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.
[4D1_F1] Crosscutting social indicators; Coordination
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
BECH Building, 5, rue Alphonse Weicker, L-2721 Luxembourg
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
2.1. Metadata last certified
19 December 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
19 December 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
28 October 2026
3.1. Data description
Data reported in this Eurobase sub-domain cover sport enterprises statistics as well as production of sporting goods.
1. Sport enterprises (economic indicators on enterprises)
Data on sport enterprises derive from two data collections and they are presented in two tables:
a) SBS (Structural Business Statistics) – for sports activities, sports and recreation education and manufacture of sports goods
Enterprises by detailed NACE Rev.2 activity and special aggregates - sbs_sc_act
b) Business Demography (BD) – for ‘Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities’
Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity - bd_size
2. Sporting goods: sold production
Data are sourced from statistics on the production of manufactured goods (PRODCOM). Annual data on sold production, exports and imports are available in the following tables:
Sold production, exports and imports by Prodcom list (up to 2024, NACE Rev. 2) - DS-059358
Sold production, exports and imports by Prodcom list (2025 onwards, CPA 2.2) - DS-059367
The bookmark proposes a selection of sporting products (see list in the file in annex).
The user is invited to refer to the Prodcom metadata for methodological details.
For classification of economic sector where the enterprise is operating, the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community NACE Rev 2 is used from 2008 onwards.
For classification of goods, product codes are specified in the attached Prodcom list.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Starting with reference year 2021, 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. This includes mining and quarrying, industry, supply and sewerage, construction, trade, and most of the service activities. SBS do not cover agriculture, forestry and fishing, nor public administration and (largely) non-market services such as education and health.
Regarding sports enterprises, starting from the reference year 2021, SBS encompasses data pertaining to the NACE Rev. 2 group 93.1 - "Sports activities" and its four distinct NACE classes:
93.11 - Operation of sports facilities;
93.12 - Activities of sports clubs;
93.13 - Fitness facilities;
93.19 - Other sports activities.
Business demography include only data at division level for the NACE Rev. 2 code 93 – ‘Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities’.
Statistics on the production of sporting goods cover selected products from the PRODCOM list, as detailed in the annex.
Enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organizational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may consist out of one or more legal units.
Number of active enterprises is the number of all statistical units which at any time during the reference period were ‘enterprises’, as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, and also active during the same reference period. A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period, if it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or carried out investments.
The number of employees and self-employed persons (the number of persons employed) is the sum of the number of employees and number of self-employed persons. The number of employees represents the average number of persons who were, at some time during the reference period, employees of the statistical unit. The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit are also included..
Net turnover consists of all income arising during the reference period in the course of ordinary activities of the statistical unit, and is presented net of all price reductions, discounts and rebates granted by it.
Value added is a composite indicator of net operating income, adjusted for depreciation, amortization and employee benefits, all components being recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period. Its value is given by the formula "Net turnover + Income from product- or turnover-related subsidies + Capitalized output ± Change in stock of goods – Total purchases of goods and services.
Enterprise survival occurs if an enterprise is active in the year of birth (t-1 to t-5) and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished: an enterprise born in year t-1 is considered to have survived in year t if it is active in any part of year t (= survival without changes) or if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
For production of goods:
Prod_value_EUR: gives the value of production in Euro.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit in SBS and BD for the country-level business statistics data is the enterprise. The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
In Prodcom, the enterprise (within one country) is the observation unit surveyed by the National Statistical Institute.
Structural business statistics (SBS) cover the economic activities of market producers within the business economy NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R and Divisions S95 and S96. This includes mining and quarrying, industry, supply and sewerage, construction, trade, and most of the service activities. SBS do not cover agriculture, forestry and fishing, nor public administration and (largely) non-market services such as education and health.
For business demography (BD), the national business registers are the main source of data. No samples are drawn from the registers: the full registers are processed.
For Prodcom, the survey population of the reference period shall be enterprises whose principal activity or one of its secondary activities is listed in section B, C or E of the classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2).
3.7. Reference area
Eurostat receives SBS and BD data from the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and some EU Candidate countries.
For Prodcom, the reference area is the EU, Iceland, Norway and some EU Candidate countries.
3.8. Coverage - Time
SBS and BD: from 2021 onwards for a satisfactory coverage of sectors and countries regarding tables ‘sbs_ovw_act’, ‘sbs_sc_ovw’ and ‘bd_size’. Please refer to metadata for information on data before reference year 2021 for SBS at this link.
Prodcom: since 1995 for annual data.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
For SBS, monetary data are expressed in millions of €, per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head, per hours values are expressed in € per hour, ratios of monetary variables are expressed in percentages and employment variables are expressed in units.
For BD, basic variables (active, birth, death and survival enterprises and their employment) are in absolute figures. Derived indictors can be expressed in absolute figures, for example, average size of enterprise, or in percentages, for example - birth rate.
For Prodcom, the sold production value is collected in thousands of national currency (as stated in the Commission Implemented Regulation (EU) 2020/1197) and disseminated in Euro in the Eurostat's Data Browser.
A news release is typically published online to announce the annual update of the "Statistics Explained" article concerning enterprises in the sports sector.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
A ‘Statistics explained’ article on enterprises in sports sector is updated every year at this website.
The manual contains guidance for producing comparable and harmonised data in the EU Member States within the framework of European Business Statistics. It covers topics like legal requirements, concepts, data compilation, and data and metadata transmission.
This is the first edition of the European Business Statistics Methodological Manual for Business Demography Statistics. It contains guidance for compiling and interpreting comparable and harmonised data on the business demography in the European Union and its Member States. It covers topics like concepts, compilation of the data and metadata, data validation and transmission, legal requirements within the framework of European Business Statistics, and the relevance and usage of data on business demography.
The EBS compilers’ manual for PRODCOM statistics provides methodological guidance and practical information to the data compilers, on how to compile statistics on the production of manufactured goods carried out by enterprises on the national territory of the reporting countries. It contains in addition to the methodology, detailed information on the data requirements, data collection, data compilation, data transmission and Eurostat’s validation services, metadata reporting and dissemination of PRODCOM data. This second edition presents up-to-date information and complies with the Commission Implementing Regulation EU 2020/1197 (EBS Regulation).
Demand for reliable and internationally comparable statistics on the economic importance of sport has led to initiatives to develop sport satellite accounts (SSAs) at national and European levels.
In 2006, the European Commission established the EU Working Group on Sport and Economics to develop a common approach to measuring the economic importance of sport. Its work laid the foundations for a harmonised framework for SSAs. A key outcome was agreement on the ‘Vilnius definition of sport’.
Repeated calls from policymakers, notably since the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2006, have highlighted the need for evidence-based policymaking, more comparable sport statistics and Eurostat’s involvement. The Commission has supported these objectives through the Erasmus+ programme, funding studies to improve the statistical evidence base, the development of SSAs in Member States, Eurobarometer surveys on sport, grants and seminars.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Overall, users have expressed satisfaction with the quality of service provided by Eurostat, appreciating both the accuracy of the data and the supportive customer service. However, regarding the Structural Business Statistics (SBS), the primary concern raised is about the timeliness, as the data becomes available two years after the end of the reference period.
12.3. Completeness
The coverage of sporting sectors differs according to the data collection (SBS, BD and Prodcom) - in terms of NACE sectors covered by each survey.
For SBS, preliminary and final data are disseminated respectively 2 and 4 months after legal deadline transmission from the countries.
BD data are published within 2 calendar years of the end of the reference year. In the case of indicators on enterprise deaths, a two year lag is foreseen in the methodology in order to confirm whether a presumed death is in fact reactivated. For this reason information on final deaths is generally available later than the stock of enterprises and enterprise births.
For Prodcom - NSIs are required to transmit production data to Eurostat within 6 months of the end of the reference year for annual data.
As concerns enterprises’ statistics, the coverage of the sports sector is dependent on the coverage and the level of detail of NACE codes (number of digits) available in the source database.
Regarding SBS, NACE at four digits level are available for main indicators, except for size class related indicators.
Regarding BD, the number of available digits varies from a sector to the next. The NACE group 93.1 is not covered by BD data, only data for division 93 are available.
In addition, differences may be observed between SBS and BD for common indicators (e.g. nb of enterprises), due to methodological differences, notably:
SBS provides a snapshot at the end of the calendar year, while BD reports data observed several times a year (so that enterprises alive for a few months are included in BD data);
depending on national practices, some thresholds may be applied in SBS to not include very small businesses (e.g. include enterprises with at least x million Euro of turnover).
The Prodcom Council Regulation stipulates that at least 90% of production in each NACE class should be reported, and comparison with SBS provides a means of checking this.
All reported errors (once validated) result in corrections of the disseminated data.Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Data may be published even if they are missing for certain countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability for certain countries. Whenever new data are provided and validated, the already disseminated data are updated.
18.1. Source data
For sport statistics SBS, BD and PRODCOM data are extracted from publicly available datasets in the Eurostat database.
Data reported in this Eurobase sub-domain cover sport enterprises statistics as well as production of sporting goods.
1. Sport enterprises (economic indicators on enterprises)
Data on sport enterprises derive from two data collections and they are presented in two tables:
a) SBS (Structural Business Statistics) – for sports activities, sports and recreation education and manufacture of sports goods
Enterprises by detailed NACE Rev.2 activity and special aggregates - sbs_sc_act
b) Business Demography (BD) – for ‘Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities’
Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity - bd_size
2. Sporting goods: sold production
Data are sourced from statistics on the production of manufactured goods (PRODCOM). Annual data on sold production, exports and imports are available in the following tables:
Sold production, exports and imports by Prodcom list (up to 2024, NACE Rev. 2) - DS-059358
Sold production, exports and imports by Prodcom list (2025 onwards, CPA 2.2) - DS-059367
The bookmark proposes a selection of sporting products (see list in the file in annex).
The user is invited to refer to the Prodcom metadata for methodological details.
Enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organizational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may consist out of one or more legal units.
Number of active enterprises is the number of all statistical units which at any time during the reference period were ‘enterprises’, as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93, and also active during the same reference period. A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period, if it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or carried out investments.
The number of employees and self-employed persons (the number of persons employed) is the sum of the number of employees and number of self-employed persons. The number of employees represents the average number of persons who were, at some time during the reference period, employees of the statistical unit. The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit are also included..
Net turnover consists of all income arising during the reference period in the course of ordinary activities of the statistical unit, and is presented net of all price reductions, discounts and rebates granted by it.
Value added is a composite indicator of net operating income, adjusted for depreciation, amortization and employee benefits, all components being recognized as such by the statistical unit during the reference period. Its value is given by the formula "Net turnover + Income from product- or turnover-related subsidies + Capitalized output ± Change in stock of goods – Total purchases of goods and services.
Enterprise survival occurs if an enterprise is active in the year of birth (t-1 to t-5) and the following year(s). Two types of survival can be distinguished: an enterprise born in year t-1 is considered to have survived in year t if it is active in any part of year t (= survival without changes) or if the linked legal unit(s) have ceased to be active, but their activity has been taken over by a new legal unit set up specifically to take over the factors of production of that enterprise (= survival by take-over).
For production of goods:
Prod_value_EUR: gives the value of production in Euro.
The statistical unit in SBS and BD for the country-level business statistics data is the enterprise. The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
In Prodcom, the enterprise (within one country) is the observation unit surveyed by the National Statistical Institute.
Structural business statistics (SBS) cover the economic activities of market producers within the business economy NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to N, P to R and Divisions S95 and S96. This includes mining and quarrying, industry, supply and sewerage, construction, trade, and most of the service activities. SBS do not cover agriculture, forestry and fishing, nor public administration and (largely) non-market services such as education and health.
For business demography (BD), the national business registers are the main source of data. No samples are drawn from the registers: the full registers are processed.
For Prodcom, the survey population of the reference period shall be enterprises whose principal activity or one of its secondary activities is listed in section B, C or E of the classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2).
Eurostat receives SBS and BD data from the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and some EU Candidate countries.
For Prodcom, the reference area is the EU, Iceland, Norway and some EU Candidate countries.
For SBS, monetary data are expressed in millions of €, per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head, per hours values are expressed in € per hour, ratios of monetary variables are expressed in percentages and employment variables are expressed in units.
For BD, basic variables (active, birth, death and survival enterprises and their employment) are in absolute figures. Derived indictors can be expressed in absolute figures, for example, average size of enterprise, or in percentages, for example - birth rate.
For Prodcom, the sold production value is collected in thousands of national currency (as stated in the Commission Implemented Regulation (EU) 2020/1197) and disseminated in Euro in the Eurostat's Data Browser.
For sport statistics SBS, BD and PRODCOM data are extracted from publicly available datasets in the Eurostat database.
Annual
For SBS, preliminary and final data are disseminated respectively 2 and 4 months after legal deadline transmission from the countries.
BD data are published within 2 calendar years of the end of the reference year. In the case of indicators on enterprise deaths, a two year lag is foreseen in the methodology in order to confirm whether a presumed death is in fact reactivated. For this reason information on final deaths is generally available later than the stock of enterprises and enterprise births.
For Prodcom - NSIs are required to transmit production data to Eurostat within 6 months of the end of the reference year for annual data.
