Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)

Division of Business Statistics (B3)

 Section of Manufacture-Construction Indices and Industrial Products (B33)

46 Pireos & Eponiton str. 18510 Piraeus Greece

Data are disseminated for all NACE Rev.2 activities at the 2-digit level listed within Sections B and C (Mining – Quarrying and Manufacturing), for higher aggregates (Section level and for total industry excluding Sections D, E) and for all the main industrial groupings (capital goods, intermediate goods, durable consumer goods, non-durable consumer goods and energy excluding Sections D and E).

Taking into account the separation of transactions according to the product’s destination (in the framework of requirements of the amending Regulation (EC) No 1158/05 of the European Parliament and of the Council), the index is broken down by domestic market and non-domestic market and the non-domestic market is further broken down by euro area countries and non-euro area countries.

No geographical breakdown is made for the above data, as regards the reference area with the total of Greece being covered, without distinguishing among regions. Data on turnover index in industry are monthly and are presented in the form of indices and growth rates.

The indices in industry, allowing for the separation of transactions according to the product’s destination (on the framework of requirements of the aforesaid amendment Regulation (EC) No 1158/05 of the European Parliament and of the Council), are the following:

 Turnover Indices in Industry

For the compilation of the indices the following classifications are used:

• The statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community, NACE Rev.2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council), at 4-digit level.
• Classification of products by activity (CPA) of EU (pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 451/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council), at 6-digit level.

At the level of main industrial groupings, the allocation of 2-digit and 3-digit NACE Rev. 2 headings to categories of aggregate classification is effected in compliance with Commission Regulation No 656/2007 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197.

The Industrial Turnover Index covers all activities listed in Sections B and C (Mining-Quarrying, Manufacturing) of NACE Rev. 2 classification.

The Industrial Turnover Index is an indicator of an enterprise’s business cycle showing the monthly evolution of the market of goods and services in industry. The aim of this index is to measure the activity of the industrial sector in terms of value. Turnover comprises the totals invoiced (without VAT) by the enterprise during the reference period, and which corresponds to the market sales of goods or services supplied to third parties. The index includes: sales of manufactured products, products manufactured by subcontractors (only for selected codes), goods purchased for resale in the same condition as received, sales of by-products, sales of waste and scrap materials, as well as invoiced charges for packaging, transport, mounting, installations and repairs and invoiced instalments (stage payments). Values include all charges and taxes on products (excluding VAT charged to customers) and other deductible taxes, as well as other expenses (transport, packaging, etc) borne by the customers. Any subsidies and other expenses are not included.   

The aim and the characteristics of the Turnover Index in Industry also apply to the corresponding turnover sub-indices compiled for the domestic and the non-domestic turnover, as well as for the Eurozone and non-Eurozone countries. Similarly, the same characteristics apply for the Turnover Indices compiled for the main industrial groupings (capital goods, intermediate goods, durable consumer goods, non-durable consumer goods and energy).

The sampling unit used is the KAU (Kind of Activity Unit) which in the majority of cases indentifies with the entrerprise.

The statistical population comprises 62,550 units operating in Sections B and C (Mining-Quarrying, Manufacturing) of NACE Rev. 2 classification.

The survey covers the whole national territory. Data collection takes place in Attiki and in 45 Prefectures (NUTS 3) of Greece.

In general, the Turnover Index in Industry refers to activities that are carried out in Greece. Nevertheless, there are cases where income from the sale of output produced outside the country can be reported in a company’s financial accounts as income from sales of goods or goods purchased for resale or goods manufactured by subcontractors. The exact magnitude of outsourcing is not available, but there is close collaboration with such enterprises so as to accurately define location related to the production process and make all necessary adjustments of these cases.

The time series of the Turnover Index in Industry with base year 2015=100.0 is released on a monthly basis from January 2000 onwards.

From 19 August 2019 onwards, with the announcement of the Press Release for June 2019, the base year is the year 2015 (2015=100.0).

Index. Monthly and annual changes (percentage %).

The reference period is the month.

The legal framework concerning the organization and operation of ELSTAT is as follows:

• Law 3832/2010 (Government Gazette No 38, Issue Α): "Hellenic Statistical System Establishment of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) as an Independent Authority", as amended and in force.
• Regulation on the Operation and Administration of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), 2012, (Government Gazette No 2390, Issue B, 28-8-2012)
• Regulation on the Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (Government Gazette 4083 Β, 20.12.2016)
• Greek Commitment on Confidence in Statistics (Government Gazette 40 A, 29.02.2012)
• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/759
• European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) - revised edition 2017
• REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)
• Presidential Decree 73/2019 (Government Gazette No 114, Issue Α,04.07.2019): “Organization of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)” (Available only in Greek)
• Law 4624/2019 (Government Gazette Α΄137 / 29.08.2019) “ Hellenic Data Protection Authority, measures implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 for the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and transposition (into national law) Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 and other provisions " (Available only in Greek)

The Legal Framework is detailed in the following link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/legal-framework

EU legislation:

The legal basis for the STS indices and for Industrial Turnover Index, in particular, is Council Regulation No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 concerning short-term statistics (STS-R) amended by the Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 concerning short-term statistics and by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Rev.2. The compilation of the Industrial Turnover Index is also based on the framework of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 2152/2019 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Business Statistics, as well as Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 2152/2019.

The definitions of short-term statistics variables are laid down in Commission Regulation No 1503/2006 of September 2006 implementing and amending Council Regulation No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 concerning short-term statistics  and in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements.

The Industrial Turnover Index is transmitted to Eurostat according to the Council Regulation No 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics as amended by the Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005.

The issues concerning the observance of statistical confidentiality by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) are arranged by articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Law 3832/2010 as in force, by Articles 8, 10 and 11(2) of the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System and by Articles 10 and 15 of the Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT.

More precisely:

ELSTAT disseminates the statistics in compliance with the statistical principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and in particular with the principle of statistical confidentiality.

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistical-confidentiality?inheritRedirect=true

ELSTAT protects and does not disseminate data it has obtained or it has access to, which enable the direct or indirect identification of the statistical units that have provided them by the disclosure of individual information directly received for statistical purposes or indirectly supplied from administrative or other sources. ELSTAT takes all appropriate preventive measures so as to render impossible the identification of individual statistical units by technical or other means that might reasonably be used by a third party. Statistical data that could potentially enable the identification of the statistical unit are disseminated by ELSTAT if and only if:

• a) these data have been treated, as it is specifically set out in the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS), in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality or
• b) the statistical unit has given its consent, without any reservations, for the disclosure of data.

The confidential data that are transmitted by ELSS agencies to ELSTAT are used exclusively for statistical purposes and the only persons who have the right to have access to these data are the personnel engaged in this task and appointed by an act of the President of ELSTAT.

ELSTAT may grant researchers conducting statistical analyses for scientific purposes access to data that enable the indirect identification of the statistical units concerned. The access is granted provided the following conditions are satisfied:

• a) an appropriate request together with a detailed research proposal in conformity with current scientific standards have been submitted;
• b) the research proposal indicates in sufficient detail the set of data to be accessed, the methods of analyzing them, and the time needed for the research;
• c) a contract specifying the conditions for access, the obligations of the researchers, the measures for respecting the confidentiality of statistical data and the sanctions in case of breach of these obligations has been signed by the individual researcher, by his/her institution, or by the organization commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.

Issues referring to the observance of statistical confidentiality are examined by the Statistical Confidentiality Committee (SCC) operating in ELSTAT. The responsibilities of this Committee are to make recommendations to the President of ELSTAT on:

• the level of detail at which statistical data can be disseminated, so as the identification, either directly or indirectly, of the surveyed statistical unit is not possible;
• the anonymization criteria for the microdata provided to users;
• the granting to researchers access to confidential data for scientific purposes.

The staff of ELSTAT, under any employment status, as well as the temporary survey workers who are employed for the collection of statistical data in statistical surveys conducted by ELSTAT, who acquire access by any means to confidential data, are bound by the principle of confidentiality and must use these data exclusively for the statistical purposes of ELSTAT. After the termination of their term of office, they are not allowed to use these data for any purpose.

Violation of data confidentiality and/or statistical confidentiality by any civil servant or employee of ELSTAT constitutes the disciplinary offence of violation of duty and may be punished with the penalty of final dismissal.

ELSTAT, by its decision, may impose a penalty amounting from ten thousand (10,000) up to two hundred thousand (200,000) euros to anyone who violates the confidentiality of data and/or statistical confidentiality. The penalty is always imposed after the hearing of the defense of the person liable for the breach, depending on the gravity and the repercussions of the violation. Any relapse constitutes an aggravating factor for the assessment of the administrative sanction.

Confidentiality - if data are of truly confidential nature according to article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 (data which allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly), they have to be flagged confidential, and they will not be published by Eurostat.

At the end of September of each year ELSTAT publishes a release calendar with the precise release dates of statistics for the following year.

The calendar is distributed to the press and is available to all interested parties free of charge.

This calendar is also posted on the website of the ELSTAT (http://www.statistics.gr/en/calendar) under the title: “Release Calendar”.

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice, ELSTAT disseminates national statistics on ELSTAT’s website respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably.

In this content, data are released simultaneously to all interested parties and users through the Announcement on the Turnover Index in Industry, which is posted on the website of ELSTAT (http://www.statistics.gr/en/home/) according to the release calendar. This announcement is also available by e-mail to all interested parties. In addition, data are transmitted to Eurostat on a predefined date, concomitantly with their national publication.

Neither users nor the government have access to the data prior to their publication.

The index is disseminated on a monthly basis.

Every month, 50 days after the end of the reference month, at 12.00, an announcement is published which presents the newly calculated Turnover Indices in Industry in Greek and English. The announcement is sent, free-of-charge, and mostly by email to the press and to other interested parties. The announcement is also available on the website of ELSTAT (http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-).

In the Announcement the Turnover Index in Industry is published as following:

- working day adjusted index, with base year 2015=100.0,

- month-on-month growth rates,

- year-on-year growth rates.

The Turnover Indices in Industry are published in the publication “The Greek Economy” (http://www.statistics.gr/en/the-greek-economy)

where monthly, quarterly and annual growth rates are presented at the level of the overall index and for the main industrial groupings.

There is no on-line database for the index.

Data tables - consultations

Users’ consultation as regards the survey on Turnover Index in Industry amounts to 56,405 webpage’s hits for 2022. There is no potentiality to distinct consultations between data tables and metadata.

Micro-data are made available to users after submitting a request to the:

Statistical Information and Publications Division

46, Pireos & Eponiton Str, PO Box 80847

18510 Piraeus

Tel: +30 213 135 2022

Fax: +30 213 135 2312

e-mail: data.dissem@statistics.gr

For confidential reasons, access to micro-data is granted to users only under strict conditions and by always adhering to the relevant procedure. More information is available in the following link:

https://www.statistics.gr/en/scientific_provision_data

Users are able to have access to publications of ELSTAT of the previous years, regarding various statistical surveys, which are posted on the Digital Library of ELSTAT, through the link:

http://dlib.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/

Data are transmitted to Eurostat within 50 days and published in Eurostat’s online database.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/short-term-business-statistics/

The results of the Turnover Indices in Industry are posted at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-.

Users can be given data or further analysis, usually by fax or e-mail after submitting a request, describing the requested data, at the following link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistical-data-request.

Users can also contact the Statistical Information Dissemination Section, at the following e-mail addresses:

data.dissem@statistics.gr and data.supply@statistics.gr.

10.5.1 Metadata – consultations

See 10.3.1 above.

The methodology for the compilation of the index is laid down by ELSTAT, taking into account international practices and in particular Eurostat’s recommendations, guidelines and standards.

The Methodology of Short-term Business Statistics, Interpretation and guidelines, 2006, contains a comprehensive set of recommendations on the compilation of the STS statistics. It is available at the link:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/short-term-business-statistics/methodology.

A special methodological paper on the compilation of the Turnover Index in Industry in Greece is available on the website of ELSTAT (http://www.statistics.gr/en/home/) containing detailed information on the sources and the methodology used through the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-.

Metadata completeness – rate

Metadata on the compilation of the Turnover Index in Industry are available on the webpage of ELSTAT (http://www.statistics.gr/en/home/), therefore metadata completeness is 100%.

A Single Metadata Structure (SIMS) report is available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-

The Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) aims to ensure and further improve the quality of statistics produced and maintain the confidence of users in them. This is achieved through the Quality Policy of ELSTAT which is posted on the website of ELSTAT and is available at the following link:

 http://www.statistics.gr/en/policies.

 Quality controls and validation of data are carried out during the whole process of the compilation of the index: from the data collection stage to the final compilation of the index.

 First of all, well-trained and experienced staff is utilized for all the stages of the compilation of the indices, that is, for data collection including communication with the enterprises, initial checks, data entry and final checks, which are conducted after the calculation of the index. This way, the personnel have a comprehensive and longitudinal image of the enterprises under their responsibility.

 Data are validated either before or after data entry by means of logical checks. During data processing the data are checked in order to identify and correct any errors. When an error is identified, data are further investigated, in cooperation with the enterprises in order to confirm that it is an error or it is just an unusual price. At the same time, data are checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency of the correlating variables.

 The indices are calculated by means of specialised software, through automatic computation procedures (“routines”), thus eliminating any errors to the final results. Nevertheless, even during this stage, consistency checks are carried out to the final results, mainly by means of comparing the percentage changes of the sub-indices and their impact on the overall index.

 Finally, the utilization of the new web based application for the on-line collection of questionnaires of the index, which has been implemented during the last years, has resulted in the enhancement of the quality of the index by offering the possibility both to the surveyed enterprises and to the personnel to monitor longitudinally, for all the period for which the enterprises participate in the sample, the data that are reported every month and to conduct further logical checks though comparisons.

The Turnover Index in Industry is considered to be a considerably reliable index. It is an index that is based on European regulations and its concepts and methodology have been developed according to international standards and guidelines. The index is considered to be sufficiently accurate for the purposes for its compilation.

The Turnover Index in Industry meets national needs and the needs of European users. Generally, the index provides statistical information necessary to improve the competitiveness and performance of the business community.

The main national users of the index are the government, other public agencies, the Central Bank of Greece, other Hellenic banks, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), the Centre for Planning and Economic Research, etc., while at the international level, it is used by Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN) etc.

The compiled index covers the wide range of users’ needs: at national and international level, the index is used in order to offer information on the evolution of the sales of industrial products and services. This index is also suitable to indicate whether the sales take place in the domestic or in the non-domestic market. So, the index is a very useful tool in identifying which sectors are characterised by a more dynamic evolution and which sectors need to be supported for increasing exports and in facilitating decision-making for undertaking of initiatives by enterprises or other agencies towards these directions.

At European and international level, in particular, the index offers fully comparable statistics, in order to form a common monetary policy.

The Section of Manufacture-Construction Indices and Industrial Products monitors user needs on a regular basis, in order to satisfy them. Generally, there is a smooth cooperation, through prompt response to users’ requests. Users’ comments are positive.

Moreover, ELSTAT conducts a user satisfaction survey every six months. Comments on media are also positive. More information about the results of the survey is available at the following link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/user-satisfaction-survey.

Furthermore, ELSTAT organises a Users Conference, on an annual basis, in which representatives of private and public sector, educational and research institutions participate. The conferences provide a significant opportunity for ELSTAT to collect comments and suggestions from users relative to the dissemination and the accessibility of the statistical data and the gaps in the production of statistics. The users conferences help significantly ELSTAT to draw useful conclusions on the areas where the statistical products and services can be improved in order to meet the increasing users needs. These conclusions are incorporated in the annual and medium term statistical programs of ELSTAT. The most recent Users Conference was held in 20 December 2022. More information on the conference is available at the link:

https://www.statistics.gr/en/user-conference-2022

The compilation of Turnover Index in Industry and the data provided are in line with the relevant regulations and guidelines.

The index is characterised by high accuracy. Nevertheless, sampling errors are not calculated because the sampling method used is not the random sampling but the purposive sampling. As regards non-sampling errors, these are mostly due to erroneous counting and to the non-response of some enterprises. The efforts are mostly focused in identifying and correcting as many errors as possible during the revision of data.

ELSTAT does not calculate sampling errors for the index due to the purposive sampling technique, which is applied.

Non-sampling errors involve coverage errors, measurements errors, non-response errors, processing errors and model errors.

a.    Unit non – response

These errors exist when data are not collected for all population units designated for data collection. Regardless the fact that the survey is compulsory, some enterprises refuse to provide data. It should be noted that the missing values usually refer to smaller enterprises, for which the response burden is normally higher.

In order to increase the rate of response, there is direct communication with the surveyed enterprise by telephone or by sending a reminder by fax or email in an effort to convince them to give the necessary data, even in the form of estimations. The competent staff may even visit the enterprise in order to achieve cooperation.

Non-response of enterprises is treated by means of estimations on the basis of data of previous years, taking into consideration the evolution of the enterprise or the specific sector.

b. Item nonresponse

Item nonresponse is not relevant, as for the survey of the index only one variable (e.g. turnover) is collected.

 Coverage error

No coverage errors are observed in the Business Register of ELSTAT, on the basis of which the survey on the compilation of the Turnover Index in Industry was designed.

 Overcoverage – rate

No overcoverage errors are observed (e.g., closed enterprises or enterprises out of the scope of the survey) in the Business Register of ELSTAT on the basis of which the survey on the compilation of the Turnover Index in Industry was designed.

 Common units – proportion

Not applicable.

Measurement error

Any measurement errors during the process of data collection are detected by means of quality checks and are duly corrected.

Processing error

All tasks engaged to the processing procedure are performed by using a special software application, in order to minimize processing errors. Errors which may observed, through exhaustive logical tests and by tracing changes, are easily detected and corrected.

Model assumption error       

No model is used for the compilation of the Index, so this type of error is not relevant.

The index is being announced 50 days after the end of the reference month.

Turnover Index in Industry is being announced according to the pre-announced release calendar.

The STS Regulations and the STS methodological guidelines are applied for the compilation of the index, thus ensuring a good comparability between the Greek Turnover Index in Industry and the other national and European indices, taking always into account any special conditions prevailing in each country, which may dictate minor methodological deviations.

Assymetry for mirror flows statistics – coefficient

There are no mirror flows statistics among EU Member States in the Turnover Index in Industry.

The available full time series of the revised Turnover Index in Industry (2015=100.0) consists of the backcasted indices for the period 2000-2014 and of the re-calculated indices using the new weighting scheme from the year 2015 and onwards. Therefore, the time series of the Turnover Index in Industry (base year 2015=100.0) is available from January 2000. The time series from 2000 onwards is considered fully comparable over time.

Regular crosschecks are carried out on the basis of information from the other surveys.

The results of the Index are compared with results from the Annual Industrial Survey, once the annual results are made available. In addition, crosschecks are carried out with other data such as data on production in industry or exports. Any differences are checked and duly justified.

 Coherence – sub annual and annual statistics

Any small differences observed in the growth rates between the Turnover Index in Industry and the turnover of SBS are mostly due to the fact that for the compilation of the Index a common sample of enterprises is used for every month, which is updated when the Index is revised with a new base year, while in the SBS surveys the sample of enterprises is updated on a yearly basis, except for very big enterprise. The common sample of enterprises used in the Turnover Index in Industry ensures accurate presentation of the evolution of the Index over several time periods.

 Coherence – National Accounts

The Index is used for the computation of GDP data. Therefore, the growth rate of the Index is coherent with the corresponding growth rate of GDP.

Turnover Index in Industry is internally coherent. The Total Index derives from individual sub-indices in accordance with well-defined procedures.

According to the results of the Cost Assessment Survey covering the production of statistics in the ESS for the year 2020 launch by Eurostat and carried out by ELSTAT, it can be concluded that, regarding the personnel of ELSTAT engaged in the compilation of the index, the annual cost in hours worked amount to 6,334. According to the results of the Assessment of the Response Burden of the Surveyed Statistical Units which was carried out by ELSTAT for the year 2019, the annual average burden in hours worked is 2.9 hours per enterprise or totally 3,607 hours for all enterprises.

During the last years, there has been a substantial reduction in the response burden, as the following actions have been undertaken by ELSTAT:

-       Further promotion of the on-line system for data collection which has been developed and implemented. The on-line system offers the surveyed enterprises the possibility to provide the requested information in an easy and fast way.

Initiation of the exploitation of data from administrative sources (VAT declarations), especially for small and medium size enterprises, instead of data collection.

The general revision policy adopted for ELSTAT, which is also applied to the Turnover Index in Industry is available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/policies.

In accordance with the Revision Policy of ELSTAT and the ESS guidelines, the revisions are classified as planned revisions, which refer to routine revisions and major revisions, and non-scheduled revisions.

Routine revisions

The Turnover Index in Industry is published 50 days after the end of each reference month. Data for the reference month are provisional when first released and are published together with the revised data of the previous month. The index is revised and considered to be final after the yearly correction, which is normally undertaken within the first semester of the year (usually in June) following the reference year. These monthly revisions are related to the regular data production process and they are caused by the delayed reporting of some enterprises (estimated values for missing responses are replaced by reported figures). For some cases, the quarterly or annual completion of business accounts may introduce revisions, but this is not a regular process.

The routine revisions of the index are included in the list of scheduled revisions of ELSTAT, which is available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/scheduledrevisions.

Major revisions

In accordance with the requirements of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics, short-term indices are revised every five (5) years, particularly in calendar years ending in 0 or 5. In this framework, the index in fully revised every five years, with the change of the base year and the implementation of new weighting scheme. During these revisions, confrontation with the results of the Annual Industrial Survey and the PRODCOM survey and with the data from Industrial Production Index normally takes place. Major revisions are pre-announced to the public through a special methodological paper, named “Methodological note on the revision of Turnover Index in Industry”, containing detailed information about the revision. This note is available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-.

In addition, a relevant text on the planned revision of the index is included in the Annual Statistical Work Programs of ELSTAT.

Moreover, major revisions are accompanied at the time of the publication with updated back data.

Non-scheduled revisions

Non-scheduled revisions may occur as a result of unforeseeable events such as errors. They are not announced in advance by definition. The users are promptly informed on significant errors identified in published statistics. The revised results are released without any delay in an open and transparent manner. The reasons for carrying out the non-scheduled revisions are also published. Non-scheduled revisions are accompanied by relevant documentation, as well as by updated back data if available.

Benchmarking with other statistics is not carried out regularly.

The same revision policy is applied to data released nationally and to those transmitted to Eurostat, in order to assure coherence.

In accordance with the requirements of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics, short-term indices are revised every five (5) years, particularly in calendar years ending in 0 or 5. In this framework, the index in fully revised every five years, with the change of the base year and the implementation of new weighting scheme. The latest revision of the index, with base year 2015=100.0, was completed in 2019 and the previous with 2010=100.0 in 2014.

Major revisions are pre-announced to the public through a special methodological paper, named “Methodological note on the revision of Turnover Index in Industry”, containing detailed information about the revision. This note is available at the link:

http://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/DKT24/-.

In addition, a relevant text on the planned revision of the index is included in the Annual Statistical Work Programs of ELSTAT.

Moreover, major revisions are accompanied at the time of the publication with updated back data. During the last revision (2015=100.0), there was a recalculation of the indices using the new weighting scheme from the year 2015 and onwards, along with back-casting of the indices for the period 2000-2014, thus resulting in the time series of the index from January 2000 onwards, with base year 2015=100.0, being fully comparable over time.

Benchmarking is not carried out regularly. For some units, it may be possible to benchmark monthly data with yearly data, but only when there is a reason for closer examination of problematic data.  

As far as routine revisions are concerned, the common practice for Turnover Index in Industry is that the data released for the reference month are provisional and are published together with the revised data of the previous month. The index is revised and considered to be final after the yearly correction, which is normally undertaken during the first semester of the year (usually in June) following the reference year. This monthly correction is on account of the delayed reporting of some enterprises.

ELSTAT uses a statistical survey in order to calculate the Turnover Index in Industry. The sampling frame is based on the results of the Annual Industrial Survey and the Annual Mining-Quarring Survey for the year 2015, all carried out by ELSTAT.

The sampling unit used is the KAU (Kind of Activity Unit), which in the majority of cases identifies with the enterprise, according to Regulation 1165/1998 on Short-Term Statistics (Rule 12). The size of sample of enterprises surveyed for the revised Turnover Indices in Industry comprises 3,560 enterprises out of a total population of 62,550 enterprises according to the results of the Annual Industrial Survey and the Annual Mining-Quarrying Survey for the year 2015.

Enterprises are selected by applying the purposive sampling, stratified by 4-digit NACE Rev.2 codes. The number of the selected four-digit codes for the compilation of revised turnover indices amount to 151. Initially, the four-digit codes were selected so that the sum of their value is higher than 70% of the total value at two-digit level of economic activity, according to the aforementioned surveys conducted for 2015. As regards turnover, the surveyed units of the sample cover 90% of the total turnover.

Data are collected on a monthly basis.

Data are collected through a specially designed questionnaire, which is appropriately adjusted for every enterprise. This questionnaire is designed with the objective to collect data for turnover for the reference month. In the questionnaire there is a distinction between domestic and non-domestic markets.

The questionnaire also includes information on the purpose of the survey, the definitions, and also guidelines for the completion of the required data.

The questionnaires are sent by post and they are collected by means of the following ways:

-via the new web-based application for data collection of the surveys for the compilation of short-term indices in industry and construction (https://circa.statistics.gr/pls/htmldb/f?p=301) (available only in EL)

-via post 

-via e-mail.

In case of non-response, the surveyed enterprise is contacted by telephone, or is sent a reminder by e-mail, or even the competent staff may pay a visit to the enterprise.

At national level, data processing involves checking the data derived from respondents with the aim of identifying (and eventually correcting) errors. Not all errors can be identified and the aim is to detect the errors that have a significant impact on the results. Rules to assist in identifying errors may flag possible errors that require further investigation in order to determine whether it is actually an error or just an unusual value. Data processing also involves checks for completeness, checks to confirm that values are within given ranges and that values for related variables are coherent. Data processing may take place during or after data entry.

Responses can be compared with the responses of previous months. Inconsistencies or big deviations (outside of a pre-established range) indicate that further checks are required and may result in further processing. In the context of timeliness, the data processing may be designed to give top priority to those outliers that are most in need to be edited, thus ensuring reliability of aggregates. By solving the worst cases, large improvements can be achieved.

Eurostat also carries out validation checks on the national aggregated indices it receives. This may result in contacting the reporting country. In the context of timeliness, the validation process may be designed to give top priority to those outliers that are most in need of verification, thus ensuring reliability of European aggregates.

The compilation of the index is presented in the file attached.

The adjustment of the index is presented in the file attached.

None