The methodology for calculating the national accounts data changed
Statistics Estonia revised the national accounts time series from 1995 onwards. As a result of all corrections, the annual gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices changed on average by 0.8% in 1995–2018.
The main purpose of this revision was to implement the recommendations made to Estonia during the gross national income (GNI) verification cycle. During the revision, all previous calculations were reviewed, new datasets were introduced and, in some cases, the calculation methodology was improved. As a result, the corrections in different years are not identical, ranging from +0.1% in 2016 to +2.8% in 1995.
In 2015, which is the new base year for calculations, the main changes in the GDP level were as follows:
- Changes made due to the GNI verification cycle increased the GDP 0.3%.
- Regular data accrual and revision added 0.6%.
- Methodological improvements reduced the GDP by 0.3%.
In the time series of national accounts, the methodology for disaggregation from annual to quarterly data was changed as well. Moreover, the reference year was shifted from 2010 to 2015 in the process of chain linking the GDP figures.
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP before revision (million euros) | 20061.2 | 20652 | 21682.6 | 23615.1 | 25678.1 |
| Revisions from GNI verification cycle, % | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.0 |
| Regular revision, % | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Other revisions, % | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Total impact of all revisions on GDP, % | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
* It is difficult to identify the impact of standard recalculations and other methodological updates
Additional information about the revisions is available here.
Today, on 30 August at 11 a.m., Statistics Estonia will hold a briefing to explain the GDP revision and its influence on statistical indicators.
For the statistical activity “National accounts”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Finance, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia performs this statistical activity.