Description

The objective of the national accounts is to describe the most relevant characteristics of the Spanish economy and its institutional sectors and activity branches. To ascertain the evolution of the macroeconomic groups the National Statistics Institute publishes the national accounts of Spain and the quarterly national accounts.

Spanish National Accounts (NAS)

The NAS uses the set of basic short term or structural statistical information offered by the statistical system. Data arising from the different sources are dealt with and arbitrated in a unique accounting framework. As statistical information is enlarged and the accounting framework is broken down, national accountants revise the estimates obtained. The estimates from each year undergo three revisions until they are considered definite.

The NAS has been elaborated annually since 1967. As of 19 May 2005 the NAS is elaborated in the framework of the new accounting base 2000. The fundamental objective of the base change operation is to improve the exhaustivity, reliability and comparability of the national account estimates by means of the use of new sources of statistical information, the incorporation of new accounting concepts and conventions and the use of new calculation procedures and methods.

The NAS-2000 incorporates two conceptual changes due to modifications to the basic methodology that governs the use of national accounts (European System of National and Regional Accounts ESA-95). These changes are:

- Assignation of the Departments of Financial Intermediation Measured Indirectly (SDIMI) for user sectors/activity branches in application of that set out in Council Regulations numbers 448/98 and 1889/2002.

- Introduction of a new method of elaboration for estimates in terms of volume by means of which fixed base estimates at constant prices used up to now are replaced by estimates at prices from the preceding year and which are linked. This methodological change is based on Commission decision number 98/715/EC.

Moreover, the NAS-2000 is incorporating other statistical changes which originate from the use and adaptation of new statistical sources and from the application of new estimate methods and procedures. The most relevant changes are:

- Incorporation of population estimates based on the 2001 census and use of data from the continuous register.

- Use of the employment estimates provided by the APS-2005

- Incorporation of data provided by Public Administration accounts.

- New methodology to estimate data on the foreign trade of goods and services.

- Use of data provided by the annual services survey for the estimate of accounting movements of these activity branches.

- Revision of agricultural branches accounting movements.

- New estimate of the production value of imputed rents. In other words, rents generated by owner occupied households.

Quarterly National Accounts (QNA)

The QNA has as its main objective the provision of a coherent quantitative description of the totality of economic activity, within a quarterly macroeconomic framework, elaborated from a supply, demand and primary income viewpoint. The QNA is adjusted to the same principles of accounting coherence and equilibrium as the annual National Accounts.

As of 25 May 2005 the QNA will be elaborated in the framework of the new accounting series base 2000.