External statistics revision

Published: 30/9/2022

A regular annual revision has been made in the course of compiling the balance of payments and international investment position reports for the second quarter of 2022. In accordance with the published revision policy for national accounts statistics, at the release of the second quarter data, this revision covers past data and includes an unlimited number of previous quarters, the number of which depends on the time length of changes in data sources. Such far-reaching regular revisions are made once a year, while only current year data are revised at the time of release of data for other quarters.

The changes in the values stem from further methodological adjustments of external statistics with international statistical standards.

The most important improvements in the data quality relate to the following:

  1. current transfers of the government sector (Secondary income, credit and debit);
  2. subsidies of other sectors (reclassification from the Secondary to Primary income, with no effect on the current account and net errors and omissions);
  3. data on online trade in goods (Trade in goods, debit);
  4. quasi-transit (Trade in goods, credit);
  5. financial derivatives of investment funds and insurance corporations sectors;
  6. portfolio equity investment;
  7. data on life insurance mathematical reserves and non-life insurance technical reserves (other investment, assets). 

The data revision provided for a more comprehensive scope and better alignment with international statistical standards, which is reflected in reduced net errors and omissions. As a result, cumulative net errors and omissions in the period from 2011 to 2020 were changed from EUR –322.0m to EUR +79.3m, which means that they were significantly reduced in absolute terms and came close to zero in the ten year period.