, ensures usability of the data. The link for the application is attached below.

https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/MicrodataContactForm?fid=4

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/Official%20Statistics%20Law%20of%202021_Annex%20II_EN_171121.pdf

Data are sent to Eurostat to be used in European aggregates and also to be released as national data.

Data are also available in the annual publication of CYSTAT ‘Statistical Abstract’.

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/ABSTRACT-2020-2021-EN-010823.pdf

The latest publication includes data up to 2020. 

The methodology used follows the guidelines set in the elctronic publication "Methodological manual on European Structural Business Statistics"

Additionally, the European Business Statistics (EBS) framework covers the NACE Section K more comprehensively and contains extra information relating to Section K in the electronic publication “European Business Statistics Manual”.

The Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT) has set its strategic goal to provide high-quality statistical information in an objective, transparent, reliable and timely manner. We consider quality to be our main advantage in a world experiencing a growing trend of instant information which often lacks the necessary proof of quality.

In order to realise strategic goals it is imperative to establish policies which ensure that an organisation is moving towards the right direction. For this reason, CYSTAT established the Quality Policy which forms the basis of all statistical activities and leads towards continuous improvement of its statistical output.

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/QUALITY_POLICY-2021-EN-131021.pdf

The quality of statistics in CYSTAT is managed in the framework of the European Statistics Code of Practice which sets the standards for developing, producing and disseminating European Statistics as well as the ESS Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). CYSTAT endorses the Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System. In addition, CYSTAT is guided by the requirements provided for in Article 12 of the Statistics Law No. 15(I) of 2000 as well as Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, which sets out the quality criteria to be applied in the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.

European Statistics Code of Practice:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/8971242/KS-02-18-142-EN-N.pdf/e7f85f07-91db-4312-8118-f729c75878c7

ESS Quality Assurance Framework (QAF):

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/64157/4392716/ESS-QAF-V1-2final.pdf/bbf5970c-1adf-46c8-afc3-58ce177a0646

Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/8188985/KS0217428ENN_corr.pdf/116f7c85-cd3e-4bff-b695-4a8e71385fd4

Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021): 

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/Official_Statistics_Law(unoftrans)-2021-EN-290421.pdf

Quality Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus:

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/QUALITY_POLICY-v1.2-EN-091222.pdf

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (consolidated text):

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02009R0223-20150608&qid=1504858409240&from=EN

The overall assessment of data quality is high.

The data published at the national level are different from the data that are sent to Eurostat.

Overall the coefficients of variation are in most cases low. Whenever an issue is identified, measures are taken (re-examining the sample and the sample size of the stratum). The response rate is very high.

Specifically for section K: The data published at the national level is different from the SBS data which are sent to Eurostat due to the fact that data at national level is based on ESA2010 concepts. The overall assessment of data quality is evaluated as a high level due to full coverage and 100% response rate.

No delays of data transmissions to Eurostat for the reference year 2021.

The data are coherent and comparable.

The main internal users include: national annual accounts, CIS-R&D statistics, ICT statistics, short-term statistics, foreign direct investment. Internal users often need micro level data. SBS micro level data are mainly used as a direct data source for the production of other statistics (e.g. national annual accounts including the financial accounts, CIS-R&D) or to calculate index weights (e.g. short-term statistics). Other uses are quality checks, use of the data for sampling purposes, etc.

The main external users include: Government ministries/departments responsible for policy making, employers' organisations, trade unions, enterprises, academics/researchers, students, media/press, marketing companies, national central bank, lobby and policy groups, private users, Eurostat, ECB, international organisations and others. External users are often interested in the variables “number of [units]”, “turnover”, “value-added” and “employment” by economic activity as well as by employment size class. Sometimes, concentrations ratios (e.g. market share of top 5 companies, etc.) are requested but due to disclosure issues, these are not provided.

The data published at the national level are different from the data that are sent to Eurostat (different variables, activity analysis etc.)

Since 2008 (with the exception of 2010 and 2013) CYSTAT carries out an annual online “Users Satisfaction Survey”. The results of the surveys are available on CYSTAT’s website at the link attached below.

Overall, the users of statistical data published by CYSTAT are satisfied.

Results of most recent CYSTAT’s User Satisfaction Surveys:

https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1144

Data for all the variables required are collected therefore all statistics that are needed are available and comply fully with the relevant regulations and guidelines. They are published both at national and at EUROSTAT level.

The results of SBS are subject to sampling and non sampling errors. 

Sampling errors are assessed with quality indicators.

Non-sampling errors can be caused from problems and errors in the Statistical Business Register. Such common problems are misclassification and non-coverage. The impact of these errors is considered to be small.

Regarding NACE Section K: preliminary and final data are produced based on the same source, with full coverage and no errors are recognized. Any updated information which includes all changes for the particular period and any changes that might occur in the data sources are taken into consideration.

Coefficient of Variation = square root (estimate of the sampling variance) / estimated value.

Outliers are excluded from the calculation. The computation of the CVs is performed with the MS Access software. Section K has full coverage, therefore no CVs are calculated.

Data collection is done by means of a personal interview at the enterprises’ premises and as a result non-response is negligible. Enumerators are suitably trained to carry out these interviews and fill in the questionnaires with the required information. Furthermore, all the surveys that are carried out by the Statistical Service of Cyprus are in accordance with the Officail Statistics Law of 2021, where the obligation to respond is mandatory.

Section K has full coverage.

Last data collection: t+17 months

Dissemination - Eurostat: t+18 months

Dissemination at national level: t+19 - t+24 months

No delays of data transmissions to Eurostat for the reference year 2021.

The whole of Cyprus is treated as one territory.

NACE sections B-N and division S95: 2008-2021.

There are no breaks in time-series.

NACE sections P, Q, R and division S94: 2021 only

Number of enterprises might be different (minimal inconsistencies) between SBS and Business Demography. These are basically, due to the different date of Business Register snapshot taken between SBS and Business Demography data where some classification corrections might take place. Obviously, there are small inconsistencies in the evolution of turnover and persons employed from short-term statistics, basically due to the different methodology applied, statistical unit used and the sample size between SBS and STS. Finally, SBS is the source of National Accounts for value added, however there might be differences after the adjustments made for National Accounts purposes.

Data have full internal coherence, as they are consistent within the micro-data set.

For all sections excluding K: Data collection is carried out by a number of interviewers, who are casual staff. Seven Statistics Officers measured in full-time equivalent units are responsible for monitoring, supervision and coordination of the surveys. In recent years, a number of administrative sources is being used, whenever this is possible, in order to reduce burden on respondents.

For section K: Two Statistics Officers measured in full-time equivalent units are responsible for the data collection and compilation of SBS data for NACE Section K. Administrative sources are being used in order to compile the required SBS data and thus the burden is on the respondents who fill in statistical annexes of the specific requirements for each competent authority. 

CYSTAT's "Revision Policy" describes the general rules and principles governing the procedure of revising data published by CYSTAT.

https://library.cystat.gov.cy/NEW/Revision_Policy-CYSTAT-EN-281122.pdf

As part of this policy, CYSTAT publishes a list of scheduled revisions on an annual basis, which can be found on the Release Calendar page.

https://www.cystat.gov.cy/AnnouncementList

Revisions in SBS can take place for a number of reasons such as:

1. To include improved source data
2. Reclassification of enterprise(s)
3. To adopt improved methodology
4. To correct errors.

The compilation of preliminary data is mostly based on the following:

• Preliminary data provided by the enterprises
• Various relevant short-term indices (i.e. Turnover Index, unemployment figures, production index etc)
• Historical data/trends of each economic sector and
• Any other abnormal factors (i.e. economic crisis) during the reference period that could affect significantly the estimations.  

For all sections excluding K:

Stratified sampling with stratification criteria activity, employment size class. The strata used for sampling are persons employed classes: 0-1, 2-9, 10-19, 20-49, 50-249, 250 and more. 

The sampling frame is the Statistical Business Register. Turnover or employment are the main variables for identifying the principal and secondary activities, using a top-down approach. The Business Register is updated yearly. The unit's principal activity is also updated yearly.

For each stratum, a sample of predetermined size is drawn systematically with probability proportional to size, from a list ordered by enterprise size. Enterprises over a pre-defined size are fully covered.

Percentages of units sampled: 0-1 5%, 2-9 13%, 10-19 54%, 20+ 98%.

There is no threshold. The sample size is about 8.000 enterprises.

For section K:

The main administrative data source for the calculation of data for NACE Section K is the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). Regarding other monetary intermediation (MFIs), the CBC provides CYSTAT with all the necessary data for commercial banks through an analytical Quarterly Profit and Loss Survey Data (QPLSD) report, conducted by the CBC.

The main data source for Insurance data is the analytical Structural Business Statistics (SBS) data collected by the Insurance Companies Control Service on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of insurance undertakings.

The data source for the calculation of Pension Funds data is the Registrar of Occupational Retirement Benefit Funds. Pension Funds submit for checking purposes their economic statements according to a specified format. The data is prepared in an aggregated form.

The data sources for the division of activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities are the CBC, the Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Cyprus Stock Exchange. The required data is collected on an annual basis through financial statements which are obtained directly from the enterprises.  The data covers all Cypriot investment firms regulated by CySEC and the Central Bank of Cyprus that are active in the reference year. Department of Registrar of Companies, VAT data and Tax data are also used in order to have completeness in data sources. 

Annual data collection.

For all sections excluding K: An announcement on the website of CYSTAT informs on the commencement of the collection of the data. Afterwards the responsible persons are contacted via telephone to book a date and time. Data are collected with personal interviews with the CAPI method, utilizing the Blaise software. Whenever possible data are collected from financial accounts. Whenever problems arise, responsible officers make additional calls to the unit.

For section K: 

Data concerning Financial Services is collected through a common platform used for data exchange between CBC and CyStat.  

The procedure followed to obtain data regarding the Insurance and pension fund activities, is carried out with encrypted emails in order to ensure and maintain the confidentiality.

Regarding the fulfillment of the statistical obligations for sector Other Financial Intermediaries and Financial Auxiliaries, enterprises are requested to submit to the CBC and CyStat their financial statements via e-mail. In case of any additional information which is necessary for CBC and CyStat, this is requested through ad-hoc and encrypted emails and/or telephone calls.

According to the relevant EU and national legislation, the data/information provided are treated as confidential. The said data are used solely for statistical purposes and published only in aggregate form, without disclosing the identity of the entities to which they relate.

For all sections excluding K: During data entry, data checks are done in order to prevent invalid data value entries. When all row data are entered to the MS Access database system, data inconsistencies checks are done among related variables to identify errors or warnings for predefined boundaries for either specific variables or ratios. Before transmitted to Eurostat, data are also checked with the edamis data validation tool.

For section K: Fundamental accounting rules are applied during data entry concerning financial data. Furthermore other validation and any inconsistencies checks are implemented in order to ensure the accuracy of the data and to identify possible errors/warnings for specific variables or ratios. Before transmitted to Eurostat, data are also checked via Edamis data validation tool.

For all sections excluding K: Due to the procedures followed during data collection (personal interview at the enterprises’ premises), the item non-responses are minimal and all the required information in the questionnaire is recorded. As a result, the number of incomplete questionnaires is very low. When actual figures for a specific variable are not available, these are estimated based on the previous year’s enterprises actual data and the trend of basic variables of the enterprise, or from administrative sources if available. Data for enterprises that do not respond are either estimated based on the previous year’s enterprises actual data and the trend of the responses of the same activity and size class, or a correction factor in the weighting procedure is applied. 

The reference period is the calendar year.

A very small number of enterprises (less than 10) which use a different period, provide data for the business year which terminates in the SBS reference year. These data are adjusted to the calendar year.

No further comments.