Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia

Enterprise Structural and Financial Statistics Section

1, Lāčplēša Str., Riga, LV-1301, Latvia

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° 2019/2152

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

Enterprise Unit.

The SBS data series for the reference year 2021 are fully compliant with the definition of a statistical unit defined in Regulation No 696/93

SBS cover selected market activities; more specifically NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R, S95 and S96. Coverage of target population includes branches of foreign enterprises which are registered in State Register of Enterprises, excluding Latvian enterprise branches which are doing business abroad in accordance with Tax Office information. 

Latvia

1997-2021

Not applicable.

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

• Monetary data are expressed in thousands of €.

• Employment variables are expressed in units.

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

Ratios are expressed in percentages.

2021

SBS data refer to the calendar year, only in some cases the data refer to the fiscal year, however the differences are not essential.

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.

Confidentiality of individual data is protected by Statistics Law:

Section 7. Competence of the Statistical Institution in Production of Official Statistics

• (2) The statistical institution shall: 8) ensure statistical confidentiality in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law;

Section 17. Data Processing and Statistical Confidentiality

Section 19. Dissemination of Official Statistics

• (1) The statistical institution shall disseminate official statistics in a way that does not allow either directly or indirectly identify a private individual or a State institution in cases other than those laid down in Section 25 of this Law.
• (2) The statistical institution shall publish the official statistics which have been produced within the framework of the Official Statistics Programme in a publicly available form and by a predetermined deadline on the portal of official statistics. Until the moment of publication of official statistics this statistics shall not be published.

The primary confidentiality rules:

1. indicator of the aggregates is obtained from one, two or three statistical units;
2. proportion of one statistical unit in the respective indicator accounts for 80% and more;
3. total proportion of two statistical units accounts for 90% or more.

The secondary confidentiality criterion is regarded as fulfilled, if the values of confidentiality indicators are not possible to identify through arithmetical operations. In order to ensure it, sometimes additional indicator has to be marked as confidential. Usually a minimum value other than zero is chosen as the additional indicator.

The secondary confidentiality is calculated by using SBSValid.

The above mentioned confidentiality rules are not applied to the variables 210101, 310101, 220101, 220102, 220103, 220201 – they are not confidential at any case according to the Statistical Law of Latvia.

The turnover (250101) is used as a shadow variable. 

All official statistics are published according to the data release calendar, at 13.00h.

Release calendar is accessible for everyone and is published on Official statistics portal of Latvia homepage: 

https://stat.gov.lv/en/calendar 

Statistical release dates and times are pre-announced.

The data which is not available in the published publications and in the published on-line databases are provided to everyone upon a specific request.

Annual.

Press releases are not disseminated, and they are not planned for the next reference year.

Electronic version of SBS publication - Statistical yearbook is available in the CSB homepage free of charge. It is disseminated annually in the 1st Quarter and it is available in both languages - in Latvian and in English. Link to the Statistical yearbook: 

https://stat.gov.lv/en/statistics-themes/economy/national-accounts/publications-and-infographics/7251-statistical-yearbook

SBS data tables are available in national on-line database: https://stat.gov.lv/en/statistics-themes/business/entrepreneurship-indicators 

Nationally preliminary data is disseminated in T+11, final data in T+19.

SBS data tables are available in CSB database:  

1. UFR010. Entrepreneurship indicators of enterprises 2005 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR010/
   
2. UFR020. Key entrepreneurship indicators of enterprises by number of employees 2005 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR020/
3. UFR040. Entrepreneurship indicators in manufacturing by technological intensity (NACE Rev. 2) 2005 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR040
   
4. UFR050. Key entrepreneurship indicators of enterprises by region 2008 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR050/
   
5. UFR060. Key entrepreneurship indicators of enterprises in cities by main kind of activity and by place of office or main kind of activity 2013 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR060/
   
6. UFR080. Entrepreneurship indicators of enterprises in cultural and creative industry sectors 2021 - 2021 - https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__ENT__UF__UFR/UFR080/

In order to encourage deeper analysis of statistical information and its use in research, the CSB provides access to anonymized individual statistical information for scientific purposes, in the meantime strictly observing the principles of confidentiality.

Not applicable.

Documentation on methodology is available on the Website (electronic version in English). 

Key structural business indicators:

https://stat.gov.lv/en/metadata/2434-key-structural-business-indicators/det

See chapter 11.

CSB has introduced Quality Management System (QMS). The system is directed towards providing high user satisfaction and ensuring compliance with regulatory enactments. Based on the structure of Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM), QMS defines and at the level of procedures describes processes of statistical production as well as sets the persons responsible for the monitoring of processes at all stages of the statistical production. QMS defines the sequence how processes are implemented (i.e., activities to be performed (incl. verifications of processes and statistics, sequence and implementation requirements thereof, as well as persons responsible for the implementation)), procedures used in the evaluation of processes and statistics, as well as any improvements needed.

Since 2018, QMS of the CSB has been certified by the standard ISO 9001:2015 “Quality Management Systems. Requirements” (certified scope: Production of official statistics – planning, development, data acquisition, processing, analysis and dissemination).

Quality of statistics is assessed in accordance with the existing requirements of external and internal regulatory enactments and in accordance with the established quality criteria.

Regulation (EC) no 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics states that European Statistics shall be developed, produced and disseminated on the basis of uniform standards and of harmonised methods. In this respect, the following quality criteria shall apply: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability and coherence.

CSB, as the governing body of the national statistical system, has determined common general (institutional level) quality requirements for statistical institutions of Latvia, applying European Statistics Code of Practice. The 16 principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice.

Overall assessment of data quality is good.

Internal users:

• National accounts – all SBS variables + KAU + larger scope (NACE rev.2 sections A, O, S94)
• Wage statistics section – SBS employment variables + KAU + larger scope (NACE rev.2 sections A, O, S94)
• FATS - SBS variables according to the EUS Regulation
• ICT - Turnover on ICT sector
• Industrial and Construction statistics section – Value added and turnover in industrial and construction activities (NACE rev.2 4-digit level)
• Trade and Service statistics section - Value added and turnover in trade and service activities (NACE rev.2 4-digit level)
• Price Statistics - SBS variables: turnover, number of persons employed + KAU + larger scope (NACE rev.2 sections A, O, S94)
• SBR - Turnover, number of persons employed, number of employees + KAU (NACE rev.2 4-digit level)

 External users:

• Ministry of Economics – different SBS variables and breakdowns (NACE, size classes, regions)
• Ministry of Culture – Turnover on creative industries
• Ministry of Agriculture – different SBS variables on fishing, aquaculture and fish processing industries (NACE, size classes)
• Investment and Development Agency of Latvia - different SBS variables and breakdowns (NACE, size classes, regions)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization – data for UNIDO General Industrial Statistics Questionnaire

The mission of the CSB is to provide users of statistical information with independent high-quality official statistics for decision-making, research and discussions.

Users can provide the opinion on data quality to e-mail: pasts@csp.gov.lv. This option is public and displayed in each metadata description of specific indicators.

A survey related to the user's satisfaction regarding the availability and the quality of the data used was not organised.

In compliance with the rules (regulations)

Estimated coverage error and non-response error are assessed as medium.

Preliminary data does not contain information about companies that are legally authorized to submit data to State Revenue Service with the delay. It is the reason for non-response (non-response error). However, for preliminary data such enterprises are imputed from short term statistics or VAT data in order to reduce differences between preliminary and final data. For the final data these enterprises are updated from submitted questionnaire or administrative data.

Measurement, data processing and modelling errors are not measured and could not be assessed.

Cut-off survey is combined with administrative information. 

Unit non-response

The unit non-response is adjusted using imputation. Reminding e-mails are sent to respondents, notification about not filled in questionnaire has been shown in the application of web-questionnaire and reminding phone calls are also made in order to minimise the unit non-response.

Weighted unit non-response rate

NA

Bias

NA

Evaluation of the impact of imputation

NA

Frame

The impact of imperfection of the relevant business register on the quality of the key statistics is assessed as low.

Out-of-scope units

Estimated number of out-of scope units is 0%. 

Data collection: 08/2022

Post-collection phase: 10/2022 (preliminary data), 05/2023 (final data)

Dissemination nationally: 11/2022 (preliminary data), 07/2023 (final data)

The data is prepared, transmitted and published according to the plan.

Data are comparable.

2005 - 2021

Inconsistencies between STS Production in Construction and SBS value of output

Differences are explained as:

• variable Construction production in STS is calculated taking into account only construction works done on own account, however in SBS construction activities also includes the work of subcontractors,
• STS sometimes do not cover enterprises with small number of persons employed but with large turnover (very often in activity “Development of building projects”), such enterprises frequently are detected and imputed only, when compiling SBS results.

Inconsistencies between STS Industrial Production output and SBS value of output

Differences are explained as:

• Different coverage; STS covers enterprises with more than 20 employees only, SBS covers entire population,
• Data corrections, precisions, when annual results are reported,
• Differences in reporting periods; STS covers calendar year, SBS covers financial year,
• Differences in definitions; capitalised production is included in SBS variable, however due to difficult reporting such positions are not included in STS variable.

Inconsistencies between STS Turnover in distributive trade and SBS Turnover

Differences are explained as:

• Differences in definitions; turnover in SBS excludes subsidies, but turnover in STS should not exclude such subsidies if they are included in turnover,
• Different coverage; SBS includes data on self-employed physical persons, but STS do not cover them,
• Different stratification criteria for sampling; the SBS survey unit is an enterprise, while the STS is a legal unit. The sample for SBS is stratified according NACE code, number of employees and turnover, but in STS stratification has been made only according to NACE codes and turnover (not taking into account number of employees),
• Data corrections, precisions, when annual results are reported,
• Different methods for data imputation; SBS mainly imputes information from annual enterprise reports, but STS have been based on imputation of previous period data with corrections for tendencies and on use of VAT data.

Inconsistencies between LCS wages and salaries and number of persons employed and SBS wages and salaries and number of persons employed

Differences are explained as:

• Different coverage; SBS includes data on self-employed physical persons, but LCS do not cover them,
• SBS data do not include remuneration paid in kind, but include employer payments in the event of illness, however LCS include remuneration paid in kind, but excludes employer payments in the event of illness.

Inconsistencies between value added in Nacional Accounts (NA) and SBS value added

Differences are explained as:

• NA adjustments (for instance, shadow economy),
• SBS value added does not include taxes, however NA value added includes taxes and duties linked to production,
• NA value added includes imputed rent for NACE 68.

The outputs of the statistical activity are coherent.

Burden on respondents for completing the questionnaire is 11 626 person-hours. 

In line with the strategic directions of the European Statistics System and latest trends in statistical production, continuous use of information acquired in regular CSB surveys and proportionate reduction of the response burden are among the key CSB priorities.

In cooperation with holders of administrative data and in line with the competences provided for in the Statistics Law, CSB is striving to solve the issues related to the use of administrative data sources, thus aiming to acquire as comprehensive and high-quality administrative data allowing to reduce response burden on enterprises and households as possible.

Revision policy is an important component of good governance practice addressed more and more often in the international statistical society. The objective of the Revision policy is to lay down the order of review or revision of the prepared and published data. The first chapter of the present document explains the terms applied in the Revision policy, the second chapter characterises shortly the CSB revision policy, whereas the third chapter stipulates the revision cycle of the statistical data prepared by the CSB.

Revision policy according Annex I-IV: Data at T+10 has been considered as provisional but at T+18 as final and has not been changed.

Revision policy guidelines 08.09.2022 (PDF, 515 KB)

Entire population has been covered, when preliminary data is compiled. Differences with the final data occur due to corrections of imputed data and adjustments of population frame.

Data source is statistical survey combined with administrative sources. 

The type of sample design - cut-off sample.

Selection schemes (sampling rates) - cut-off survey based on the threshold values of enterprises with amount of net turnover by the class of activity and by the number of employees.

Threshold values - the strata according to the size groups by employees are as follows: less than 19, more than 20. All enterprises with 20 or more persons employed and all enterprises with turnover that is higher than threshold defined for the corresponding NACE group are surveyed exhaustively.

Sample size - 7 094. 

Several statistical questionnaires are used to compile SBS data, but different sample scopes are always adjusted to the sample of the main SBS surveys “Annual enterprise survey”, “Consolidated annual enterprise survey” using imputation methods to obtain the data on those enterprises, which were not surveyed with those additional questionnaires. Such questionnaires as "Quarterly questionnaire on labour force" and "Questionnaire on costs" are additionally used to compile SBS data.

Administrative data sources are provided by The State Revenue Service of Latvia. For the compiling of SBS data, the following sources are used:

• annual financial statement of enterprises; balance sheet, profit and loss account
• declaration on income from economic activity
• different declarations on taxes paid (natural resources tax, lottery and gambling tax, customs tax and other governmental charges and payments)
• employers' declaration on salary tax
• declaration on mandatory state social insurance contribution
• declaration on Value Added Tax (VAT) 
• declaration on micro-enterprise tax.

The characteristics which are directly available or with a good proxy in the administrative source - 250101, 240201, 240203, 240202, 220302, 220101.

The extent to which the administrative source is used:

• data source for imputation in case of non-response
• data source for 'mass imputation' (imputation of units not selected in the sample).

Access to administrative data is at micro data level.

The frequency to which the used administrative data sources are updated is assessed as satisfactory.

The administrative data subject to several revisions are with (increasing) degree of completeness.

Reporting unit is enterprise.

Regarding the frame used for the SBS, turnover and employees' variables are used for identifying principal and secondary activity.

The method used for identifying activities is top-down.

Updating of the unit's principal activity is carried out in accordance with methodological guidelines and after careful economic indicators analysis (statistical surveys and Tax Office data). 

Business Register is updated on a monthly basis using the Tax Office data on the employees and tax contributions, as well as using State Register of Enterprises about information on established and liquidated companies.

Once a year information is updated about turnover and total balance sheet.

Frequency of data collection is annual.

Annual data collection.

The type of questionnaires used in the survey are electronic format in Electronic Data Collection system on CSB homepage, as well as respondents can print out the paper questionnaires in CSB homepage and submit them by post, send by e-mail or bring them personally. 

Reminder e-mails are sent as well as reminders by phone are made to companies in order to speed up or increase the rate of response.

The following validation rules are applied before the data transmission to Eurostat:

• completeness checks (data integrity rules);
• validity checks (internal consistency);
• plausibility checks.

Data editing is done during the data collection period. Data validation rules are described in the data production system MD ISDMS (Metadata Driven Statistical Data Management System) and appear automatically after data entering in the system. Data is corrected manually. Some primary data validation rules are also worked-in the electronic version of the survey (respondent can not transmit the data before those errors are corrected).

Data checking and editing of imputed data is also done within the data production system MD ISDMS – errors are detected automatically, corrected and re-imputed.

Validation of SBS aggregated data is performed using the CSB validation system SBSValid. Validation rules in the system were described without a programming language, utilizing logical functions and graphical objects, according to the validation rules provided by Eurostat. The validation rules are stored in a module for future re-use. The validation process generates validation reports with detailed descriptions of errors, warnings, and other necessary information. After the validation process, users can review the validation report and accept warnings according to the agreed-upon procedure. The accepted serial data are exported for further validation in the Eurostat validation service Input Hall.

Eurostat's provided validation service Input Hall performs validation of individual series, interseries, and year-on-year data.

Imputation procedure relies on available administrative data, as well as information available from the short-term statistics surveys.

The characteristics for which a model-based estimate is used: 240101, 240102 (breakdown of expenditures in material costs, services costs and costs for the purchase of goods and services for resale), and all variables starting with 260xxx.

SBS characteristics which are not included in the data sources:

• Variables 310101, 250201, 240103, 240104, 240105, 240106, 250110, 250113, all variables starting with 250102 to 250109 are compiled with statistical surveys (in some cases estimations are done if the sampling frame of particular survey, from which characteristic is taken, differs from the sampling frame of the annual enterprise survey.
• Investment variables - estimation is done taking into account the values of fixed assets reported in balance sheets at the beginning and at the end of the year.

Unit non-response:

Enterprises, which are included in “large enterprise group” and are surveyed exhaustively and, which did not respond with statistical survey as well as non-sampled enterprises, which are covered by mass imputation, are imputed using the data from administrative sources. Imputation of other statistical survey data, data of previous period (with correction) or donor data imputation is done if no administrative data have been found.

Item non-response:

Item non-response has been detected and corrected during the data collection period.

Inference (grossing-up):

Remark:

1) over-coverage errors are assumed as respondents because they represent the total over-coverage in the frame.

2) In the exhaustive enumeration part of survey unit non-response is adjusted using imputation procedure.

If the reference period differs from the calendar year, there is no correction to bring it in accordance with the reference period.

No further comments.