Information on data
Background information on national accounts
National accounts provide information to analyse the structure of economies and their development over time. They contain a wide range of statistics describing an economy in various ways. The main GDP aggregates provide an overview of key economic developments.
Other national accounts data on institutional sectors, government finances or supply, use and input-output tables allow a deeper analysis. These topics are presented in different sections of the Eurostat website. A selection of data is also available on a regional level.
Frameworks for data transmission
The European system of national and regional accounts (ESA 2010) transmission programme, as outlined in annex B of EU regulation 549/2013, defines the datasets that national statistical authorities of the EU countries are obliged to transmit to Eurostat for the compilation of the European accounts.
National accounts data are shared with other institutions, notably with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A protocol with the OECD specifies agreed data exchange and data validation arrangements.
Data compilation and dissemination
National accounts are compiled in accordance with ESA 2010. This system is fully consistent with the worldwide guidelines on national accounting, the System of national accounts (SNA). The ESA ensures that national accounts data are based on common concepts, definitions, classifications, and accounting rules. This ensures a consistent, reliable, and comparable quantitative description of an economy.
Each EU member compiles its own national accounts through a process of integration of data from many sources, for example, statistical surveys of businesses and households and administrative data. These accounts are compiled and send to Eurostat by the national statistical authority which is appointed by its government, such as its national statistical office or its national central bank. These data are then transmitted to Eurostat. Data are also supplied by countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), EU candidate countries, and potential candidates.
Eurostat compiles European national accounts by combining EU members’ national accounts data. For this purpose, EU countries are required to provide Eurostat with a pre-specified data set according to a fixed transmission timetable. For in depth-information, please consult our webpage on methodology.
For information on the dissemination of tables from the ESA 2010 transmission programme in Eurostat's database, please refer to this explanatory document.
Country specific information
The country specific information associated with national estimates for 2024Q1 presents a list with links to GDP news releases from national statistical offices. National publications are released according to national release calendars. Generally, national statistical institutes release their data according to their T+30 and T+45 flash estimates and regular T+2 months estimates. For further details, please also consult the QNA release calendar.
The country specific metadata on the recording of Ukrainian refugees provide information on the classification of Ukrainian refugees in main aggregates of national accounts.
COVID-19
National accounts releases have been prioritised as the data are of high user interest. They reflect measures undertaken by governments and their impacts on corporations and households. Eurostat and EU members are strongly committed to respect publication deadlines and provide users with the highest possible data quality. Data and metadata releases are fully transparent regarding impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on national accounts.
Further information
Metadata for previous quarters
Data consistency
Temporary, and usually limited, inconsistencies between different national accounts datasets may occur due to vintage effects.
For example, this may occur between the quarterly main aggregates and detailed data for countries that transmit flash estimates. Many countries transmit flash estimates for quarterly main aggregates 30 or 45 days after the reference quarter. These data cover only a sub-set of the regular data transmission, which are due after 2 months. At this moment in time, quarterly GDP and employment estimates are more up-to-date than previously published detailed data.
Moreover, there may be temporary differences between the sum of the quarterly data and annual data. This is notably the case in autumn for those countries that align their quarterly estimates with some delay to the annual data. More details can be found in the country specific metadata on data particularities.