- Methods and Projects
- Standards and Classifications
Standardised Methodological Report
Spanish National Accounts. Base 2008
- 1Contact
- 1.1Contact organisation
National Statistics Institute of Spain
- 1.5Contact mail address
Paseo de la Castellana 183 - 28046 Madrid
- 1.1Contact organisation
- 2Metadata update
- 2.1Metadata last certified
07/02/2022
- 2.2Metadata last posted
27/08/2013
- 2.3Metadata last update
07/02/2022
- 2.1Metadata last certified
- 3Statistical presentation
- 3.1Data description
Cuentas Nacionales de España (CNE), or National Accounts of Spain, is a statistical operation developed according to the methodology established in Council Regulation (EC) No. 2223/96 of 25 June 1996, on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community, ESA 1995
( http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1996R2223:20071230:EN:PDF).
ESA is an internationally compatible accounting framework for a systematic and detailed description of a total economy (that is a region, country or group of countries), its components and its relations with other total economies.
Information is displayed in two main groups of tables:
The sector accounts
The input-output framework and the accounts by industry
The sector accounts provide, by institucional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process: production, distribution and use of income and financial and non-financial accumulation. The structured recording of transactions according to a logical analysis of economic life provides the aggregates required for the study of an industry, an institutional sector or the total economy. The breakdown of the accounts was designed to reveal the most significant economic information.
The production account shows the transactions relating to the production process.
Distribution and use of income are analysed in four stages:
- Primary distribution: it concerns the generation of income resulting directly from the production process and its distribution between the production factors (labour and capital) and general government (via taxes on production and imports, and subsidies).
- Secondary distribution: it traces redistribution of income via transfers other than social transfers in kind. This yields the disposable income.
- Redistribution in kind: it describes the redistribution via social transfers in kind, yielding the adjusted disposable income.
- Use of the income: it describes how the income is consumed and saved, yielding the saving.
The input-output framework and the accounts by industry describe in more detail the production process (cost structure, income generated and employment) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product groups).
Within the input-output framework, the supply and use tables are matrices by industry and product describing the domestic production processes and the transactions in products of the national economy in great detail.
Production and Generation of income accounts are also presented by industry, in the columns of the supply and use tables.
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- 3.2Classification system
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
CNE follows the classification established in ESA-1995.
Each of the sectors groups together the institutional units wich have a similar type of economic behaviour. CNE presents the sector accounts for the following institutional sectors:
Non-financial corporations (S.11)
Financial corporations (S.12)
General government (S.13)
Households (S.14)
Non-profit institutions serving households (S.15)
Moreover, the accounts of certain sub-sectors, of the total economy (S.1) and the rest of the world (S.2) are presented.
The transactions recorded in the sector accounts are the following:
Transactions in products (P): They describe the origin (domestic output or imports) and use (intermediate consumption, final consumption, capital formation or exports) of products.
Distributive transactions (D): They describe how value added generated by production is distributed to labour, capital and government, and the redistribution of income and wealth (taxes on income and wealth and other transfers).
Other transactions (K): Specifically, consumption of fixed capital and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets.
In terms of the tables by industry and the input-output framework, the current classifications used in the ESA-1995 framework and CNE, are adjusted to the CNAE 2009 National Classification of Economic Activities and to the CPA 2008 Classification of Products by Activity (See attachment of Regulation:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:210:0001:0021:ES:PDF).
Within the input-output framework, supply and use tables are matrices by industry and product describing the domestic production processes and the transactions in products of the national economy in great detail.
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
- 3.3Sector coverage
The accounts record the economic flows of different institutional sectors as well as the flows that take place between the Spanish economy and the rest of the world.
The tables by industry include the production account (shows the transactions relating to the production process: output and intermediate consumption; its balancing item is the value added) and generation of income account (it analyses the extent to which value added can cover compensation of employees and other taxes less subsidies on production) by groups of units that develop an identical or similar economic activity. These tables cover the complete economic activity
- 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
- 3.5Statistical unit
The units used in national accounts are defined with reference to the kind of economic analysis for which they are intended, and not in terms of the types of units usually employed in statistical inquiries.
For analysis of the economic behaviour institutional units are used. The institutional unit is an elementary economic decision-making centre characterised by uniformity of behaviour and decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. Institutional units that have a similar type of economic behaviour are grouped into institutional sectors.
To describe production processes and carry out the input-output analysis, the units that are used are the local kind-of -activity units. ESA groups the local kind-of-activity units by industry. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products.
- 3.6Statistical population
The population under study are the institutional units and the local kind-of-activity units residing in the Spanish economic territory.
- 3.7Reference area
The geographical scope is the economic territory, which is:
The national geographical territory
The national air-space and territorial waters
Territorial enclaves, which are territories situated in the rest of the world and used, under international treaties or agreement between States, by general government agencies of the country (embassies, consulates, military bases, scientific bases etc.).
- 3.8Time coverage
National Accounts of Spain Base 2008 covers the period 1995-2012. However, it shall be highlighted that when a change of base year is made, the information that is presented related to the years prior to the year of new base year is more restrictive.
Furthermore, other available information of the different CNE bases is the following:
Base 2000: Accounting series 2000-2009
Base 1995: Accounting series 1995-2003
Base 1986: Accounting series 1970-1997
- 3.9Base period
Currently, the base year of the National Accounts is year 2008.
- 3.1Data description
- 4Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 5Reference period
- 5.1Reference period
The reference period is the calendar year.
Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2013
- 5.1Reference period
- 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 2013-2016, approved by Royal Decree 1658/2012, of 7 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2013-2016. (Statistics of the State Administration).
Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (Regulation ESA-1995), establishes the methodological dispositions for the development of National Accounts in order to arrive at a consistent, reliable and comparable quantitative description of the economies of Member States.
(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1996R2223:20071230:ES:PDF).
Regarding transmission of national account data, Regulation ESA-1995 has been modified by Regulation (EC) No. 1392/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council.
(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:324:0001:0078:EN:PDF).
Also, for adaptations of national accounts after the revision of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 2) and the Statistical Classification of Products by Activity (CPA), Regulation ESA-1995 has been modified by Commission Regulation (EU) No.715/2010 of 10 August 2010.
(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:210:0001:0021:EN:PDF).
- 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.
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- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
- 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.
CNE is a statistical operation within the National Statistical Plan, which is therefore subject to the Law on the Public Statistical Function of 9 May 1989. Hence, its data is protected by Statistical Secrecy. However, in general, the data used in this operation come from other statistics that provide aggregate information.
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
- 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
- 8.1Release calendar
- 9Frequency of dissemination
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
The data is disseminated annually.
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
- 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
CNE is disseminated on the National Statistics Institute website.
At the end of August the estimates of the GDP from the three approachs (production, expenditure and income) as well as the GNI and National Disposable Income are published.
The tables by industry, supply and use tables, sector accounts and other attached tables are disseminated at the end of the fourth quarter.
The information that is published is the one transmitted to Eurostat in compliance with Regulation 1392/2007 expanded with some attached tables.
Information about CNE base 2008 is available in the following website:
https://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft35%2Fp008&file=inebase&L=1
- 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 topic using data collected individually
Information about CNE base 2008 is available in the following website:
- 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
This statistical operation does not have microdata.
- 10.5Other
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- 10.6Documentation on methodology
The current methodology for development of CNE is ESA-1995
- 10.7Quality documentation
Quality reports are elaborated pursuant to Council Regulation No 1287/2003 of 15 July 2003 on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices.
- 10.1News release
- 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 15 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 synthesis statistics such as CNE, is firstly derived from the various sources it uses: surveys, administrative registers, etc. In all of them it has been intended to get the most accurate information as possible, minimising the different types of errors they could be affected by.
Furthermore, GNI data shall be comprehensive. This means they must also take into account the activities that are not declared in statistics surveys or to tax authorities, regarding social security and the rest of administrative authorities. In this sense, the procedures and adjustments commanded by Eurostat have been followed.
- 11.2Quality assessment
The Commission checks the sources and methods used for the calculation of the GNI (Gross National Income) and the measures to be adopted so that GNI data is more comparable, reliable and comprehensive. Furthermore, a report on the quality of GNI is given to the Commission on an annual basis.
- 11.1Quality assurance
- 12Relevance
- 12.1User needs
The ESA framework may be used to analyse and evaluate the following elements:
The structure of the Spanish economy as a whole (value added and employment by industry, income distributed by sector, etc.)
Specific parts or aspects of economy (the role of government, etc.)
Development of the economy over time (analysis of GDP growth rates, analysis of inflation, etc.)
Comparison with other economies
Also, CNE figures collected within the ESA framework has an essential importance for the EU and its Member States when it comes to formulating and checking their economic and social policies.
It is also important to highlight some specific applications which are very important:
Follow-up of the European monetary policy: the criteria of convergence for the European Monetary Union have been defined in terms of national account figures (government deficit and debt and GDP)
Granting financial aid to the regions
Determining the own resources of the EU
Among the main users of CNE are the following:
European Commission
European Central Bank
Economic analysts
- 12.2User satisfaction
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010 and 2013, 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)
In the structured Query carried out by INE in 2010, the quality assessment of the Economic Accounts sector in which the National Accounts Base 2000 is encompassed was 3.88 over 5.
- 12.3Completeness
CNE complies with Council Regulation (EC) No. nº 2223/1996 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of sational and regional accounts in the Community.
- 12.1User needs
- 13Accuracy and reliability
- 13.1Overall accuracy
Not applicable
- 13.2Sampling error
CNE is a synthesis statistics operation, therefore the sampling error concept is not applicable. However, it is affected by these errors indirectly, due to the fact that there are surveys, administrative registers etc. among its sources of information. Nevertheless, the identities that the system establishes in supply and use tables, by industry and product as well as the balance process allow checking and improving the consistency and completeness of the estimates (for example, identifying gaps and inconsistencies in basic data sources).
- 13.3Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
- 13.1Overall accuracy
- 14Timeliness and punctuality
- 14.1Timeliness
Advance estimates of GDP, GNI, etc. corresponding to year t are published 238 days after the reference year.
Sector accounts and tables by industry of year t as well as the supply and use tables of year t-3 are disseminated in t+12 months.
- 14.2Punctuality
Data dissemination is carried out in agreement with the calendar of availability of structural statistics that INE develops and publishes every year.
- 14.1Timeliness
- 15Coherence and Comparability
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
One of objectives of ESA-1995 is the harmonisation of methodology as well as precision and accuracy of the concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be applied to obtain a comparable description of the economies of European Union countries. Therefore, the data collected in CNE is comparable to the data of the Member States of the EU.
It is also compatible at international level since ESA concepts are totally compatible with the ones that appear in worldwide guidelines about national accounting, that is, the System of National Accounts (developed under the combined responsibility of United Nations, International Monetary Fund, Eurostat, OECD and World Bank).
- 15.2Comparability - over time
The methodology used for the development of National Accounts is the one that corresponds to the European System of Accounts.
CNE Base 2008 (October 2011) presents comparable figures for series 1995-2008. The ESA in force is ESA 1995. Base 2008 is mainly motivated by the introduction of the new classifications of economic activities and products by activity, NACE rev. 2 and CPA 2008, respectively. The information regarding change of base 2008 may be checked in the following link:
https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/cne00/nota_cambmet_b2008_en.pdf
CNE Base 2000 (May 2005) presents comparable data of period 2000-2009. The ESA in force is ESA 1995. Base 2000 is mainly motivated by the changes introduced in the ESA 1995 Regulation regarding the allocation of financial intermediation services to the user sectors and the measurement of the variations of volume in mobile base instead of measuring the evolution regarding a fixed base. More information about change of base 2000 may be checked in the following link:
https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/cne00/nota_cambmet_b2000_en.pdf
CNE Base 1986 presents comparable data of period 1970-1997. The ESA in force is ESA 1970. This base is mainly motivated by the introduction of the Value Added Tax in our tax system. More information about change of base 1986 may be checked in the publication Spanish National Accounts. Accounting Series 1985-1989 and Input-Output Table 1986.
- 15.3Coherence - cross domain
CNE is coherent with the different economic statistics given the fact that they constitute its main source of data. For example, General government accounts compiled by IGAE, Foreign Trade Statistics compiled by the Customs and Excise Department, Balance of Payments compiled by the Bank of Spain, etc.
- 15.4Coherence - internal
ESA itself guarantees internal coherence. The identities that appear in the accounting framework reinforce the coherence of the concepts used to describe the different parts of the economic process (production, income distribution, use of income and accumulation). Due to internal coherence, the statistics contained in the different sections of the accounting framework can be conveniently related with each other. Hence, GDP estimates from the production and expenditure approach are guaranteed by the identity by product. For each product, the total supply shall be the same as the total use. The integrated economic accounts give a concise overwiew of the accounts of an economy. They bring together in the same table the accounts of all the institutional sectors, the total economy and the rest of the world, and balance all the flows.
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
- 16Cost and burden
- 16.1Cost and burden
Included in the Annual Programme 2013, is the estimate of the necessary budget appropriation so as to finance this statistical operation, which is 562.65 thousand euros.
This statistical operation does not entail any response burden. Since it is a synthesis statistic operation, it uses data that is already available in the Administration.
- 16.1Cost and burden
- 17Data revision
- 17.1Data revision - policy
National accounts are a structural statistical product, therefore the estimates of the different transactions and aggregates are subject to a process of revision and disaggregation before they become final. This process is determined by the dependency of the national accounts on statistical information, in the sense that the more short-term and aggregate the base information, the more provisional the national account estimates.
Revision of CNE estimates is limited to a 4-year-period. Along this period there will be five different versions of the same accounting exercise until the estimate of a year t turns into final.
- 17.2Data revision - practice
The revision of CNE estimates are limited to a four-year-period until the estimate of a certain year t is final. The revision process finishes with the development of the supply and use tables for that year t. The four-year-period is determined by the necessary time interval for the incorporation of all the statistical structures in the estimates.
This way, the designation of year t estimates in CNE is the following:
Estimate in terms of Quarterly National Accounts (February of t+1)
Advance estimate (August t+1)
First provisional estimate (August t+2)
Second provisional estimate (August t+3)
Final estimate (August t+4)
- 17.1Data revision - policy
- 18Statistical processing
- 18.1Source data
CNE incorporates different sources of economic information. Generally speaking, these sources are statistics developed by INE, statistics of other public and private institutions and administrative data.
Details on sources by industry appear in the following link:
https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/cne00/cne_tod_08_fuentes_en.xls
Among the different demand sources, the most important are:
Household Budget Survey (INE)
Annual Trade Survey (INE)
Spanish Foreign Trade Statistics (AEAT)
General Government Accounts (IGAE)
Economic Statistics -Industrial and Services- (INE)
Construction Structure (Ministry of Public Works)
Balance of Payments (BE)
- 18.2Frequency of data collection
Data collection is based on the dissemination of information of the different sources used by CNE. Monthly, quarterly and annual information is incorporated.
- 18.3Data collection
The data used in CNE are statistics compiled by INE itself or other institutions. Data collection varies depending on the type of source and the way information is disseminated (databases, electronic publications, etc.). In general, the different institutions that provide information for the development of SCNE, send it to the Subdirectorate General of Economic Accounts and Employment. Other times, the necessary information is published on the website, which can be directly accessed on the corresponding database.
Section 20.1 Source Data includes the source of the data.
- 18.4Data validation
The units that are usually used in statistical research are not always appropriate in terms of national accounts, since they are generally based on traditional legal, administrative or accounting criteria. Firstly, the definitions of the analysis units used in ESA shall be taken into account.
Moreover, for correct recording of operations according to the ESA-1995 methodology, it is necessary to carry out certain adjustments so as to adapt the information obtained in the surveys with the criteria established in ESA, such as payment in kind, inclusion of tips, insurance services, consistency in tax and subsidy records, valuation of the operations, etc.
Furthermore, in ESA there are many specific conventions. For example, the valuation of government output, valuation of the output of insurance services and financial intermediation services, record of public services such as final consumption expenditure, etc. In these cases, based on the base information it is necessary to estimate the output according to the criteria established in ESA and make the corresponding adjustments on the users of this production.
- 18.5Data compilation
During the development process of the CNE of a certain year t, the first estimated aggregate is GDP. The basic aspects of GDP balancing process are the following:
1. Simultaneous balance of production, expenditure and income. All estimates of CNE include an estimate of GDP through the three approachs.
2. In the base year and the final estimates of CNE, this balance is based on the supply and use tables.
3. In the base year and final years, direct estimation procedures with the appropriate breakdowns are used, that is, specific sources and independent methods for each type of transaction. Product balancing is done (total supply by product = total use by product). The flows of the following accounts appear in the supply and use tables: goods and services account, production account and generation of income account.
4. In non-final years, extrapolation and balancing is carried out at a lower level. This level depends on the available statistical information and the details provided by this information. Hence, the GDP estimate of year t in August t+1 is an advance, since the available information is either provisional or advance and incomplete. In August t+2, which is provisional estimate, greater amount of statistical information is incorporated and in August t+3 practically all of the structural statistical sources are available, but not sufficiently in advance to incorporate them in the supply and use tables. Therefore, the revisions carried out on the GDP of a specific year have their origin in the subsequent incorporation of structural statistical sources (Annual Industrial Companies Survey, Annual Services Survey, Household Budget Survey, Construction Structure Survey, Agriculture Accounts, etc.) and in the incorporation of final data in transactions that had previously been estimated with provisional or advance data (General Government Accounts, Goods Foreign Trade, Balance of Payments, etc).
Once the series of GDP is estimated, sector accounts are developed. They are developed in the following stages:
1. Development of accounts of Financial institutions, General government and Rest of the world.
2. Incorporation of the goods and services transactions estimated in GDP and their allocation to the corresponding sectors.
3. Resources-uses balance of the distribution and capital transactions.
ESA establishes the development of integrated economic accounts that provide a synthetic view of the Spanish economy. This table gathers the accounts of all institutional sectors, of the total economy and the rest of the world. This forces to balance all the transactions since two institutional units participate in most of them.
This balance has different levels of difficulty depending on the nature of the transaction. In general, the situations that may occur are the following:
When only two sectors participate in an transaction and there is information about one of them, balance is immediate since the total amount of the transaction is the resource (or a change in liabilities) of a sector or use (or a change in assets) of the other. An example of this type of transaction are the social benefits paid by the General government sector that are a resource of the Household sector.
If a certain transaction is an use (or a resource) of a single sector or a resource (or an use) of several sectors, it is necessary to have information that allows breaking down this flow between the different sectors involved. This is the case of income and property tax received by the General government sector on which works are performed by tax figure. This way, corporate tax can only be an use of Non-financial corporations and Financial institutions.
Lastly, the transactions that are uses and resources of several sectors, are matrix balanced based on direct and indirect information. A typical example is the interest transaction that has direct information of uses and resources of some sectors available and in which the flow of those remaining has to be estimated with indirect information, such as the assets and financial liabilities by financial instrument and sector, type of interest, etc.
4. Overall analysis of the obtained results.
- 18.6Adjustment
In this statistical operation no seasonal adjustments are carried out.
- 18.1Source data
- 19Comment
- 19.1Comment
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- 19.1Comment