Business demography: documentation of statistics
The documentation of the statistics describes how the statistics were compiled and what methods were used in the compilation. The data help interpret the figures of the statistics and evaluate their reliability and comparability. The quality report is based on the EU's SIMS model. The documentation also contains change releases describing changes in the statistics and possible specifying methodological descriptions.
If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Business demography
Quality report
Data description (SIMS 3.1)
The statistics on business demography describe the dynamics, life cycle and employment impact of enterprises in Finland. The statistics contain data on enterprise openings and closures and on high-growth enterprises by region and industry. Data are published quarterly and annually.
Sector coverage (SIMS 3.3)
The data on enterprise openings and closures and the data on high-growth enterprises cover industries B-R and S94, all legal forms, types of ownership and business sector categories. All market-based enterprises that have had turnover, personnel, other operating income, investments, or balance sheet during the statistical reference year are included in the statistics.
Marked-based enterprises engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishery (industry A) that have had income from agriculture, other turnover, personnel, other operating income, investments, or balance sheet during the statistical reference year are included in the statistics.
For industry 02, the units that have had income from forestry, other turnover, personnel, other operating income, investments, or balance sheet during the statistical reference year are included in the statistics.
Registrations include all new Business IDs granted, in which the enterprise form is a public mutual insurance company, mutual insurance company, limited partnership, cooperative, cooperative bank, limited company, public limited company, savings bank, public insurance company, joint-stock insurance company, private practitioner of trade, general partnership, trade association, European mutual insurance company or European company. These enterprise forms have been selected for the statistics because they can be thought to aim to produce products or services for the market.
Statistical unit (SIMS 3.5)
The business demography statistics are published partly for enterprises and partly for legal units. The registrations of new enterprises are published for legal units. The data on enterprise openings and closures and the data on high-growth enterprises are published for enterprises.
According to Statistics Finland’s definition, an enterprise is a unit with decision-making autonomy, which produces goods and/or services for sale in the market. An enterprise may comprise one or more legal units. If an enterprise comprises more than one legal unit, transactions between the units have been eliminated. For high-growth enterprises enterprise comprise usually only one legal unit.
Legal units include:
• persons carrying on a business, trade or profession in their own name, or in the name of a registered firm
• legal persons (such as limited liability company, limited partnership, general partnership, cooperative, savings bank and economic association)
• market-based enterprises.
A legal unit is an administrative reporting unit and a reporting unit for its own data collection.
Statistical population (SIMS 3.6)
Enterprises engaged in business activities in Finland constitute the population of the business demography statistics. The key classification variables of the statistics, such as industry, sector, legal form, type of ownership, and the size category of wage and salary earners, are obtained from the Register of Enterprises and Establishments of Statistics Finland. Enterprises are selected for the statistics if they are market-based and have had personnel, turnover, investments and balance sheet during the statistical reference year. Persons carrying on a business using single-entry bookkeeping are also included in the statistics. Market-based enterprises and foreign branches are also included. The most significant branches abroad have been eliminated from the statistics.
The business demography statistics are based on the registers of the Finnish Tax Administration, Incomes Register and the inquiries carried out among enterprises by Statistics Finland.
The structural inquiries among enterprises produce information on the number of wage and salary earners and industries.
The registrations of new enterprises cover all enterprises producing goods or services for the market which have received a Business ID from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office during the reference period.
Reference area (SIMS 3.7)
The business demography statistics are published on the level of the entire country.
Registrations of new enterprises describe new enterprises registered in Finland which produce goods or services for the market. The following legal forms are included in the statistics:
• Public mutual insurance company,
• Mutual insurance company,
• Limited partnership,
• Cooperative society,
• Cooperative bank,
• Limited company.
• Public limited company,
• Savings bank, public insurance company,
• Joint-stock insurance company,
• Private practitioner of trade,
• General partnership,
• Trade association,
• European mutual insurance company
• European company
Time coverage (SIMS 3.8)
The data on enterprise openings and closures are from the 2019 statistical year onwards. The data on enterprise openings and closures was previously published under separate statistic. The data on enterprise openings and closures is now congruent with the data of the other structural business statistics (Structural business and financial statement statistics, Regional statistics on entrepreneurial activity and Foreign affiliates in Finland) and with the data published by Eurostat.
The data on high-growth enterprises are from the 2017 statistical year onwards.
The registration data are from the 2019 statistical year onwards.
Base period (SIMS 3.9)
The business demography statistics are not index-based. The data are specific for each quarter and year.
Unit of measure (SIMS 4)
Per cent and the number of personnel are used as the units of measure in the statistics’ database tables.
Reference period (SIMS 5)
The reference period of the business demography statistics is a quarter and a year.
Classifications (SIMS 3.2)
Concepts and definitions (SIMS 3.4)
Bankrupt's estate
This legal form is used if a bankrupt's estate requests and is given a Business ID. Otherwise the legal form of an enterprise does not change in connection with a bankruptcy.
Co-operative society
A community engaged in economic activity to benefit its members, whose number of members and capital are varying. The members participate in the activity by exploiting the services of the community. The founders of a co-operative society must number at least one. A co-operative society is entered into the Trade Register. A co-operative bank is a co-operative society engaged in banking activity.
Corporation subject to taxation
Corporations subject to taxation include: 1) corporations subject to taxation, 2) bodies jointly and severally liable for tax withholding, such as unregistered companies, foundations or association, 3) jointly owned forests, 4) farms, 5) trade associations and 6) other units subject to taxation.
Economic association
A community whose purpose is acquisition of profit or other direct economic benefit to its members or whose purpose or type of activity is otherwise mainly economic. The Associations Act does not apply to the activities of these associations but their activities are based on the operating principles agreed at the time of their establishment or on separate legislation. Such associations include associations of forest owners or mortgage associations.
General partnership
A general partnership must have at least two founders who may be either natural or legal persons. Each partner in a general partnership is responsible for the partnership's liabilities to their full extent as if they were their own debt. A general partnership is entered into the Trade Register.
Home municipality
The municipality registered as the municipality of domicile or an enterprise.
Legal form
Legal form identifies the legal status of a legal person. The classification of legal forms is based on the company forms of the Trade Register and on the requirements of taxation legislation. The legal forms of enterprises and corporations are recorded in the Business Information System. Statistics Finland's classification of legal forms is based on this system and on the Tax Administration's coding of legal forms. Some of the Tax Administration's categories have been combined in Statistics Finland's classification.
Limited partnership
A limited partnership has both a liable and a silent partner. There may be one or more of each. Silent partners are only responsible for the partnership's liabilities up to the amount of capital they have invested into the partnership. Liable partners are liable for all debts of the partnership with their entire assets. The sizes of the investments of silent partners and the method for calculating their shares of profits must be recorded in the articles of incorporation of the partnership. A limited partnership is entered into the Trade Register. The name of a limited partnership must disclose its form either as an abbreviation or as an unabbreviated word.
Mutual indemnity insurance association
A mutual indemnity insurance association is an insurance company based on the mutual responsibility of its shareholders, whose area of operations covers no more than 40 municipalities or which only practises insurance of fishing equipment. The articles of association of the association are ratified by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the association is entered into the Trade Register.
Mutual insurance company
Mutual insurance companies are either life insurance companies or indemnity insurance companies and mainly engage in life insurance activity (including pension insurance) or indemnity insurance activity as their name implies. The activities of insurance companies are supervised by the Insurance Inspection Authority.
Mutual interest bodies
Mutual interest bodies, such as fishery collectives and road maintenance associations.
Natural person
A natural person engages in entrepreneurial activity under his/her own name or under a registered trading name. This group includes own-account workers, sole proprietors, most agricultural and forestry entrepreneurs, as well as practitioners of trade.
Other legal form
Other companies and foreign corporations or their branches in Finland.
Principal activity
All enterprises and establishments proper are separately assigned an economic activity at the most detailed level of the industrial classification. In the Business Register, the principal activity of an enterprise is defined according to the value added created at its establishments engaged in different economic activities. Value added corresponds closely to value of secondary processing. The value added for the economic activities of an enterprise is obtained by multiplying the number of employees in each establishment by the average value added it creates in its activity and by proportioning the obtained figure to the duration of its activity in the accounting period within the statistical year. Principal activity is defined in stages from the section level to the most detailed level of the standard industrial classification. The principal activity of an enterprise is usually determined by the industry of the establishment that generates most value added during an accounting period. The principal activity of an enterprise can change, for example, as a consequence of incorporation, when a significant part of the enterprise becomes independent from the point of total value added.
Savings bank
A savings bank and a joint-stock savings bank company are deposit banks as referred to in the Act on Credit Institutions (1993/1607), whose specific objective is promotion of saving. The Ministry of Finance grants licences for savings banks, which are entered into the Trade Register.
Shipping company under joint ownership
A shipping company under joint ownership is a corporate form reserved only for merchant shipping activity. A shipping company under joint ownership is born when two or more natural or legal persons join together to practise merchant shipping for hire or reward for mutual benefit with a vessel of which the partners (proprietors) themselves own specified shares.
Institutional mandate (SIMS 6)
The compilation of statistics is guided by the Statistics Act. The Statistics Act contains provisions on collection of data, processing of data and the obligation to provide data. Besides the Statistics Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities are applied to processing of data when producing statistics.
Statistics Finland compiles statistics in line with the EU’s regulations applicable to statistics, which steer the statistical agencies of all EU Member States.
Further information: Statistical legislation
Legal acts and other agreements (SIMS 6.1)
The compilation of statistics is guided by the Statistics Act. The Statistics Act contains provisions on collection of data, processing of data and the obligation to provide data. Besides the Statistics Act, the Data Protection Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities are applied to processing of data when producing statistics.
Statistics Finland compiles statistics in line with the EU’s regulations applicable to statistics, which steer the statistical agencies of all EU Member States.
Further information: Statistical legislation
The compilation of the statistics is also guided by the following legislation:
1. Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics and Commission Implementing regulation (EU) 2020/1197.
2. Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 on statistical units is applied to the statistics on business activities.
3. Regulation on industrial classifications; Standard Industrial Classification 2008 is based on the European Union’s common industrial classification (NACE Rev. 2), which has been supplemented for national needs on the 5-digit level.
Data sharing (SIMS 6.2)
Data from the business demography statistics are published quarterly on the home page of the statistics and in the StatFin database. Part of the data are also submitted to the researcher services. Industry-specific data are also transmitted to Eurostat, which publishes the data on its own website.
Source data (SIMS 18.1)
The data contained in the business demography statistics are based on the registers of the Finnish Tax Administration and inquiries carried out by Statistics Finland. The source data are based on data on legal units. These source data are described in more detail below. The data are supplemented with inquiries carried out by Statistics Finland.
The data on registrations of new enterprises are obtained from the business data system maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and the Tax Administration.
Finnish Tax Administration registers
Business start and end data, home municipality, preliminary industry of new enterprises, and wages and salaries are obtained from the Finnish Tax Administration registers. The register data are supplied to Statistics Finland once a month.
Statistics Finland’s own data collections
The information of enterprises’ and institutions’ establishments address, name, the number of wage and salary earners in person-years, industry, and the starting date, the ending date and the date of transition of business is collected in the Business Register Inquiry on establishment.
The inquiry annually covers approximately 13,000 enterprises and institutions. The inquiries are sent yearly to enterprises and institutions working in several different addresses and employing at least 5 person-years. Approximately every three years the enquiry is sent to enterprises and institutions working in only one establishment.
The number of wage and salary earners in enterprises not included in the surveys and in enterprises who have not answered to the survey is estimated.
Data compilation (SIMS 18.5)
The number of openings and closures of enterprises is estimated using a seasonal time series model (SARIMA). The model uses the figures from the past quarters and subsidiary data to forecast the number of openings and closures. Subsidiary data includes information on the administrative openings and closures. The seasonal model takes into account the variation in the number of openings and closures on different seasons. For example, holiday periods and other seasonal cycles affect the figures. A genuine opening or closure is defined based on the enterprise's level of activity. If the enterprise is no longer active, it is classified as having ceased operations. However, if the enterprise become active again within two years, the closure data are cancelled and the enterprise is considered to have been in continuous operation. The activity status of an enterprise is determined in the same way as the population of the statistics is formed.
User satisfaction (SIMS 12.2)
Eurostat assesses the data of the statistics yearly. The last grade received by Finland was very good.
Overall accuracy (SIMS 13.1)
Data on enterprise openings and closures are updated over time.
Changes in the number of registrations are minor.
Data on high-growth enterprises are not updated regularly. If necessary the data for older years can be updated at the same time new data is published. In that case the update is mentioned in the footnote of the database table.
Quality assurance (SIMS 11.1)
Quality management requires comprehensive guidance of activities. The European Statistics Code of Practice forms the basis for the common quality system of the European Statistical System.
The Code of Practice is based on 16 principles that concern statistical authorities' independence, accountability and the quality of the processes and data to be published.
The principles are in line with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics approved by the United Nations Statistics Commission and are supplementary to them. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice.
Further information: European Statistics Code of Practice | Statistics Finland and Recommendations of the Advisory Board of Official Statistics of Finland | Statistics Finland
Quality assessment (SIMS 11.2)
The estimate of enterprise openings and closures is compared to the final data of the business demography, which are completed with a delay of two years.
Data revision - policy (SIMS 17.1)
Revisions – i.e. improvements in the accuracy of statistical data already published – are a normal feature of statistical production and result in improved quality of statistics. The principle is that statistical data are based on the best available data and information concerning the statistical phenomenon. On the other hand, the revisions are communicated as transparently as possible in advance. Advance communication ensures that the users can prepare for the data revisions.
The reason why data in statistical releases become revised is often caused by the data becoming supplemented. Then the new, revised statistical figure is based on a wider information basis and describes the phenomenon more accurately than before.
Revisions of statistical data may also be caused by the calculation method used, such as annual benchmarking or updating of weight structures. Changes of base years and used classifications may also cause revisions to data.
Timeliness (SIMS 14.1)
The data on enterprise openings and closures are published at a lag of around 100 days.
The data on registrations are published at a lag of around 50 days.
The data on high-growth enterprises are published 12 months after the end of the statistical year.
Punctuality (SIMS 14.2)
The data of the business demography statistics are published on the days indicated in the release calendar.
Comparability - geographical (SIMS 15.1)
The data cover the whole of Finland. The data sent to Eurostat are internationally comparable.
Comparability - over time (SIMS 15.2)
The data on enterprise openings and closures and the data on high-growth enterprises are temporally comparable since 2021. Starting from the statistical reference year 2021, the data on the number of personnel and wage and salary sum in the statistics have been calculated with a new method using the new Incomes Register data. Starting from the statistical reference year 2021, the estimated profit and loss account data of enterprises subject to the Tax Administration’s estimated assessment will be included in the statistics. Previously, these enterprises' profit and loss accounts were not included in
the statistics. Due to the renewals, the data is not fully comparable with earlier years.
Coherence – cross domain (SIMS 15.3)
The data on enterprise openings and closures is congruent with the data of the other structural business statistics (Structural business and financial statement statistics, Regional statistics on entrepreneurial activity and Foreign affiliates in Finland) and with the data published by Eurostat.
In the statistics on enterprise openings and closures, the “enterprise stock” is the number of enterprises operating at the time derived from the Tax Administration’s registration data concerning enterprises that cover enterprises liable to pay value added tax on business activities or on the transfer of usufruct of immovable property, as well as enterprises acting as employers. The “number of enterprises” in the structural business and financial statement statistics is the number of enterprises as the annual average data. It covers all types of enterprises, that is, also other than those liable to pay value added tax or employer's enterprises, and it includes enterprises that are market-based and have had personnel, turnover, investments and balance sheet during the statistical reference year.
Coherence - sub-annual and annual statistics (SIMS 15.3.1)
The quarterly data adds up to the annual data.
Release calendar (SIMS 8.1)
Statistics Finland publishes new statistical data at 8 am on weekdays in its web service. The release times of statistics are given in advance in the release calendar available in the web service. The data become public after they have been updated in the web service.
Further information: Publication principles for statistics at Statistics Finland
Release calendar access (SIMS 8.2)
Statistics Finland's release calendar Future publications
Future publications of the statistics can be found on the page of the statistics at: Future publications of the statistics
User access (SIMS 8.3)
The data are released to all users at the same time. Statistical data may be processed at Statistics Finland and information on them may be given before release only by persons involved in the production of the statistics concerned or who need the data of the statistics concerned in their own work before the data are published.
Further information: Publication principles for statistics
Unless otherwise specifically stated in connection with the product, data or service concerned, Statistics Finland is the producer and copyright owner of the data. The terms of use for statistical data.
Frequency of dissemination (SIMS 9)
The data on enterprise openings and closures and the registration data are published quarterly on the website of Statistics Finland. The data on high-growth enterprises are published yearly.
News release (SIMS 10.1)
The release is published quarterly on the home page of the statistics.
Online database (SIMS 10.3)
The database tables of the statistics can be found in the StatFin database.
Documentation on methodology (SIMS 10.6)
The documentation of the statistics on business demography can be found on the home page of the statistics.
Confidentiality - policy (SIMS 7.1)
The data protection of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed. The compilation of statistics is guided by the Statistics Act. Alongside the Statistics Act, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the Finnish Data Protection Act are applied to the processing of personal data. Provisions on the confidentiality of data collected for statistical purposes are laid down in the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
The data are processed only by persons who need the data in their work. The use of data is restricted by usage rights. All persons employed by Statistics Finland have signed a pledge of secrecy, where they have obliged to keep secret the data prescribed as confidential by virtue of the Statistics Act or the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
Further information: Data protection | Statistics Finland (stat.fi)
Confidentiality - data treatment (SIMS 7.2)
The data contained in the structural business and financial statement statistics are published at aggregate level. All of the variables used in the statistics are publicly available.