Report on UNSD activities since Report on UNSD activities since the last meeting of the Expert the last meeting of the Expert Group on International Economic Group on International Economic and Social Classificationsand Social Classifications

Meeting of the Expert Group on

International Economic and

Social Classifications

New York, 8-10 December 2003

The Expert GroupThe Expert Group

At its 30th session on 1-5 March 1999 the United Nations Statistical Commission recommended that the Expert Group on International Economic and Social Classifications:– Be the central coordinating body for implementing the work

programme on classifications proposed at the same meeting– Ensure harmonization and convergence among

classifications in the family– Recommend, examine changes/updates– Adopt schedules for updates

The Expert GroupThe Expert Group

Recent work plan:– Set in 2001– Focus on ISIC and CPC revisions (2002 and 2007)

Installed Technical Subgroup for creating drafts for ISIC and CPC

Projects and meetingsProjects and meetings

ISIC and CPC update 2002– TSG finalized drafts of ISIC Rev.3.1 and CPC Ver.1.1– Final versions submitted for editing, translation and

publication

– Machine-readable versions available in the Classifications Registry on the UNSD website

Projects and meetingsProjects and meetings

ISIC and CPC update 2002– Updated correspondence tables for the new versions of ISIC

and CPC, showing relationships:• between the two classifications• between the new and the previous versions of the

classifications• to other classifications such as:

– the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE)

– the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)– the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)– the Harmonized Commodity Coding and Description System (HS)– the Extended Balance of Payments Services classification

(EBOPS)

Projects and meetingsProjects and meetings

ISIC and CPC revision 2007– UNSC mandate: Involve countries through questionnaires

and regional workshops

– Work steps:• conceptual issues

• high level structure

• full structure

– Carried out in cooperation with the Technical Subgroup– Reviewed and approved by the Expert Group

ISIC and CPC revision 2007ISIC and CPC revision 2007

ISIC/CPC Questionnaire 2001

Questionnaire on:– Conceptual and structural issues– Cross-cutting issues– Boundary definition and detail issues

Consultation period August-November 2001 50 responses received Focus mostly on ISIC

Responses resulted in draft Concepts Paper and Preliminary Draft Higher-Level Structure for ISIC

ISIC and CPC revision 2007ISIC and CPC revision 2007

ISIC/CPC Questionnaire 2003

Draft Concepts Paper and draft high-level structure of ISIC presented to the UN Statistical Commission in March 2003

Formed the basis for the second questionnaire Set of four documents:

(a)The Concepts paper for the 2007 ISIC and CPC revision

(b)A draft paper of a possible structure for ISIC Rev.4, focusing on higher-level categories

(c)A discussion paper on coding options for ISIC

(d)A set of questions for the ISIC and CPC revision

ISIC and CPC revision 2007ISIC and CPC revision 2007

ISIC/CPC Questionnaire 2003

Consultation period May-October 2003

70 responses received Resulted in a number of changes / clarifications to

the existing paper and a new draft of the high-level ISIC structure

UNSD WorkshopsUNSD Workshops

United Nations Workshop on Classifications for ASEAN member countries, Hanoi, Vietnam, 10 - 14 June 2002

United Nations Workshop on Classifications, Santiago, Chile, 8 - 12 September 2003

United Nations Workshop on Classifications, New Delhi, India, 14 - 16 October 2003

UNSD WorkshopsUNSD Workshops

Objectives– presenting the conceptual and structural changes planned

for ISIC and CPC– obtaining input relevant to the regions– addressing special user needs (statistical and non-statistical

applications of classifications)– facilitating cooperation in the field of classifications among

countries in the region and coordinating work on regional classifications.

– receiving country feedback on the revision process and proposals

Other meetings and activitiesOther meetings and activities

Working group on convergence between NAICS and NACE

Technical Group on Classifications of ASEAN countries, June 2003

Discussions with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with respect to the treatment of agricultural activities and products in the current ISIC and CPC revision– FAOSTAT2 project

– applicability of ISIC/CPC in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fishing

CPC indexCPC index

Complete index for the CPC Covering goods and services

additional review necessary for chemical products

UN List of industrial productsUN List of industrial products

Review of the UN List of Industrial Products In cooperation with the Industrial Statistics Section of UNSD

Original introduced during the 1973 World Programme on Industrial Statistics

Forms the basis of data collection for industrial commodity production statistics in UNSD

Criteria for review:– link to current product classifications (CPC and HS)– consideration of links to PRODCOM– Relevance (adding of of new products)– Evaluating the relevance of existing products

Target: first half of 2003 for consultation

Contacts with users / distribution Contacts with users / distribution of informationof information

Classifications Newsletter Classifications Hotline Classifications Website and Registry

Classifications NewsletterClassifications Newsletter

Summarizes recent developments in the field of international classifications

Published by UNSD in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

Published three times a year– Starting 2004: published twice a year as an annex to the

UNSD newsletter

Regular mailing list of about 280 statistical offices Online subscription covers more than 600 individuals

Classifications HotlineClassifications Hotline

Set up following a recommendation by the Statistical Commission to provide a tool for fast communication with users

Can be reached by e-mail, fax or regular mail

Typically address:– interpretations of the classifications

– proposals for changes to existing classifications

– requests for particular information related to the classifications

Annual volume: about 2000 messages received or sent Substantive questions recorded in the Classifications Registry

Classifications WebsiteClassifications Website

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/class

Important tool for the distribution of classifications related information

Revised in 2002

Contents:– information on the Family of International Economic and Social

Classifications– information on international cooperation in the field of classifications

• Expert Group and Technical Subgroup• Classification workshops and other meetings

– Classifications Registry

Classifications RegistryClassifications Registry

Depository of information related to classifications

Includes information on existing classifications– complete searchable structure and explanatory notes– tools such as correspondence tables and indexes

Records issues received through the Classifications Hotline– Interpretations– Proposals– Decisions

Reflects current revision process of ISIC and CPC

Classifications RegistryClassifications Registry

Information on national adaptations of statistical classifications– covers currently 296 classifications from 89 countries

One of the most accessed areas of the UNSD website– Daily number of users: 500 to 1000

– Covered by many search engines

– Total number of sessions for 2003: 3.5 million

Free “Downloads” section– 49,000 downloads

Beyond ISIC and CPCBeyond ISIC and CPC

Beyond ISIC and CPCBeyond ISIC and CPC

Can we define rules for links between these classifications?

Can we set priorities for links? Are there other restrictions? How can the Expert Group coordinate this network?