Statistical Use of the Central Business Directory

• 1. Contact

  • 1.1. Contact organisation

    • National Statistics Institute of Spain

  • 1.5. Contact mail address

    • Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

• 2. Metadata update

  • 2.1. Metadata last certified

    • 02/12/2025

  • 2.2. Metadata last posted

    • 11/12/2025

  • 2.3. Metadata last update

    • 02/12/2025

• 3. Statistical presentation

  • 3.1. Data description

    • The statistical use of the Central Business Register (CBR) is a statistical analysis of the economic units, considering the main variables available in the system, once the annual maintenance processes have concluded.

      It contains relevant aggregate information regarding the population of active statistical units, type of company and local units, that operate in the national territory, with reference 1 January of each year. The population magnitudes are broken down by Autonomous Communities according to legal status, main economic activity and assigned wage-earner stratum.

      Additionally, it is possible to access information on flows detected in the CBR (new enterprises, existing enterprises and closed enterprises) as a consequence of the maintenance processes. The mentioned categories are also classified according to economic sector, legal status and wage-earner stratum.

  • 3.2. Classification system
    • • CNAE-2009, grupos de B a N y de P a S
        • Grupos (tres dígitos) de las secciones B a N y P a S de la CNAE 2009 Ver en GESCLA
      • Comunidades y Ciudades Autónomas

        • 01   Andalucía 02   Aragón 03   Asturias, Principado de 04   Balears, Illes 05   Canarias 06   Cantabria 07   Castilla y León 08   Castilla - La Mancha 09   Cataluña 10   Comunitat Valenciana 11   Extremadura 12   Galicia 13   Madrid, Comunidad de 14   Murcia, Región de 15   Navarra, Comunidad Foral de 16   País Vasco 17   Rioja, La 18   Ceuta 19   Melilla

      • Condición jurídica

        • 1   Sociedades anónimas 2   Sociedades de responsabilidad limitada 3   Sociedades colectivas 4   Sociedades comanditarias 5   Comunidades de bienes 6   Sociedades cooperativas 7   Asociaciones y otros tipos 8   Organismos autónomos y otros 9   Personas físicas   .

      • Municipios
        • Relación de municipios y sus códigos acorde al estándar del INE Ver clasificación
      • Número de asalariados

        •   . AS0   Sin asalariados AS1T2   De 1 a 2 asalariados AS3T5   De 3 a 5 asalariados AS6T9   De 6 a 9 asalariados AS10T19   De 10 a 19 asalariados AS20T49   De 20 a 49 asalariados AS50T99   De 50 a 99 asalariados AS100T199   De 100 a 199 asalariados AS200T499   De 200 a 499 asalariados AS500T999   De 500 a 999 asalariados AS1000T4999   De 1000 a 4999 asalariados ASGE5000   De 5000 o más asalariados

      • Provincias

        • 02   Albacete 03   Alicante/Alacant 04   Almería 01   Araba/Álava 33   Asturias 05   Ávila 06   Badajoz 07   Balears, Illes 08   Barcelona 48   Bizkaia 09   Burgos 10   Cáceres 11   Cádiz 39   Cantabria 12   Castellón/Castelló 13   Ciudad Real 14   Córdoba 15   Coruña, A 16   Cuenca 20   Gipuzkoa 17   Girona 18   Granada 19   Guadalajara 21   Huelva 22   Huesca 23   Jaén 24   León 25   Lleida 27   Lugo 28   Madrid 29   Málaga 30   Murcia 31   Navarra 32   Ourense 34   Palencia 35   Palmas, Las 36   Pontevedra 26   Rioja, La 37   Salamanca 38   Santa Cruz de Tenerife 40   Segovia 41   Sevilla 42   Soria 43   Tarragona 44   Teruel 45   Toledo 46   Valencia/València 47   Valladolid 49   Zamora 50   Zaragoza 51   Ceuta 52   Melilla

  • 3.3. Sector coverage

    • This statistical operation covers all economic activities of CNAE 09 except agrarian and fishing production, (A), the administrative services of the Autonomous and Local Central Administration (O), the household activities as employers of domestic staff (T) and extraterritorial institutions (U)

  • 3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
    • • Economic activity

        • The economic activity carried out by a company is defined as the creation of added value by means of the production of goods and services. Each one of the statistical units (companies) studied frequently carries out various activities that should be classified in separate classes of the National Classification of Economic Activities. In general, the activities carried out by an economic unit may be of three types: main, secondary and auxiliary activities. The main activity differs from secondary activities in that it generates greater added value; whilst auxiliary activities are those that generate services that are not sold on the market and that only serve the unit on which they depend (administration departments, transport services or storage). Due to the difficulties faced by companies in calculating added value when various activities are carried out, the activity which generates the greatest volume of business is considered the main activity or, failing that, that which employs the greatest number of persons.

      • Main economic activity code

        • The companies in the CCD present the encoded main activity according to the CNAE-2009 Classification. For the purposes of use, different levels are used, depending on the number of categories considered

      • Economic activity

        • The economic activity carried out by a company is defined as the creation of added value through the production of goods and services. The main economic activity is understood to be that which generates greatest added value. Facing the difficulty of calculated the added value for those companies that perform several activities, this considers the main activity to be that which generates the greatest turnover, or failing this, that which occupies the most employees. The classification used in the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009), prepared according to the conditions set out in the Regulation passing NACE Rev.2. This classification serves to determine who is carrying out the research. In the case of research associations and companies whose main activity is the performance of R&D activities, mainly at the service of a given company or group of companies, units with CNAE 7211, 7219 or 7220; information is also requested on the main activity of those companies or groups of companies that benefit from their R&D activities, and their results will be computed within the branch of activity benefited by the research

      • Territorial code

        • The postal address of the corporate headquarters of the company contains, among the basic attributes, the statistical code of the province where it is located. This is therefore the territorial assignation criteria followed by the companies. However, for the local units, the physical implantation of the unit itself is considered, regardless of whether the corporate headquarters are located in another province.

      • Legal status

        • The legal condition of the company is obtained from the first character of the Tax Identification Number (TIN). The modalities that this content presents are the following: - Public Limited Companies - Private Limited Companies - Group companies - Limited Partnerships - Goods Communities - Co-operatives - Associations and other types - Autonomous institutions, organisations and religious intsitutions - Individuals

      • 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.

      • Tramo de asalariados

        • Medida estratificada del número de asalariados para la unidad estadísca de referencia.

      • Local economic activity unit

        • A local economic activity unit is understood to be the part of a company that performs a given activity at a specific geographical location. The local activity unit is not subject to direct observation; it is an analytical unit whose data is obtained from the information collected on a company and industrial establishment level.

  • 3.5. Statistical unit

    • Two types of units: Companies and Local Units. Already defined in the previous section

  • 3.6. Statistical population

    • Economically active companies at the end of the reference year; Companies that have been delisted during the reference year.

      Economically active local companies at the end of the reference year

  • 3.7. Reference area

    • The entire national territory. Also regional and provincial data

  • 3.8. Time coverage

    • Data regarding 1 January of the reference year

  • 3.9. Base period

    • This operation was first published in the INE official website in 1999, with reference 01-01-1999.

      The implementation of the CNAE 2009 Classification was a relevant methodological change. The first statistical aggregates generated as a consequence of this process were obtained for base year 2007 and were disseminated with reference date 01-01-2008.

• 4. Unit of measure

  • 4.1. Unit of measure

    • Number of enterprises, number of local units

• 5. Reference period

  • 5.1. Reference period

    • The reference date is the first day of each year for economically active units and the previous year as a whole for the delimitation of units that are delisted from the Register.

      Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2025

• 6. Institutional mandate

  • 6.1. Legal 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 2025-2028, approved by Royal Decree 1225/2024, of  3 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2025-2028. (Statistics of the State Administration).

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  • 6.2. Data 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.

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• 7. Confidentiality

  • 7.1. Confidentiality - 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

  • 7.2. Confidentiality - 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.

      .A first rule refers to primary confidentiality, which establishes a threshold below which a cell is considered confidential.

      To avoid easily recalculating data, an additional rule of secondary confidentiality is established, hiding at least one other cell in an aggregate that already contains a cell with primary confidentiality.

• 8. Release policy

  • 8.1. Release calendar

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

  • 8.2. Release calendar access

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

  • 8.3. User 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

• 9. Frequency of dissemination

  • 9.1. Frequency of dissemination

    • Annual

• 10. Accessibility and clarity

  • 10.1. News 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

  • 10.2. Publications

    • The presentation of results is structured as a set of tabulations divided into three series: Company data, Local unit data and CBR movement data. The following is an explanation of the list of generated tables.

      SERIES 1: COMPANY DATA 1. National level • Companies by wage-earner stratum and legal status • Companies by legal status, main economic activity (CNAE 2009 groups) and wage-earner strata.

      • Companies by main economic activity (CNAE 2009 Divisions) and age • Companies by wage-earner stratum and age

      . Companies with legal support of natural person, by wage-earner and gender

      . Companies with legal support of natural person, by economic activity (CNAE 2009 Groups), wage-earner strata and gender

      2. Autonomous Community level • Companies by Autonomous Community, main economic activity (CNAE 2009 groups) and wage-earner stratum 3. Provincial level • Companies by province and legal status • Companies by province and wage-earner stratum. NOTE: The province of the company is considered to be that in which the corporate headquarters of the company are located.

      SERIES 2: LOCAL UNIT DATA 1. National level • Premises by wage-earner stratum and legal status. • Premises by main economic activity (CNAE 2009 groups) and wage-earner stratum. 2. Autonomous Community level • Premises by Autonomous Community, main economic activity (CNAE 2009 groups) and wage-earner stratum 3. Provincial level • Premises by province and wage-earner stratum. • Premises by province and legal status. • Premises by province, main economic activity (CNAE 2009 divisions) and wage-earner stratum.

      SERIES 3: CBR MOVEMENT DATA National results • Registrations of companies by legal status, wage-earner stratum and main economic activity (CNAE 2009 divisions) • Companies remaining in business by legal status, wage-earner stratum and main economic activity (CNAE 2009/CNAE 93 divisions) • Company delistings by legal status, wage-earner stratum and main economic activity (CNAE 2009 divisions)

       

  • 10.3. On-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.

      All published information may be accessed via the section: INEbase/ Companies/ or directly in the following link: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736160707&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735576550

  • 10.4. Micro-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

  • 10.5. Other

    • Through the INE User Information Area users may request specific use of information which is granted after a feasibility study that guarantees confidentiality and data quality. This service may be accessed through the following link: https://www.ine.es/en/prodyser/informacion

  • 10.6. Documentation on methodology

    • Detailed information in:

      https://www.ine.es/en/metodologia/t37/t3730201_en.htm

  • 10.7. Quality documentation

    • Sections 10.6 to 17.2 are considered the quality report intended for users of this operation.

      Additionally and in the management scope of the Business Register for statistical use, there is a Recommendations Manual in the context of the EU and the supra-national Legislation in force. It includes a chapter on Quality policy.

• 11. Quality management

  • 11.1. Quality 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 compilation process of this statistical operation 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 a dynamic perspective (time analysis of the aggregates). The computer tools used, allow detecting all the possible formal quality errors of the information.

      Others factors regarding the management dynamics of the CBR itself, help to strengthen the quality parameters, mainly in terms of international comparability and harmonisation. Specifically, (EC) European Parliament and Council Regulation no. 177/2008 of 20 February 2008, establishes a common framework for the register of companies used for statistical purposes in all Member States.

  • 11.2. Quality assessment

    • The quality of the data generated in these statistics is directly linked to the quality of the entry sources that contribute to the maintenance of the CBR.

      Nevertheless, CBR management activities systematically incorporate quality improvement programmes, by incorporating the final data of the economic surveys, the performance of specific register surveys or the continuous microvalidation activities focused on the most important economic units

      At the end of the cycle, a quality report is prepared and sent to Eurostat with the pre-established indicators..

• 12. Relevance

  • 12.1. User needs

    • These statistics are used by a wide range of users that are restricted to the Public Administrations scope (Ministries, Autonomous Communities, Local Administration Entities, Bank of Spain,..) Companies (with particular impact on the market studies sector), individuals or other research or analysis entities ( Universities, Chamber of Commerce, Trade or Professional Associations,..). The availability of structured information on the business network operating in Spain, allows making decisions on public policies in the various areas of jurisdiction.

      In specific circumstances, a customised use service responds to more specific needs for information. This request shall have been previously assessed in terms of confidentiality and quality.

  • 12.2. User 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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  • 12.3. Completeness

    • The provided results totally comply with the conditions established by the National Statistical Plan regarding this operation. The rate of available compulsory results is 100%.

      R1=100%

• 13. Accuracy and reliability

  • 13.1. Overall accuracy

    • Overall accuracy is a consequence of the robust management and maintenance model of the CBR, which takes multiple sources which have been previously analysed and compared.

      The analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each source enables generating specific rules of decision and hierarchy when determining the activity status of each statistical unit and their main identification, location and classification variables. Additional verifications compared with other sources or specific operations for improvement (detection of duplicates or falsely active units) allow inferring reasonable degrees of reliability.

  • 13.2. Sampling error

    • Not applied, as it is direct use of the CBR.

  • 13.3. Non-sampling error

    • There may be overcoverage errors due to the inflation that the administrative sources may potentially present. On the contrary, the detection of a new economic unit which starts operating may undergo a lapse of time until it is appropriately registered in the source. Economic units with non-market economic activities and no employment may be under-represented.

• 14. Timeliness and punctuality

  • 14.1. Timeliness

    • The data of this operation are generated and revised during the 20 days following the closing of the CBR update. Usually, in August t+1 this publication is generated with reference year t. As a consequence, the time elapsed from the reference date to the publication is 12 months.

      TP2= 12 months

  • 14.2. Punctuality

    • Dissemination of results is carried out in accordance with the availability calendar of structural statistics that the INE compiles and publishes each year.v TP3=100%

• 15. Coherence and Comparability

  • 15.1. Comparability - geographical

    • The territorial coverage elements of the CBR allow guaranteeing the comparability of compiled data at an international and national level, for the considered geographical breakdowns.

  • 15.2. Comparability - over time

    • Results have annual periodicity.

      The implementation of Regulation EBS 2019/2152 in January 2023  has affected the calculation of the number of economically active companies. Therefore, data from previous years is not comparable to current data.

      From the 2018 cycle, the implementation of the new concept of enterprise partially limits the temporal comparison with respect to the previous years.

      The cycle 2019 presents changes in size-employees. Classes "200-499" and "500-999" are changed by "200-249" and "250-999". This will continue for 2020 and successive cycles.

      During the process of change of the CNAE Classification, the CBR incorporated a specific double coding procedure during a provisional time of 2 years. Similar tables may be consulted in CNAE 93 and CNAE 2009 for the results at 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2009. There is currently a time series that is comparable in CNAE 2009 of 9 years for all the variables considered, in terms of analysis as well as classification.

      CC2=2

       

  • 15.3. Coherence - cross domain

    • The data present reasonable degrees of coherence with those included in structural economic surveys. In the analysis it shall be considered that the nature of the aggregates is different (direct data from the CBR as compared with estimated data from surveys, as a result of the field incidences and the corresponding elevation procedures)

  • 15.4. Coherence - internal

    • There are coherence norms between the variables object of use, including significance levels which are compared in the generation of results.

• 16. Cost and burden

  • 16.1. Cost and burden

    • In the 2025 annual Program, the estimate of the necessary budget appropriation to finance this statistical operation and the Directorio Central de Empresas is 281,21 thousand euros. Due to the specific characteristics therein, there is no burden for the respondent units.

       

• 17. Data revision

  • 17.1. Data 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-.

      As a general rule, the data is considered final and therefore not subject to revision. In special cases there may be corrections including an explanatory note.

  • 17.2. Data revision - practice

    • Identical to the data revision policy.

• 18. Statistical processing

  • 18.1. Source data

    • Although the data that serve as a base for this operation are considered final data of the CBR, it is necessary to indicate that the annual maintenance process is executed thanks to the receipt of a very broad set of sources of a different nature (administrative, statistical or private). The Management Unit of the CBR has access to these sources in the format of microdata which is identified individually. They are listed below, according to type:

      Tax sources

      • Economic Activity Tax Census (State / Comunidad Foral de Navarra)

      • Withholdings on Personal Work Income (State / Comunidad Foral de Navarra)

      • Value Added Tax, Company Tax and Income Tax

      • Intra/Extra-Community Operators

      Social Security Sources

      • Register of Social Security Contributions with workers

      • Register of Active self-employed workers

      Legal sources

      • Movements of the Mercantile Register

      Statistical sources

      • Directory of economic activities of País Vasco

      • Structural and short-term surveys of companies; register surveys

      Private sources

      Other sources

      • Inventory of Companies and Public Entities

      • Sectoring files of the Spanish economy

      All of these sources are received by the INE in different moments of the year, according to their availability. In general, it is necessary to define a specific filtering, improvement and adaptation plan prior to its integration in the CBR. Of course, not all of them play the same role in the maintenance process. Some are key for the detection, remaining or elimination of units, whereas others contribute to the improvement or operation of specific variables.

  • 18.2. Frequency of data collection

    • Annual.

  • 18.3. Data collection

    • It is not traditional data collection, but it is based on the maintenance process of the CBR, centred on the access, treatment and integration of several external sources.

  • 18.4. Data validation

    • Each source that supplies the CBR is submitted to a prior validation and improvement plan. This process is specific to each source. If the initial consistency indicators are not satisfactory, the data is returned to the Managing Entity for their correction. Once all the necessary controls are carried out, a derived statistical subsystem is obtained.

      The integration processes of statistical data and comparison with year t-1 are continuously monitored by means of specific analysis tables. When all consistency requirements are fulfilled, the updating processes is concluded and the generation of results for this statistical operation begins.

      The DIRCE of 2018 generates for the first time enterprises fully adapted to the Regulation 696/93, by the application of pertinent profiling technics. This situation will continue for successive cycles.

  • 18.5. Data compilation

    • The aggregates are compiled by automatic procedures with standardised software products and regularly used in the INE (SAS, PCAxis,..)

  • 18.6. Adjustment

    • As it is statistical use of the CBR no specific adjustments are made.

• 19. Comment

  • 19.1. Comment

    • ..