CLASSIFICATION OF STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES (CSA REV. 1 - October 2009)
Domain 1: Demographic and social statistics
1.1 Population and migration
1.2 Labour
1.3 Education
1.4 Health
1.5 Income and consumption
1.6 Social protection
1.7 Human settlements and housing
1.8 Justice and crime
1.9 Culture
1.10 Political and other community activities
1.11 Time use
Domain 2: Economic statistics
2.1 Macroeconomic statistics
2.2 Economic accounts
2.3 Business statistics
2.4 Sectoral statistics
2.4.1 Agriculture, forestry, fisheries
2.4.2 Energy
2.4.3 Mining, manufacturing, construction
2.4.4 Transport
2.4.5 Tourism
2.4.6 Banking, insurance, financial statistics
2.5 Government finance, fiscal and public sector statistics
2.6 International trade and balance of payments
2.7 Prices
2.8 Labour cost
2.9 Science, technology and innovation
Domain 3: Environment and multi-domain statistics
3.1 Environment
3.2 Regional and small area statistics
3.3 Multi-domain statistics and indicators
3.3.1 Living conditions, poverty and cross-cutting social issues
3.3.2 Gender and special population groups
3.3.3 Information society
3.3.4 Globalisation
3.3.5 Indicators related to the Millennium Development Goals
3.3.6 Sustainable development
3.3.7 Entrepreneurship
3.4 Yearbooks and similar compendia
Domain 4: Methodology of data collection, processing, dissemination and analysis
4.1 Metadata
4.2 Classifications
4.3 Data sources
4.3.1 Population and housing censuses; registers of population, dwellings and buildings
4.3.2 Business and agricultural censuses and registers
4.3.3 Household surveys
4.3.4 Business and agricultural surveys
4.3.5 Other administrative sources
4.4 Data editing and data linkage
4.5 Dissemination, data warehousing
4.6 Statistical confidentiality and disclosure protection
4.7 Data analysis
Domain 5: Strategic and managerial issues of official statistics
5.1 Institutional frameworks and principles; role and organization of official statistics
5.2 Statistical programmes; coordination within statistical systems
5.3 Quality frameworks and measurement of performance of statistical systems and offices
5.4 Management and development of human resources
5.5 Management and development of technological resources (including standards for electronic data exchange and data sharing)
5.6 Coordination of international statistical work
5.7 Technical cooperation and capacity building
ANNEX - EXPLANATORY NOTES
1. The Classification of Statistical Activities (CSA) is used to classify the statistical activities undertaken by national and international statistical organizations. It is used as the basis for the Database of International Statistical Activities, and for the list of subject matter domains in the Content-oriented Guidelines, produced by the SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange) initiative.
2. The classification has three levels. The five “domains” form the first level, and relate to the broad type of statistical activities. The second level specifies “activities” within these domains and the third level covers more detailed “subject areas”. The third level is used only where necessary, and is not meant to provide an exhaustive breakdown of an “activity”.
3. Domains 1 to 3 relate to subject-matter activities, typically resulting in data outputs, but also including methodological work aimed at developing or revising standards, and activities related to technical cooperation or training specific to a subject area. Domains 4 and 5 cover substantive cross-cutting issues which do not relate directly to outputs, but are more process and organization oriented (e.g. general census or survey methodology, statistical coordination, statistical information systems, etc.).
1. Demographic and social statistics
1.1 Population and migration
Population and migration – covers work in population and demographic statistics, topics like demography, vital statistics, population structures and growth, demographic projections, families and households (marriages, divorces, household size), migration, refugees and asylum seekers.
Excludes
– causes of death (1.4)
1.2 Labour
Labour – covers statistics on labour force, labour market, employment and unemployment; the more detailed topics include economically active population, labour conditions, health and safety at work (accidents at work, occupational injuries and diseases, work-related health problems), working time and other working conditions, strikes and lockouts, job vacancies, job creation.
Excludes
– migrant workers (1.1)
– unemployment insurance and unemployment benefits (1.6)
– trade union membership (1.10)
– unpaid work (1.11)
– statistics on earnings, wages and salaries (2.8)
– labour cost (2.8)
1.3 Education
Education – includes educational participation, illiteracy, educational institutions and systems, human and financial resources invested in education, lifelong learning, vocational training and adult learning, impact of education, assessments of student performance, etc.
1.4 Health
Health – covers the health and mortality related statistical activities, including topics like life expectancy, health status, health and safety, health determinants (including lifestyle, nutrition, smoking, alcohol abuse), health resources and expenditure, health care systems, morbidity and mortality (including infant and child mortality), hospital admission, causes of illness and death, specific diseases (e.g. AIDS), disabilities, pharmaceutical consumption and sales, health personnel, remuneration of health professions, environmental health status, health inequality, health accounts.
Excludes
– work related health and safety (1.2)
– victimisation from criminal behaviour (1.8)
– traffic accidents and injuries (2.4.4)
1.5 Income and consumption
Income and consumption – covers statistics on household income and expenditures from household viewpoint (all types of income and expenditure), including topics like distribution of incomes, in-kind income, income transfers received and paid, income or expenditure-based measures of poverty, consumer protection, consumption patterns, consumer goods and durables, household wealth and debts.
Excludes
– social protection schemes against various risks (1.6)
– tax schemes (2.5)
– poverty in a multidimensional sense (3.3.1)
– living conditions (3.3.1)
– social inclusion/exclusion (3.3.1)
1.6 Social protection
Social protection – deals with statistics on measures to protect people against the risks of inadequate incomes associated with unemployment, ill health, invalidity, old age, parental responsibilities, or inadequate income following the loss of a spouse or parent, etc., includes statistics on pension beneficiaries, social security schemes, social protection expenditure, etc.
Excludes
– insurance companies as economic actors (2.4.6)
– pension funds as actors in financial markets(2.4.6)
1.7 Human settlements and housing
Human settlements and housing – covers statistical activities on housing, dwellings and human settlements
Excludes
– rents (2.7)
1.8 Justice and crime
Justice and crime – activities including crime, convictions, operation of criminal justice systems, justice, safety, victims, clear-up rates, prison population, illicit drug production, trafficking and use, etc.
1.9 Culture
Culture – statistics dealing with cultural activities in society, like theatre, cinemas, museums, libraries, mass media, book production, sports, etc., including expenditure and financing of culture.
1.10 Political and other community activities
Political and other community activities – statistics on voting turnout, participation in political and other community activities, trade union membership, social dialogue, civil society, social capital, etc.
1.11 Time use
Time-use – statistics on the use of time by individuals, often related to work-life balance (reconciling family responsibilities and paid work); unpaid work.
Excludes
– working time (1.2)
2. Economic statistics
2.1 Macroeconomic statistics
Macroeconomic statistics – all activities that are dealing with economy wide statistics at macro level that go beyond, or are different from National Accounts, whether annual, quarterly or monthly. Examples are macroeconomic databases that combine national accounts and other macroeconomic indicators like Main Economic Indicators (OECD), Principal European Economic Indicators (Eurostat), etc. ; business tendency and consumer opinion surveys, economic growth, stability and structural adjustment, cyclical indicators, statistics for business cycle analysis.
Excludes:
- methodology and frameworks of national accounts (2.2.)
- collection and dissemination of national accounts and productivity data not linked to other macroeconomic statistics (2.2)
2.2 Economic accounts
Economic accounts – covers work on National Accounts in both current and constant prices, dealing with topics like implementation of the 1993 System National Accounts (1993 SNA), update of the 1993 SNA, European System of Accounts (ESA95), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Income (GNI), non-observed and informal economy, measurement of capital, input-output tables, balance sheets, etc.
Excludes
– agricultural economic accounts (in 2.4.1)
– tourism satellite accounts (in 2.4.5)
– detailed general government accounts (2.5)
– financial accounts(2.5)
– price statistics(2.7)
– environmental accounts (3.1)
2.3 Business statistics
Business statistics – economy wide statistics on the activities of enterprises, covers work on economic statistics across different sectors (as opposed to 2.4 that deals with specific individual sectors), deals with topics like statistics on economic activities of enterprises, business demography, business investment, business services, demand for services, industrial performance, enterprises by size class, industrial production, commodities, structure of sales and services, outputs of the service industries, non-profit institutions.
Excludes:
- business tendency surveys (2.1)
- international trade (2.6)
- prices (2.7)
- labour cost (2.8)
- science and technology (2.9)
- ICT (3.3.3)
- activities of foreign affiliates and multinational companies (3.3.4)
2.4 Sectoral statistics
Sectoral statistics – statistical activities dealing with one of the specific branches of industry or services mentioned at the three digit level of the classification.
Excludes:
- education (1.3)
- health (1.4)
- social security (1.6)
- culture (1.9)
- statistics covering the whole industrial sector (2.3)
- statistics covering the whole service or market service sector (2.3)
- distributive trade (2.3)
- government and public sector statistics (2.5)
- research and development (2.9)
- telecommunication statistics (3.3.3)
2.4.1 Agriculture, forestry, fisheries
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries – includes all agriculture, forestry and fishery related statistics, e.g. agricultural monetary statistics (agricultural economic accounts), agricultural structures (farm structure), trade in agricultural products, agricultural labour input, crop and animal production, agricultural commodities, agro-industry statistics (including food production and safety), organic farming and organic food, government expenditure for agriculture, fishing and forestry, products source and use tables, forest and forest product statistics, forest resource assessment and forest fire, trade in forest products, fisheries.
Excludes
– agricultural and similar prices (2.7)
– rural development (3.2)
2.4.2 Energy
Energy - energy supply, energy use, energy balances, security of supply, energy markets, trade in energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, government expenditure on energy.
Excludes
- energy prices (2.7)
2.4.3 Mining, manufacturing, construction
Mining, manufacturing, construction – statistics on specific industrial activities, e.g. steel, shipbuilding, and on construction, trade in specific products related to mining, manufacturing and construction.
Excludes
- prices of manufactured products (2.7)
- construction prices (2.7)
2.4.4 Transport
Transport – covers statistics on all modes of transport (air, rail, road, inland waterways, sea), includes topics like transport infrastructure, equipment, traffic flows, personal mobility, safety, energy consumption, transport enterprises, passengers and freight transport, transport sector trends, road traffic accidents.
Excludes
- transport prices (2.7)
2.4.5 Tourism
Tourism – covers statistics regarding visitor activity (such as arrivals/departures, overnight stays, expenditures, purpose of the visit, etc.) associated to different forms
of tourism (inbound, domestic and outbound), tourism industries activity and infrastructure, employment and tourism satellite accounts.
Excludes
- prices for tourist services (2.7)
- environmental impacts (3.1)
2.4.6 Banking, insurance, financial statistics
Banking, insurance, financial statistics – money, banking and financial market statistics, including financial accounts, money supply, interest rates, exchange rates,
stock market indicators, securities, bank profitability, private sector insurance and pension fund statistics, Financial Soundness Indicators.
Excludes
– beneficiaries of private pension funds (1.6)
– financing of state pension and of other state social security schemes (2.5)
2.5 Government finance, fiscal and public sector statistics
Government finance, fiscal and public sector statistics – all statistics related to the government sector, including debt and deficit, revenue and expenditure, accounts of the government sector, central government, tax rates and revenues, tax and benefit systems, financing of state pension and other state social security schemes, public sector employment.
Excludes
– government expenditure in specific areas, like health (1.4), education (1.3), research and development (2.9), etc.
2.6 International trade and balance of payments
International trade and balance of payments – deals with statistics on all crossborder transactions recorded in the balance of payments, includes topics like trade in goods and services, external positions and debt, foreign direct investment, foreign affiliated trade, tariffs, market access, foreign aid, development assistance, resource flows to developing countries.
Excludes:
– trade in specific commodities/services mentioned in 2.4.1 to 2.4.5
– multinational companies and activities of foreign affiliates (3.3.4)
2.7 Prices
Prices – covers any statistical activity dealing with prices, including Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) and international comparisons of GDP, covers topics like Consumer Price Indices (CPI), inflation, Producer Price Indices (PPI), price indexes for specific products and services (e.g. Information and Communication Technology products).
Excludes
– interest rates (2.4.6)
– wages (2.8)
2.8 Labour cost
Labour cost – statistics activities on labour cost, earning and wages, both for structural and short-term statistics.
Excludes
- wages as part of total income of private households (1.5)
2.9 Science, technology and innovation
Science, technology and innovation – includes Research and Development (R&D), innovation, patents, human resources (in science, technology and innovation), high tech industries and knowledge based services, biotechnology, financing of R&D and innovation.
Excludes:
– information and communication technologies (ICTs) (3.3.3)
3. Environment and multi-domain statistics
3.1 Environment
Environment – includes topics like climate, climate change (including measurement of the socio-economic aspects of climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation), biodiversity, environment and health, natural resources, soil, water, air, landscape, waste, environmental expenditure, expenditure for the protection of the environment, environmental accounts, agri-environmental indicators, environmental pressure, environmental impact of industry, transport, energy etc., environmental monitoring, material flow analysis, environmental decoupling indicators, pollution, ecosystems, land use and cover, environmental protection, nationally protected areas.
Excludes
- environment as part of sustainable development (3.3.6)
3.2 Regional and small area statistics
Regional and small area statistics – activities dealing with regional statistics and statistics referring to sub-national areas or areas based on administrative units, urban and rural statistics, rural development, regional accounts, regional typologies, and regional disparities.
3.3 Multi-domain statistics and indicators
Multi-domain statistics and indicators – deals with conceptual or data work based on a specific thematic approach to outputs that cut across several economic, social or environmental subject areas; the two-digit-level of the classification covers activities dealing with such type of issues that are not explicitly mentioned at the three-digit level.
Excludes:
- multi-domain statistics based on a regional approach (3.2)
- yearbook type of compendia or similar products by international organizations not following a specific thematic approach (3.4)
3.3.1 Living conditions, poverty
Living conditions, poverty and cross-cutting social issues – includes work on multidimensional methods to measure poverty, living conditions in the broad sense, social inclusion/exclusion, social indicators, and social situation.
Excludes:
- purely monetary approach to poverty (1.5)
3.3.2 Gender and special population groups
Gender and special population groups – their living conditions and role in the society: comparisons men/women and situation of special population groups like children, youth, women, elderly, disabled, minority groups, etc.
3.3.3 Information society
Information society – statistics allowing to assess the use and impact of information and communication technologies on society, includes access and use of ICTs (including Internet), ICT expenditure and investment, ICT infrastructure, telecommunication networks, electronic communications, e-government, electronic commerce, e-learning, broadband penetration, ICT services, communication tariffs, network infrastructure, revenues, expenses and investment of operators, Internet indicators, trade in telecommunications equipment.
3.3.4 Globalisation
Globalisation – deals with measuring the economic activities of multinational companies, as well as with attempts to measure globalisation through a variety of components from other subject areas.
3.3.5 Indicators related to the Millennium Development Goals
Indicators related to the Millennium Development Goals – work on sets of indicators to monitor the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals agreed upon at the UN Millennium Summit.
3.3.6 Sustainable development
Sustainable development – work on indicators and frameworks to monitor the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
3.3.7 Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship – the measurement of the determinants, performance and impact of entrepreneurial activities of people and organizations.
3.4 Yearbooks and similar compendia
Yearbooks and similar compendia – multi-domain statistical publications, databases and other data products without specific thematic or issue-oriented focus.
Excludes:
- Multi-domain statistical products based on specific thematic approaches, like sustainable development, MDGs etc. (under 3.3.1 to 3.3.5)
4. Methodology of data collection, processing, dissemination and analysis
4.1 Metadata
Metadata – covers developing, harmonising and standardising metadata models, structures and frameworks in the context of statistical information processing and dissemination, deals also with harmonising the statistical terminology and definitions.
Excludes:
- standards for electronic data exchange in statistics (5.5)
4.2 Classifications
Classifications – activities related to developing, managing, maintaining and harmonizing economic, social and environmental classifications.
4.3 Data sources
Data sources – dealing with different methods of data collection from respondents and different forms of data sources at national level. Includes activities on electronic data reporting and Internet reporting which are not directly related to specific censuses or surveys. The two digit-level includes only activities that cannot be allocated to a three-digit item, as well as sources other than censuses, surveys or administrative records, such as satellite images or other observation type sources
Excludes:
- methods by which international organizations collect data from national producers (5.6)
4.3.1 Population and housing censuses; registers of population, dwellings and buildings
Population and housing censuses; registers of population, dwellings and buildings – methodology and organization of population and housing censuses, including register based censuses, development and maintenance of statistical registers of population, buildings and dwellings covering and following the whole resident population.
Excludes:
- collection of national statistical results from population censuses by international organizations and subsequent dissemination of international statistics (1.1. or other relevant area of Domain 1)
- civil and vital events registers (4.3.5)
- administrative sources on persons generated by the social security system or kept for special population groups in their use for other statistical activities than 4.3.1 (4.3.5)
4.3.2 Business and agricultural censuses and registers
Business and agricultural censuses and registers – methodology and organization of economic and agricultural censuses, development and maintenance of statistical business and agricultural registers.
Excludes:
- administrative sources on subsets of agricultural holdings or businesses and their activities in their use for other statistical activities than 4.3.2 (4.3.5)
- collection of national statistical results from the sources in 4.3.2 by international organizations and subsequent dissemination of international statistics (2.3 or other relevant area of Domain 2)
4.3.3 Household surveys
Household surveys – methodology and organization of household sample surveys including sample designs; international surveys with direct data collection from households such as Living Standard Measurement Survey or World Health Survey.
Excludes.
- Dissemination of international statistics based on direct survey activities of international organizations (relevant area of domain 1)
4.3.4 Business and agricultural surveys
Business and agricultural surveys – methodology and organization of business and agricultural surveys, including sampling, and international surveys with direct data collection from businesses.
Excludes:
- Dissemination of international statistics based on direct survey activities of international organizations (relevant area of domain 2)
4.3.5 Other administrative sources
Other administrative sources – addresses the suitability of administrative sources for official statistics, the legal, organizational and conceptual problems of accessing administrative sources, the use of registers and other administrative sources in other contexts than censuses
4.4 Data editing and data linkage
Data editing and data linkage – methodological, organizational and legal issues related to data quality control at the collection phase, including data editing and imputation and use of geo-referenced data.
4.5 Dissemination, data warehousing
Dissemination, data warehousing – policies, strategies, methods and techniques of data dissemination, design and organization of output databases and data warehouses, including feedback from users, communicating with the media, work of NSO press offices, data and metadata presentation, electronic dissemination (Internet), statistical portals.
Excludes:
- multi-domain databases as products (3.4)
4.6 Statistical confidentiality and disclosure protection
Statistical confidentiality and disclosure protection – legal, organizational and technical measures to safeguard confidentiality of statistical data, methods of releasing microdata while protecting against disclosure of individual data.
4.7 Data analysis
Data analysis – methods of data analysis in official statistics for other purposes than editing/quality management, e.g. seasonal adjustment, methods for constructing composite indicators, identification of causal factors, extrapolation, scenario and model building etc.
5. Strategic and managerial issues of official statistics
5.1 Institutional frameworks and principles; role and organization of official statistics
Institutional frameworks and principles; role and organization of official statistics – activities dealing with developing, harmonising and revising the institutional framework and principles of official statistics at national and international level, like fundamental principles of official statistics, organizational and legal aspects of national statistical systems, functioning and coordination of the statistical systems, organization of statistical offices, promotion of official statistics.
5.2 Statistical programmes; coordination within statistical systems
Statistical programmes; coordination within statistical systems – compiling the statistical work programmes of statistical organizations, coordinating the work within national and international statistical organizations (e.g. coordination of activities between headquarters and organizations in the field, coordination of decentralised statistical organizations), processes for setting up national statistical programmes, including relationship with users and respondents etc.
Excludes:
- coordination between international statistical agencies (5.6)
5.3 Quality frameworks and measurement of performance of statistical systems and offices
Quality frameworks and measurement of performance of statistical systems and offices – implementation of quality models, development and use of quality management tools, harmonisation of quality assessment frameworks, performance indicators for statistical organizations.
5.4 Management and development of human resources
Management and development of human resources – organization of human resources management and training in national and international statistical agencies.
5.5 Management and development of technological resources (including standards for electronic data exchange and data sharing)
Management and development of technological resources (including standards for electronic data exchange and data sharing) – includes electronic data processing, IT infrastructure, data exchange standards (like EDIFACT/GESMES and SDMX), ICT strategies for statistics at national and international level.
Excludes:
- metadata (4.1)
- electronic data reporting (4.3)
- data editing (4.4)
- output databases and data warehouses (4.5)
5.6 Coordination of international statistical work
Coordination of international statistical work – coordination of statistical activities across international and supranational statistical organizations, includes work on the Database of International Statistical Activities, work of the Conference of European Statisticians, Statistical Commission and the Coordinating Committee of Statistical Activities
5.7 Technical cooperation and capacity building
Technical cooperation and capacity building – covers general bilateral and multilateral technical and capacity building activities.
Excludes:
- technical cooperation in specific subject areas (given under the relevant areas in Domains 1-3).