Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)

Business Statistics Division / Registers and Big Enterprises Section

46 Pireos St. & Eponiton St. 185 10, Piraeus

The compilation of the statistical data is made in accordance with the new European Regulation on Business Statistics, which entered into force on the 1st of January 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th November 2019) and is among the key changes introduced by this Regulation for new and high-frequency official business statistics at European level.   The statistical data refer to Quarterly Business Demography (QBD) and more specifically to the registrations and bankruptcies of enterprises, by selected NACE sections, which are defined as follows:

Registrations: The number of entered legal units in the registration register at any time during the reference quarter, according to the respective administrative or legal procedure.

Bankruptcies: The number of legal units that have started the procedure of being declared bankrupt, by issuing a court declaration, at any time during the reference quarter (which is often provisional and does not always mean
cessation of an activity).

The data are published on a quarterly basis.

As regards the economic activities, the European Statistical Classification of economics activities NACE Rev. 2 is used.

As regards the geografical representation, the European Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics, NUTS, is used.

The business demographic events (registrations and bankruptcies) cover market activities of NACE Sections B: Mining and Quarrying to N: Administrative and Support Service Activities and P: Education to R: Arts, Entertainment and Recreation and divisions S95: Repair of computers and personal and household goods and S96: Other personal service activities. 

Moreover, data are available for specific aggregates of NACE sections as follows:

Aggregates of NACE Sections:

• B+C+D+E (mining and quarrying + manufacturing + electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply + water supply, sewerage and waste management)
• K+L+M+N (financial and insurance activities + real estate + professional, scientific and technical activities + administrative and support service activities)
• P+Q+R+S95+S96 (education + human health and social work activities + repair of computers and personal and household goods + other personal service activities)

NACE Sections:

• F: Construction
• G: Wholesale and retail trade
• H: Transportation
• I: Accommodation and food service activities and
• J: Information and communication

Special aggregate: 

Industry, construction and services (except public administration, defence, compulsory social security, activities of membership organisations, activities of households as employers and extra-territorial organisations and bodies) (NACE B+C+D+E+F+G+H+I+J+K+L+M+N+P+Q+R+95+96)

Business demography statistics constitute, at European and international level, one of the most rapidly developing statistical domains and attract the interest of policy makers, institutional users and society, in general, as they are widely relevant through the information they provide.

In particular, the monitoring of registrations and bankruptcies on a quarterly basis provides up-to-date information on the evolution of business activity and subsequently of the economic climate.

The compilation of the statistical data is made in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th November 2019, on European business statistics and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30th July 2020, laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152.

The definitions of the concepts registrations and bankruptcies of enterprises are as follows:

Registrations: The number of entered legal units in the registration register at any time during the reference quarter, according to the respective administrative or legal procedure.

Bankruptcies: The number of legal units that have started the procedure of being declared bankrupt, by issuing a court declaration, at any time during the reference quarter (which is often provisional and does not always mean cessation of an activity).

The data on registrations and bankruptcies are observed and reported at the level of the legal unit (distinct Tax Identification Numbers - TINs).

The statistical population refers to all the enterprises classified in the following NACE Rev.2 Sections: B to N, and P to R and divisions S95 and S96. 

The data are compiled on the basis of administrative registers of enterprises, including information of the economic activity, date of registration and starting date of bankruptcy at the level of legal unit (Tax Identificatoin Number - TIN).

Business demographic events (registrations and bankruptcies) cover Greece as a total.

Quarterly data on new registrations and bankruptcies are available from the 1^st quarter of 2020.

Not applicable.

Data are expressed in absolute values.

The reference period, both for registrations and bankruptcies, is the quarter.

Legal acts and other agreements - EU level

• Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics;
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics.

Legal acts and other agreements - national level

Legal framework concerning the organization and operation of ELSTAT (https://www.statistics.gr/en/legal-framework)

The data on Business Demographic Events (Registrations and Bankruptcies) are transmitted to Eurostat, according to the following regulations: 

• Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics
• Commission Implementing Regulaton (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics.

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

Protection of personal data

ELSTAT abides by the commitments and obligations arising from the applicable EU and national legislation on the protection of the individual from the processing of personal data and the relevant decisions, guidelines and regulatory acts of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.

Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.

The personal data collected by ELSTAT are used exclusively for purposes related to the conduct of surveys and the production of relevant statistics. Only ELSTAT has access to the data. The controller is the person appointed by law pursuant to the relevant provisions concerning the Legal Entities of Public Law and the Independent Authorities. The data are stored in the databases of ELSTAT for as long as required by the relevant legislation.

Legal basis of the processing: Article 6, para 1(c) and 1(d) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

https://www.statistics.gr/el/privacy-info

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.

Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.

Each year ELSTAT publishes a release calendar with the precise release dates of all Announcements 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 available on ELSTAT’s website (www.statistics.gr) under the item “Press Releases Calendar”.

The data are made available to all users simultaneously, by posting relevant tables on the website of ELSTAT.

Equal access of users to data is governed by the European Statistics Code of Practice of Eurostat, by respecting scientific independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably.

Data both for registrations and bankruptcies are transmitted to Eurostat on a quarterly basis. More specifically, the data are transmitted within 40 days after the end of the reference quarter (T+40D). 

The data on registrations and banrkruptcies are disseminated to national users on a quarterly basis, via a relevant press release and analytical tables.

An Announcement is published on a quarterly basis on ELSTAT's website since the 1st quarter of 2021. 

More specifically, every quarter, approximately 55-60 days after the end of the reference quarter, at 12.00, an Announcement is published which presents data on demographic events 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 (https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SBR05/-).

More specifically, in the Announcement are presented:

• Quarterly data on registrations, by section of economic activity of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 2), for the current quarter and comparative data with the previous quarter and the quarter of the previous year. 
• Quarterly data on registrations, by section of economic activity of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 2) and by Large Geographical Area (NUTS 1) / category of Legal Form of enterprise.
• Graphical representation of registrations per week.  
• Quarterly data on bankruptcies.

There are no publications concerning the Demographic Events (New Registrations and Bankruptcies).

There is no on-line database for the demographic events.

Microdata are made available to users after submitting a request to:

Statistical Information and Publications Division
46, Peiraios and Eponiton Str.,
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.

QBD data (absolute values) are transmitted to Eurostat within 40 days after the reference period. Transmission is done by eDAMIS using the SDMX format. 

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

Users can also contact the Data Dissemination Section, at the following e-mail address:

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

The compilation of the business demographic events is made in accordance with the new European Regulation on Business Statistics, which entered into force on the 1st of January 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th November 2019), Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30^th July 2020, laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152  and the European Statistics Code of Practice.

A Single Metadata Structure (SIMS) report is available at the following link: https://www.statistics.gr/en/statistics/-/publication/SBR05/-

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. To this end, the production of the statistics is based on the principles of the Code of Practice. 

The compilation of the statistical data is made in accordance with the new European Regulation on Business Statistics, which entered into force on the 1^st of January 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27^th November 2019) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30^th July 2020, laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152. 

Finally, quality controls and validation of data are carried out during the whole process of the compilation of the statistics on demographic events. More specifically, the data are checked for completeness and relevance to similar data from previous years or previous quarters.

ELSTAT follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF).

There is great interest on demographic events statistics, as the monitoring of registrations and bankruptcies on a quarterly basis provides up-to-date information on the evolution of business activity and subsequently of the economic climate. 

• At European level, there is the need for fully comparable statistics in order to draw the European economic policy.
• Among the main national users are: the government, public institutions, the Bank of Greece, other banks, universities, enterprises, etc.

ELSTAT conducts a user satisfaction survey. The User Satisfaction Survey is conducted by ELSTAT on a daily basis, through a questionnaire that should be filled in by users each time they request and are provided with data by ELSTAT. The Statistical Data Dissemination Section and the Library of ELSTAT, drawing information from the User Satisfaction Survey compile an annual report presenting data on the number of users, the responsiveness level to users’ requests, the kind of the requested data, as well as the dissemination mode of the statistical information. More information about the results of the survey is available at the following link: http://www.statistics.gr/en/user-satisfaction-survey

The compilation of the Demographic Events statistics and the data provided are fully in line with the relevant EU Regulations.

Overall accuracy of the survey data is of good quality. The concepts and definitions of variables, as well as the survey methodology are in line with European standards and Regulations.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

QBD data are prepared and transmitted to Eurostat within 40 days after the reference period.

The Demographic Events statistics are published approximately 55-60 days after the end of the reference quarter.

QBD data are delivered to Eurostat on time.

The Demographic Events statistics are released as scheduled, in accordance with the Release Calendar of ELSTAT.

The statistics on Business Demographic events are compiled according to Eurostat's common guidelines and are therefore comparable to similar statistics from other EU-countries.

The statistical data is fully comparable over the covered period since 1st quarter 2020.

In addition to the Business Demographic events, the annual Business Demography statistics are also compiled. 

The information provided from the two statistical domains are not fully comparable due to the different definitions used. More specifically, in the case of Business Demographic events the new registrations, which is the number of entered legal units in the registration register at any time during the reference quarter, according to the respective administrative or legal procedure are recorded, while Annual Business Demography presents data on the Births of Enterpirises, which include the enterprises (for example a company) that start from scratch and begin operations, amounting to the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Enterprises created solely as a result of e.g. restructuring, merger or break-up are not considered as enterprise births.

Moreover, in the case of Business Demographic events only Bankruptcies are recorded as opposed to Annual Business Demography, where data refer on the Deaths of enterprises.

Full internal coherence is achieved in the specific statistical product.

These statistics are based on administrative data. Therefore, there is no direct response burden, in relation to the compilation of these statistics.

The general revision policy adopted for ELSTAT, which is also applied to the Business Demographic Events, is available at the following link:

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

The same revision policy is applied nationally and in the transmission of data to Eurostat.

Since the first publication of the Business Demographic Events statistics (1st quarter 2021), no major revision has taken place.

These statistical data have been compiled on the basis of the linking and processing of primary data from the following sources:

1. Administrative register of enterprises. 
2. The Statistical Business Register of ELSTAT

In particular, the following primary data have been used per source:

1. Economic activity class for the new registrations, date of registraton and date of bankruptcy from the Administrative register of enterprises. 
2. Economic activity class for the bankruptices from the Statistical Business Register of ELSTAT.

The Administrative register of enterprises is available on a quarterly basis.

Not applicable.

The validation process of the Business Demographic events statistics includes the following validation rules:

1. Checking the structure of the administrative register of enterprises and the format of the data. The file is also checked for duplicates. 
2. Consistency checks between the data of the current quarter and the respective data of the previous year or the previous quarter.

Initially, the administrative register of enterprises is linked, through the application of the MicroData Linking method – MDL with the Statistical Business Register, in order to draw information on the economic activity class of the bankruptcies. 

For the newly established enterprises, the economic activity (KAD) available in the administrative register of enterprises is used. It is noted that an automatic transition from KAD to codes of NACE Rev. 2 classification is applied on the basis of valid correspondence rules. 

The final data are compiled by aggregating data on the basis of the dates of registrations and bankruptcies (so that they refer to the current quarter) and the economic activity class.

Not applicable.

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