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Harmonised Business Demographics

• 1Contact
  • 1.1Contact organisation
    National Statistics Institute of Spain
    
  • 1.5Contact mail address

    Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

    
    
• 2Metadata update
  • 2.1Metadata last certified
    14/11/2024
  • 2.2Metadata last posted
    10/11/2022
  • 2.3Metadata last update
    14/11/2024
• 3Statistical presentation
  • 3.1Data description

    The overall objective of the Harmonised Business Demography is to provide aggregated information regarding the population of enterprises located in the national territory, considering aspects linked to business dynamism and applying a methodology as agreed within the scope of the European Union. This methodology provides guidelines that enable identifying populations and generating indicators regarding the stock, births, deaths and survivals of enterprises, through a harmonised statistical operation on the Business Registers (Central Business Register or CBR in our case) managed in Statistical Offices.

    The prior categorisation of the set of units entering, staying and leaving the system constitutes the basic initial subpopulations. In addition, it is necessary to consider the activity status of the units in historical versions of the CBR, in order to delimit survivals following a number of years.

    The time reference considered for the demographic information corresponds to the calendar year, a requirement that is compatible with the update period of the CBR.

    The delimitation of populations of interest is carried out by means of an ordered set of procedures varying in nature, designed in accordance with the harmonised methodology principles. Basically, the work is geared towards identifying the following aggregates:

    • Stock of enterprises
    • Enterprise births
    • Enterprise deaths
    • Surviving enterprises
  • 3.2Classification system
    • Clasificaciones utilizadas

      For each demographic category identified, the classification variables and modalities adopted for each one of them is listed below.

      
      
      

      1. LEGAL FORM. It is obtained from the first character of the tax identifier (N.I.F.) corresponding to the legal unit used as legal support in the case of simple enterprises, or to the most representative legal unit in terms of employment in the case of complex enterprises. Not applicable to surviving enterprises. The following modalities have been considered:

      
      
      

      
      
      • Sole proprietors
      
      
      • Limited Liability Companies
      
      
      • Partnerships and other legal forms
      
      

      
      
      

      2. SIZE CLASS. The following categories have been considered:

      
      
      

      
      
      • 0 employees
      
      
      • 1 to 4 employees
      
      
      • 5 to 9 employees
      
      
      • 10 and more employees
      
      

      
      
      

      3. MAIN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CODE. The level of detail corresponding to NACE Rev. 2 Divisions (2 digits).

      
      
      

      4. AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY. The national data on the stock, enterprise births and deaths have been broken down by Autonomous Communities and Cities, according to the region where the enterprises headquarters are located. Autonomous Communities and Cities are named according to the standards of our NSI.

  • 3.3Sector coverage

    This statistical operation covers all economic activities of NACE Rev. 2, except for Agriculture, forestry and fishing (Section A), Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (Section O), Activities of households as employers of domestic staff (Section T) and Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies (Section U). Similarly, activities of membership organisations (NACE Rev. 2 division 94) and non-market oriented units, have been excluded.

  • 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
    • Births of enterprises
      Set of units that, throughout the reference year, have created a combination of new production factors. There is no connection with other previously existing enterprises.
    • Company
      The company 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. A company carries out one or more activities at one or more
      locations. A company may be a sole legal unit.
    • Deaths of enterprises
      Set of units which, over the course of the reference year, have dissolved all of their production factors. They are not connected to other companies that may have begun operation.
    • Stock of enterprises
      Set of units that have been economically active during all or part of the reference year. This includes those enterprises that are economically active at the end of the period, plus those enterprises that have totally ceased their activities throughout that period.
    • Survival of enterprises
      Survival of enterprises.- Restricted to the cohort of births, this corresponds to the set of units that continue to be economically active in each of the five years following that of birth.
  • 3.5Statistical unit

    Business Demography data are obtained for the statistical unit enterprise.

    The definition of enterprise applied is according to that reflected in Council Regulation 696/93. For the aggregate of surviving enterprises it has been possible to apply that definition to the cohorts of enterprises born in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, because the cohorts of enterprises born before 2018 were built on the basis of a former definition of enterprise prevailing the legal aspects.

    According to Regulation 696/93, an enterprise is defined as 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.

  • 3.6Statistical population

    Set of enterprises located in the national territory, both employers and non-employers, with economic activities under sectoral coverage. They are enterprises that have had turnover or employment some time during the period of reference, and therefore, they appear in the statistical business register (CBR in our case).

     

  • 3.7Reference area

    The entire national territory.

    National data on stock of enterprises, enterprise births and enterprise deaths are broken down by Autonomous Communities and Cities.

  • 3.8Time coverage

    From 2008 to 2022.

     

  • 3.9Base period

    The first period with available data corresponds to the calendar year 2008.

     

• 4Unit of measure
  • 4.1Unit of measure

    Number of enterprises.

• 5Reference period
  • 5.1Reference period

    The calendar year.

    Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2022

• 6Institutional mandate
  • 6.1Legal acts and other agreements

    The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15  December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).

    
    

    In the National Statistical Plan 2021-2024, and in the Annual Programme of 2024, Harmonized Business Demography appears with number 8282.

    Currently, stadistical data on Business Demography have been included in the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, which requires of all Members States to provide information on Business Demography with annual periodicity. In the following URL that regulation is available in English:

    eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019R2152

     

     

  • 6.2Data sharing
    The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
    

    Harmonised Business Demography is compiled with information coming from the statistical business register, which is managed by the CBR Unit where the producers of this statistic are integrated.

     

• 7Confidentiality
  • 7.1Confidentiality - policy

    The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society

    
    
  • 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
    INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
    

    No datum is considered confidential in this statistical operation.

     

• 8Release policy
  • 8.1Release calendar

    The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.

    
    
  • 8.2Release calendar access

    The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)

    
    
  • 8.3User access

    The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice

    
    
• 9Frequency of dissemination
  • 9.1Frequency of dissemination

    Annual.

• 10Accessibility and clarity
  • 10.1News release

    The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web

    
    
  • 10.2Publications

    Along with the detailed data, a Press Note, a Graphic Annex, a Table Annex, a Standardised Methodological Report and a document on General Methodology are released.

  • 10.3On-line database

    INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.

    
    

    The information contained in INEbase for the Harmonised Business Demography referred to 2022, is as follows:

    Series1: Stock, births and deaths of enterprises. National and Autonomous Communities and Cities results

    1.1 Stock of enterprises by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and size class.
    1.2 Stock of enterprises by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and legal form.
    1.3 Enterprise births by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and size class.
    1.4 Enterprise births by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and legal form.
    1.5 Provisional enterprise deaths by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and size class.
    1.6 Provisional enterprise deaths by Autonomous Communities and Cities, main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and legal form.

    Series 2: Surviving enterprises. National results

    2.1 Surviving enterprises born in 2017 by main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and year.
    2.2 Surviving enterprises born in 2018 by main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and year.
    2.3 Surviving enterprises born in 2019 by main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and year.
    2.4 Surviving enterprises born in 2020 by main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and year.
    2.5 Surviving enterprises born in 2021 by main activity (NACE Rev. 2 divisions) and year.

    All the information regarding Harmonised Business Demography is available via INEbase, section Economy/Companies, and in the following link:

    INEbase / Economy /Companies /Harmonised Business Demography / Latest data

    For the year 2023, the number of data table searches was AC1=34947 and the number of metadata searches was  AC2=698.

     

  • 10.4Micro-data access
    A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
    

    Microdata dissemination is not applicable for this statistical operation.

  • 10.5Other

    Interested users may request, through the INE User Information Area, specific tailored information which is carry out after a mandatory feasibility study that guarantees confidentiality and data quality. This service may be accessed through the following link: https://www.ine.es/prodyser/informacion.

     

  • 10.6Documentation on methodology

     A Standardised Methodological Report and a document on General Methodology are available in INEbase. Both can be consulted at the following link:

    INEbase / Economy /Companies /Harmonized Business Demography / Methodology

     

     

     

     

  • 10.7Quality documentation

    Quality of these and other data on Business Demography referred to 2022, will be analysed by Eurostat regarding Regulation (EU) No. 275/2010 of the Commission of 30 March 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 295/2008 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards the criteria of data quality assesment for structural business statistics.

    This standardised methodological report contains all of the elements of what is considered a "User-oriented quality report" for this operation.

• 11Quality management
  • 11.1Quality assurance

    Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

    
    

    The quality of this statistical operation previously lays in achieving high quality standards in the statistical Business Register (CBR). The compilation process of this statistical register has established mechanisms for the detection and correction of errors. These controls are carried out from a static perspective (internal consistency of data regarding a specific reference period) as well as from a dynamic perspective (time analysis of the aggregates). The computer tools used, make it possible to detect all possible formal errors in the formal quality of the information.

    Besides, in this statistical operation specific control proceedings are applied, as those intended to detect false births and false deaths of enterprises, that refer to simple redistributions of production factors. In order to improve the quality when delimiting populations of enterprise births and deaths, all enterprises with 100 and more employees are comprehensively monitored and analysed, along with those enterprises having less employment but a turnover of more than 10 million euros. The relative weight of this population in the business frame justifies the development of special control operations in order to suitably classify movements associated with these units. Thus, standard procedures are supplemented with validation operations aimed at capturing pertinent information regarding the causes associated with the phenomena of birth and death, which normally requires querying specialised databases (Mercantile Register and others) or access to websites. Additionally, on the population of births and deaths of simple enterprises with more than 19 and less than 100 employees (and a turnover of more than 3,000,000 euros) and of complex enterprises with more than 39 and less than 100 employees (and a turnover of more than  6,000,000 euros), a random cleaning is applied based on the results of a survey that the CBR Unit set in 2001 in order to measure the proportion of false births and deaths of enterprises.

  • 11.2Quality assessment

    Harmonised Business Demography presents some strong points worth mentioning. First, it should be noted that this statistical operation involves no burden on the enterprises, since it is the result of a specific operation on the Statistical Business Register. Likewise, standard proceedings are faithfully followed. These standards are stipulated in the harmonised methodology established in order to elaborate this statistic, gathered in "Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics". The application of these harmonised proceedings is what allows to offer comparisons in an international scope with a high level of solvency.

• 12Relevance
  • 12.1User needs

    This statistic is mainly used  by analysts interested in measuring real processes of creation, survival and destruction of production factors, something that goes beyond the simple count of entries and exits of legal units in the statistical business register, and that, therefore, need a specific treatment.

    The application of a specific methodology implemented through a series of computer processes on the last update of the business register, implies that data are generated with some delay in comparison with the reference period.

     

  • 12.2User satisfaction

    The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013,  2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

    On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click  next link)

     

    
    

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  • 12.3Completeness

    This statistical operation provides all information requested by the National Statistical Plan. The level of completeness is of 100%.

    R1=100%

     

     

• 13Accuracy and reliability
  • 13.1Overall accuracy

    Global accuracy would be consequence of the strength of the management and maintenance model of the statistical business register CBR, which is the data source. In particular, control processes on the units that annually enter, stay and leave are relevant, which are obtained from detected movements in the administrative sources that provide information to the CBR. Although the analysis of movements from administrative sources provides an initial preview of units' renewal processes, the statistical work to be carried out to obtain harmonised demographic indicators demands an additional effort, adding value to  administrative information.

     

  • 13.2Sampling error

    Not applicable, as data is obtained from information recorded in the CBR.

    Research is exhaustive, thus no sampling errors can occur.

  • 13.3Non-sampling error

    As it is an operation that results from the usage of the Central Business Register (CBR), non-sampling errors may come from the sources that supply information to the CBR. As a consequence of what is stated here and in point 13.2, the direct measurement of accuracy in this case is not considered possible.

• 14Timeliness and punctuality
  • 14.1Timeliness

    Community EBS regulation requires availability of results in a term of 18 months from the end of the reference period. This target is achieved every June, but  INEbase's release needs some specific treatments, as the ones referred to regional breakdown and production of graphs, which lead dissemination to November (t+23 months).

    TP2=23 months

     

  • 14.2Punctuality

    Dissemination of results is carried out in accordance with the availability calendar of structural statistics that INE compiles and publishes each year.

    TP3=0

• 15Coherence and Comparability
  • 15.1Comparability - geographical

    Elements of territorial coverage of CBR allow to guarantee comparability of produced data in its breakdown by Autonomous Communities and Cities. Besides, Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 (EBS Regulation) is a harmonising element that allows comparability of these data within the European Union.

     

  • 15.2Comparability - over time

    Data referred to 2018, 2019 and 2020 are not fully comparable with those of previous years because of the adaption to the concept of enterprise reflected in Council Regulation No 696/1993.

    Nevertheless, since the first reference year with data available (2008) up to this last one (2022), the same classification variables have always been used (NACE Rev. 2, size class according to the number of employees and legal form) with the same categories foreseen. Likewise, it should be pointed out that for the year 2008 no breakdown by Autonomous Communities and Cities was made in data on stock, births and deaths of enterprises.

    Moreover, due to the entry into force of the Regulation EBS 2019/2152 and its Implementation Act 2020/1197, Harmonised Business Demography has adopted some methodological changes for the reference year 2021 and onwards leading to results that are not completely comparable with those of previous periods. These changes affect to the calculation of the number of economically active enterprises.

    CC2= 2 years

     

  • 15.3Coherence - cross domain

    The highest degree of coherence of these data is related to those named CBR movements disseminated in the statistical operation Statistical use of  the CBR, where legal units that enter, stay and leave, are annually counted, according to movements detected in administrative sources, which provide information. However, Business Demography analysis is not limited to just quantifying flows obtained during the processes of updating the Business Register, since although movements of administrative sources offer a first approach to units' renewal processes, the statistical work to be carried out to obtain Business Demographic indicators demands an additional effort, adding value to administrative information.

     

  • 15.4Coherence - internal

    Data are coherent regarding their breakdown by NACE Rev. 2 divisions, size class according to the number of employees, legal form and Autonomous Communities and Cities.

     

• 16Cost and burden
  • 16.1Cost and burden

    The estimation of the budgetary credit necessary to finance this statistical operation, as foreseen in 2024 Annual Programme, comes to a total of 66.22 thousand euros.

    Due to the specific characteristic of this operation, there is no response burden, as it is an operation on information recorded in the CBR.

     

• 17Data revision
  • 17.1Data revision - policy

    The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

    This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow:  routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

    
    

     

     

  • 17.2Data revision - practice

    There is no data revision, although data relative to enterprise deaths are provisional, since those deaths are considered definitive after two years from the reference period. It is necessary to exclude enterprises that reactivate in the two years following the year when they die. That control on reactivated enterprises may be performed for year t+1 but not for t+2, as that period coincides with the natural year of 2024, which has not concluded in the moment of disseminating the data in INEbase and for which the corresponding update of CBR is obviously not available. The data that appear in tables are estimated by taking enterprise deaths detected in 2022 and that have not been reactivated in 2023. On that base population, a random exclusion of a small percentage of units is performed, in accordance with the experience of previous years on reactivations in the second year. The results show irrelevant differences between final and provisional data.

• 18Statistical processing
  • 18.1Source data

    Data source of Harmonised Business Demography referred to year 2022 is the Central Business Register (CBR) updated with date of 1st January, 2023, as it is the result of flows recorded during 2022.

     

  • 18.2Frequency of data collection

    Annual.

  • 18.3Data collection

    Because it is not a survey, no data collection exists on respondent units. The statistical operation consists of a specific use of information contained in the CBR.

  • 18.4Data validation

    Procedures applied allow to approach methodological specifications in order to delimit the stock of enterprises, enterprise births, enterprise deaths and surviving enterprises, specially regarding the exclusions in each case.

    Correct delimitation of demographic categories demands the incorporation of, at least, the following procedures:

    • Detection and removal of units that enter / leave as a result of production factors redistributions (mergers, take-overs, break-ups, split-offs, ...), because they are false births and false deaths.
    • Criteria of statistical continuity (legal support, main economic activity and main location in the case of simple enterprises, and the employment factor belonging to common legal units between two consecutive periods in the case of complex enterprises).
    • Special monitoring of large enterprises.

    Errors of false enterprise births and false enterprise deaths may exist, in the sense that they are not real creations or dissolutions of production factors. In order to reduce these errors, all enterprises with 100 and more employees are monitored and analysed exhaustively, along with those enterprises having less employment but a turnover of more than 10 million euros. The relative weight of this population in the business frame justifies the development of special control operations in order to suitably classify movements associated with these units. The technics of data processing are supplemented with verification operations intended to capture relevant information on the cause associated to the events of birth and death, which normally demands to query specialised databases (Mercantile Register or others) or access to websites. Besides, a random cleaning is applied on populations of births and deaths of simple or complex enterprises that had between 20 and 99 employees and complied other criteria, based on the results of a survey that the CBR Unit implemented in 2001 in order to quantify the proportion of false births and false deaths of enterprises.

  • 18.5Data compilation

    During the verification control of all births of enterprises with 100 or more employees, or with less than 100 employees but with a turnover of more than 10 million euros, 207 cases were analysed, of which 86 (41.5%) were considered false births. In addition, a random cleaning of 485 cases (61.6%) on 787 simple or complex enterprise births with employees between 20 and 99 and that complied other requirements was made.

    Similarly, during the verification control of all deaths of enterprises with 100 or more employees, or with less than 100 employees but with a turnover of more than 10 million euros, 235 cases were analysed, of which 144 (61.3%) were considered false deaths. Also, a random cleaning of 440 cases (58.5%) on 752 simple or complex enterprise deaths with employees between 20 and 99  and that complied other criteria was made.

  • 18.6Adjustment

    Because it is an operation on information recorded in the CBR, no seasonal or calendar adjustments are made.

• 19Comment
  • 19.1Comment

    .