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.
Unit in "Business Demography and entrepreneurship". Statistical production Department (DIAE) Central Directorate of Business Statistics (DCSE)
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
ISTAT Via Tuscolana n°1871 00100 ROMA ITALY
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
5 June 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
13 June 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
12 June 2025
3.1. Data description
Quarterly Business Demography (QBD) REGISTRATION
The observation unit is legal unit, in particular all tax numbers that are registred on Italian Provincial Chamber Registers. The number of quarterly registrations is the count of administrative entries in Chamber Register, that is the number of registration operations in the observed period. At present the enterprises in our BR aren't traced with the help of its identity number on a quarterly basis.
Quarterly Business Demography (QBD) BANKRUPTCY
The observation unit is the legal unit: all tax numbers that open a bankrumptcy procedures in Chamber Registers relating on its legal head office. In particular the bankruptcies are the number of the enterprise having a bankruptcy proceeding and have not been rescinded it, or having in place any of the following:
failure
compulsory administrative liquidation
arrangement
bankruptcy agreement.
3.2. Classification system
NACE REV.2
3.3. Coverage - sector
B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,P,Q,R,S95,S96
B,C,D,E,
F41,F42,F43,
G45,G46,G47,
H49,H50,H51,H52,H53,
I55,I56,
J58,J59,J60,J61,J62,J63,
K,L,M,N,
P,Q,R,S95,S96,
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Number of registrations - total number of registrations at any time during a given quarter q, which leads to the entry of a legal unit in the registration authority register. The data are not based on the enterprise demography characteristics 'date of commencement of activities' but on the characteristic 'date of registration in the Chamber Register' that not necessarily is egual to 'date of commencement of activities'.
Numbers of bankruptcies - total number of legal units that have started the procedure of being declared bankrupt, by issuing a legal declaration of a court, at any time during a given quarter q (which is often provisional and does not always mean the cessation of an activity). The data are based on the enterprise administrative transcript 'date of registration of bankruptcy proceedings', but not on 'date of cessations of enterprises', neither on 'cessations caused by a bankruptcy '.
3.5. Statistical unit
Legal Unit
3.6. Statistical population
All active legal units
3.7. Reference area
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation, the variables refer to units that are registered on the territory of the Republic of Italy
3.8. Coverage - Time
The length of the available time series for registration is from Q1-2010 onwards, while for bankruptcy is from Q1-2011 onwards
3.9. Base period
At the moment, as data are reported to Eurostat in absolute values, this Concept is not applicable.
The unit of measure is "pure number" of registrations and declarations of bankruptcies
Registrations and declarations of bankruptcies refer to one quarter
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
EBS Regulation N° 2019/2152, Table 1 of the Commission implementing regulation N° 2020/1197.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Data (pure numbers) are sent to Eurostat
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Confidentiality should not be an issue for quarterly registrations and declarations of bankruptcies
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
No data treatment
8.1. Release calendar
Italy release calendars are quarterly releases
8.2. Release calendar access
No Access to the release calendar information.
8.3. Release policy - user access
The users are informed that the data are being released by Istat press release
Q for national releases and Q for transmissions to Eurostat
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
No press releases
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
No publications for year 2024-2025
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
No online database
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
No microdata access
10.5. Dissemination format - other
No other dissemination format. QBD data (absolute values) are transmitted to Eurostat within 40 days after the reference period. The transmission is done by eDAMIS using the SDMX format.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
For the moment we do not have a methodology to present.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
No documentation on procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment are available.
11.1. Quality assurance
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation
11.2. Quality management - assessment
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation.
12.3. Completeness
not applicable
13.1. Accuracy - overall
not applicable
13.2. Sampling error
As quarterly business demography indicators are "event based" statistics based on complete enumeration, sampling error is not applicable
13.3. Non-sampling error
The registration delays might be a source of errors, in particular for declarations of bankruptcies. At the moment to avoid bias, no revision in the next quarter or modelling error are applied.
14.1. Timeliness
Q+40 days
14.2. Punctuality
Q+40 days
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The registrations and declarations of bankruptcies by sole proprietors are included in the Italy data.
15.2. Comparability - over time
No changed in the definitions of registrations or declarations of bankruptcies
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The quarterly business demography is different from annual statistics on births and deaths of enterprises. They are not comparable because the first are administrative data while the last are statistical data. Moreover for the births and deaths we applied a procedure to select the real births and deaths.
15.4. Coherence - internal
For quarterly business demography variables, the aggregate is coherent with the lower level NACE activities.
As the quarterly business demography statistics are based on existing administrative sources, there is no extra burden to businesses.
17.1. Data revision - policy
not applicable
17.2. Data revision - practice
not applicable
18.1. Source data
Administrative data of Chambers of Commerce
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Quarterly
18.3. Data collection
For Registrations the method to access is direct access to a Chambers of Commerce data base, while for the bankruptcies the method is an extraction from a Chambers of Commerce data base
18.4. Data validation
At the moment no process of monitoring the results are compiled
18.5. Data compilation
The processing of absolute numbers from a Chambers of Commerce source is relatively simple, so no grossing up; no index calculationare applied for quarterly business demography.
18.6. Adjustment
Seasonal adjustment is not required for registrations and bankruptcy declarations. From 2021 adjusted data is compiled nationally, using TRAMO-SEATS procedure.
Some questions may be subject to change in the future
Quarterly Business Demography (QBD) REGISTRATION
The observation unit is legal unit, in particular all tax numbers that are registred on Italian Provincial Chamber Registers. The number of quarterly registrations is the count of administrative entries in Chamber Register, that is the number of registration operations in the observed period. At present the enterprises in our BR aren't traced with the help of its identity number on a quarterly basis.
Quarterly Business Demography (QBD) BANKRUPTCY
The observation unit is the legal unit: all tax numbers that open a bankrumptcy procedures in Chamber Registers relating on its legal head office. In particular the bankruptcies are the number of the enterprise having a bankruptcy proceeding and have not been rescinded it, or having in place any of the following:
failure
compulsory administrative liquidation
arrangement
bankruptcy agreement.
12 June 2025
Number of registrations - total number of registrations at any time during a given quarter q, which leads to the entry of a legal unit in the registration authority register. The data are not based on the enterprise demography characteristics 'date of commencement of activities' but on the characteristic 'date of registration in the Chamber Register' that not necessarily is egual to 'date of commencement of activities'.
Numbers of bankruptcies - total number of legal units that have started the procedure of being declared bankrupt, by issuing a legal declaration of a court, at any time during a given quarter q (which is often provisional and does not always mean the cessation of an activity). The data are based on the enterprise administrative transcript 'date of registration of bankruptcy proceedings', but not on 'date of cessations of enterprises', neither on 'cessations caused by a bankruptcy '.
Legal Unit
All active legal units
As for other STS ESMS metadata under the EBS Regulation, the variables refer to units that are registered on the territory of the Republic of Italy
Registrations and declarations of bankruptcies refer to one quarter
not applicable
The unit of measure is "pure number" of registrations and declarations of bankruptcies
The processing of absolute numbers from a Chambers of Commerce source is relatively simple, so no grossing up; no index calculationare applied for quarterly business demography.
Administrative data of Chambers of Commerce
Q for national releases and Q for transmissions to Eurostat
Q+40 days
The registrations and declarations of bankruptcies by sole proprietors are included in the Italy data.
No changed in the definitions of registrations or declarations of bankruptcies
