DS Euro indicators REVAMP > Information on data > National accounts > EN

Background information

National accounts are a coherent and consistent set of macroeconomic indicators that provide information to analyse the structure and evolution of economies. The methodology is defined by the European System of National and Regional Accounts 2010, ESA 2010.

European institutions, governments, central banks, and other economic and social entities use national accounts data for economic analysis and forecasting, policy design and policy-making. Specifically, these high-quality short-term statistics are required to support European economic policy decisions, as well as to monitor the goals of the economic and monetary union (EMU) and national policies in relation to the Stability and Growth Pact.

Information in the database

This section mainly covers:

  • quarterly national accounts include GDP and its main components, such as gross value added, final consumption, gross fixed capital formation, exports and imports of goods and services, income accounts, and employment;
  • quarterly sector accounts provide a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process. These include production, generation, use and distribution of income, as well as financial and non-financial accumulation. Data is divided into sectors (households and non-profit institutions serving households, non-financial corporations, financial corporations, government, rest of the world);
  • government finance statistics present an integrated picture of government economic activities. These are revenue, expenditure, deficit or surplus, financing, other economic flows, and balance sheets.

The data are supplemented by a small set of annual indicators on GDP, government debt and deficit, and main aggregates of national accounts.

Data are presented both in current and constant prices, when they can be computed, as well as for employment in thousands of persons. Price indices are also available. Growth rates are provided to show the evolution of the main macroeconomic aggregates over time. Data are available both unadjusted and seasonally/calendar adjusted.

Further reading