Publications Office of the EU
Eurostat - EU Vocabularies
Eurostat

Eurostat statistical classifications

Eurostat has created over the years several statistical classifications used by Eurostat and the Members of the European Statistical System (ESS) for collecting and reporting statistical data and ensuring the comparability of statistical data at EU level. The classification(s) to be applied is specified in regulations or gentlemen's agreements for each data collection.

A statistical classification or nomenclature is an exhaustive and structured set of mutually exclusive and well-described categories, often presented in a hierarchy reflected by the numeric or alphabetical codes assigned to them, used to standardise concepts and compile statistical data. Some classifications are applied in a multidisciplinary manner and cover different statistical domains (statistical activities, goods and services, products) while other classifications are very closely related to a specific domain.

The following statistical classifications maintained by Eurostat are available as Linked Open Data in XKOS, the extension of SKOS for modeling statistical classifications. They are presented by classification family, categorized by statistical domain and sub-domain(s) (e.g. NACE under the statistical domain Economic statistics and the sub-domain Activities).

 

Business statistics

Classification of Business Functions (CBF)

The classification of business functions is intended for use in the production of business statistics, building on experiences from several recent surveys in Europe, Canada, the United States, and India. The CBF is applicable for both developed and developing countries to measure the impact of both domestic and international sourcing in their national economies.

Classification of Business Functions (CBF 1.0) Explore in ShowVoc

 

Economic statistics

Activities

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

NACE is the classification of economic activities in the European Union (EU). It is the European version of ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities), which is a global classification of economic activities maintained by the UN.

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Rev. 2.1 (NACE Rev. 2.1) Explore in ShowVoc

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Rev. 2 (NACE Rev. 2) Explore in ShowVoc

Products

Statistical classification of products by activity (CPA)

The CPA is the European version of the CPC (Central Product Classifications of the United Nations) and with a structure based on NACE according to the criterion of economic origin (and thus the definition of the economic activities).

Statistical classification of products by activity, 2.1 (CPA 2.1) Explore in ShowVoc

Statistical classification of products by activity, 2008 (CPA 2008) Explore in ShowVoc

Goods

Combined Nomenclature (CN)

The Combined Nomenclature is the main classification for the European ITGS (International trade in goods statistics. It is the European version of the HS (Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System), managed by the World Customs Organization.

Combined Nomenclature, 2024 (CN 2024) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2023 (CN 2023) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2022 (CN 2022) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2021 (CN 2021) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2020 (CN 2020) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2019 (CN 2019) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2018 (CN 2018) Explore in ShowVoc

Combined Nomenclature, 2017 (CN 2017) Explore in ShowVoc

Geonomenclature (GEONOM)

The ‘Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Union and statistics of trade between Member States’, known as the ‘Geonomenclature’ and abbreviated to GEONOM, is used by the EU Member States to collect detailed statistics on their exchanges of goods with other Member States (intra-EU trade) or with non-EU countries (extra-EU trade).

Geonomenclature 2023 (GEONOM 2023) Explore in ShowVoc

Geonomenclature 2022 (GEONOM 2022) Explore in ShowVoc

Geonomenclature 2021 (GEONOM 2021) Explore in ShowVoc

PRODCOM List

PRODCOM List is a classification of industrial products derived from activities listed in sections B, C and E in the NACE. Most eight-digit PRODCOM codes have a complete reference to the Combined Nomenclature (CN).

PRODCOM List 2024 Explore in ShowVoc

PRODCOM List 2023 Explore in ShowVoc

PRODCOM List 2022 Explore in ShowVoc

PRODCOM List 2021 Explore in ShowVoc

PRODCOM List 2019-2020 Explore in ShowVoc

Standard goods classification for transport statistics (NST)

NST is a statistical nomenclature for the goods transported by four modes of transport: road, rail, inland waterways and sea that takes account of the economic activity from which the goods originate. This means that each of its items is strongly interrelated with an item of the European Union Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) and statistical classification of economic activities (NACE).

Standard goods classification for transport statistics 2007 (NST 2007) Explore in ShowVoc

Macroeconomics

Classification of Institutional Sectors (ESA 2010-S)

ESA 2010-S is one of the classifications used in the European System of, 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.

Classification of Institutional Sectors (ESA 2010-S) Explore in ShowVoc

Prices

European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose (ECOICOP)

ECOICOP is based on COICOP (Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose), a reference classification published by the United Nations Statistics Division, which is used in National accounts, Household Budget surveys (HBS), Price Statistics (HICP) and Purchasing Power Parities (PPP). ECOICOP-HICP contains the ECOICOP codes actually used in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

European Classification of Individual Consumption according to Purpose (ECOICOP) Explore in ShowVoc

European classification of individual consumption according to purpose adapted to the needs of the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (ECOICOP-HICP)

Transport statistics

International Classification of Ship by Type (ICST-COM)

ICST-COM which is harmonised with the UNCTAD International Classification of Ship Types, identifies all the ship types. The classification is applicable both to sea-going and to inland waterway craft. The groupings are based according to the construction of the ship or non-ship marine structure, rather than its particular use at a point in time.

International Classification of Ship by Type (ICST-COM) Explore in ShowVoc

Science, technology and innovation

Nomenclature for the analysis and comparison of scientific programmes and budgets (NABS 2007)

NABS 2007 (NABS) is a functional classification for the analysis of public financing of research and development (R&D) on the basis of the socio-economic objectives pursued by the central governments or stated by them in drafting their budgets and programmes, as opposed to a breakdown by institutions or groups of institutions to which funds are allocated.

Nomenclature for the analysis and comparison of scientific programmes and budgets (NABS 2007) Explore in ShowVoc

 

Demographic and social statistics

Activity coding list for harmonised European time use surveys (ACL)

The Activity Coding List is used in the Harmonised European Time Use Surveys (HETUS) to quantify how much time people spend on various activities, including paid work, household chores and family care, personal care, voluntary work, social life, travel and leisure.

Activity coding list for harmonised European time use surveys, 2018 (ACL 2018) Explore in ShowVoc

European Socio-economic Group (ESEG 2016)

ESeG is a derived classification from ISCO-08, which allows the grouping of individuals with similar economic, social and cultural characteristics throughout the European Union, based only on core social variables to ensure comfortable use in all social surveys providing comparable results.

European Socio-economic Group (ESEG 2016) Explore in ShowVoc

 

Environment statistics

Classification of Environmental Protection Activities and Expenditure (CEPA)

CEPA is a functional classification used to classify activities, products, outlays and other transactions whose primary purpose is environmental protection.

Classification of Environmental Protection Activities and Expenditure, 2000 (CEPA 2000) Explore in ShowVoc

Classification of Resource Management Activities, 2008 (CReMA 2008)

CReMA classifies resource management activities into seven main categories, and is complemented by the Classification of Environmental Protection Activities (CEPA) that classifies activities aimed at preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution or any other environmental degradation.

Classification of Resource Management Activities, 2008 (CReMA 2008) Explore in ShowVoc

LUCAS (Land Use / Cover Area Frame Survey)

LUCAS survey (Land Use / Cover Area Frame Survey) consists of an area frame sampling survey to collect harmonized data on land cover/use and agro-environmental parameter; the survey covers all Member States.

LUCAS 2022 Explore in ShowVoc

Substance oriented waste statistical nomenclature (EWC-Stat Rev. 4)

EWC-Stat Rev. 4 is a mainly substance-oriented classification of waste for statistical purposes, which distinguishes hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

EWC-Stat Rev. 4 Explore in ShowVoc

European List of Wastes, 2015 (LoW 2015)

LoW is the waste classification in the EU for administrative purposes, i.e. for permitting and supervision in the field of waste generation and management.

LoW 2015 Explore in ShowVoc

WASTE categories

Waste categories are defined on the basis of the statistical European Waste Classification (EWC-Stat), which is a substance-oriented nomenclature and which has been specially created for EU waste statistics. The 51 waste categories that must be reported in waste generation include 21 hazardous waste categories and 30 non-hazardous waste categories.

WASTE categories Explore in ShowVoc

 

Regional and geospatial statistical information

Regional statistics

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) and SR (Statistical regions)

The NUTS classification (Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) is a hierarchical system for dividing up the economic territory of the EU and the UK.

NUTS 2021 and Statistical Regions (SR) Explore in ShowVoc

Territorial typologies (TERCET)

The territorial typologies that have been developed by Eurostat can be split into three principal groups, covering grid-based typologies, local typologies based on LAUs (local administrative units) and regional typologies based on NUTS level 3 (the classification of territorial units for statistics).

Territorial typologies (TERCET) Explore in ShowVoc

Code lists

Supplementary units

List of Supplementary Units (SU) or Volume Physical Units used respectively in CN and PRODCOM List.

Supplementary units

Production types

List of the production types and heading types (combination of production types) required for the heading in PRODCOM List.

Production types

Classification series

List of the classification series used for the production of European statistics.

Classification series

 

Eurostat metadata catalogues

The statistical metadata catalogues supports the producers of official statistics in countries implementing the European Statistical System (ESS). They describe methodological guidelines or information entities that are useful for the production of the statistics for a particular statistical domain.

European Business Statistics Manuals (EBS)

European business statistics (EBS) manuals seeks to serve statistical experts and users alike as a comprehensive reference to the world of EBS by providing an overview of business statistics while highlighting the features introduced by the new regulatory framework. Furthermore, the manual describes the various statistical tools and activities supporting EBS production such as statistical units and profiling, classifications, data processing or statistical disclosure control.

European Business Statistics Manuals (EBS) Explore in ShowVoc

Catalogue of ESS Standards

List of standards officially adopted as ESS Standards, following the procedure defined by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC).

Catalogue of ESS Standards Explore in ShowVoc

 

Eurostat concepts and definitions

 

ESS Quality Glossary

Comprehensive collection of the terms and concepts related to the main activities of the ESS in the field of statistical quality, such as the Peer Reviews. It also addresses conceptual and methodological work within the ESS, taking stock of current research and scientific publications on quality in official statistics. The ESS Quality Glossary is maintained by Eurostat in collaboration with the Working Group on Quality in Statistics.

ESS Quality Glossary Explore in ShowVoc

 

Contact

If you have any comments, questions or further need for information, please contact: ESTAT-DATA-METADATA-SERVICES@ec.europa.eu.