Global value chains: documentation of statistics

Global value chains cover enterprises with at least 50 employees from industries B to N (Standard Industrial Classification 2008). 

The statistical unit of the statistics on global value chains is an enterprise (enterprise unit). According to Statistics Finland’s definition, an enterprise is a unit with decision-making autonomy, which produces goods and/or services to be sold on the market. An enterprise may be comprised of one or more legal units (Business ID). If an enterprise consists of several legal units, the enterprise unit data are formed based on Eurostat's guidelines.

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 in the data collection on global value chains.

Enterprises engaged in business activities in Finland and employing at least 50 employees comprise the population of the statistics on global value chains. Enterprises have been selected for the statistics if they operate on market terms and have turnover, other operating income, balance sheet, personnel or investments in the last year of the reference period.

The statistics on global value chains are published on the level of the whole country.

The first reference period for the publication of regulation-based data is 2021 to 2023, which is also the first reference period for the statistics on global value chains. Before the statistics on global value chains were established, data were produced voluntarily in connection with EU-funded projects for the reference periods 2001 to 2006, 2009 to 2011, 2015 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020. The statistical survey in the topic developed as a result of the voluntary projects and at that time the reference periods of the inquiries, sample sizes and questionnaires could change for each survey. The results for the reference periods 2015 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020 have been published as experimental statistics: Global value chains and international sourcing of activities Data older than this are available as chargeable data through the Research Services.

The statistics on global value chains are not index-based statistics. The data comprise either the reference period (three years) or the last year of the reference period.

Share of enterprises,%

Number of enterprises

Number of employed persons

According to the indicator, the reference period of the statistics on global value chains is either three consecutive calendar years or the latest calendar year of them.

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

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 on global value chains is also guided by the following legislation:

1. Regulation (2019/2152) of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics and the Commission Implementing Regulation on global value chains supplementing this with technical specifications, which is updated every three years. To support the application of EU legislation, Eurostat has prepared the “European business statistics compilers' manual for global value chains” for producers of data on the topic.
2. The Regulation on statistical units, Regulation of the Council on statistical units is applied to the statistics on enterprise activity (696/93).
3. The Standard Industrial Classification 2008 is based on the European Union’s common industrial classification, NACE Rev. 2, supplemented for national needs on the 5-digit level.

The data are published every three years on the statistics' website and in the StatFin database. Eurostat publishes the results of the countries on its website. Microdata can be released without identification data for research use.

Data production in the topic of global value chains is based on data obtained through data collection from enterprises and on utilisation of other data materials.

The population of the statistics covers all enterprises with at least 50 employees in the industries B to N (Standard Industrial Classification 2008). Data collection is directed to all enterprises employing at least 100 persons and a sample is formed from enterprises employing 50 to 99 persons. The framework is based on the data of the Business Register. The sampling is made as simple stratified random sampling. The strata of the sampling are industry and group relationship.

The data are produced every three years.

The data collection questionnaire is based on a template produced by Eurostat. The content of the national version of the template was developed in cooperation with Statistics Finland's employees in the questionnaire design and testing function.

An electronic questionnaire has been used in data collection.

In connection with the reference period 2021 to 2023, questionnaire testing was carried out, based on which it was made more user-friendly.

The data collection typically includes at least two reminder rounds in addition to the actual survey. Reminder rounds can be carried out by mail, email or telephone.

The data collection unit is a legal unit (Business ID) even though the statistical unit is an enterprise. The enterprise unit data are formed based on the data of legal units according to Eurostat's guidelines.

The data collection data are checked in two ways. Internal coherence of a data collection response is checked in cases where it can be concluded that a certain response alternative is illogical compared to the respondent's other responses to the survey. The external coherence of the data collection responses is checked with regard to applicable questions relative to administrative data or other data collection materials insofar as there are data on the enterprise. The main problematic aspects can be checked during the implementation of the data collection. The results of the validations are also taken into account in the designing of the questionnaire for the following data collections.

The data are supplemented with additional data obtained with unit level checks directly to the data. Imputations are made by statistical methods based on the existing consistency data. As a rule, part of the statutory content of the statistics is produced based on existing data. Inflating the sample to the level of the population also takes into account non-response. The strata and inflating coefficients are based on size category, industry and group type.

Global value chains is a sample survey and the survey design always involves statistical uncertainty factors, the most important of which are measurement error and non-response.

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

The quality of the statistics is assessed in two stages of the statistical process. The coherence of the unit data of the statistics with other enterprise data and the coherence between the responses filled in by the respondent are examined during the data collection stage. In the validation prior to the release of the statistics final corrections and imputations are made more extensively to unit-level data based on the existing data.

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.

At the end of the reference period:

• The data are collected in approximately four months' time.
• The data are published in 18 months' time.
• The data are supplied to Eurostat at the latest 21 months from the end of the reference period.

There is no delay in publishing the data of the statistics on global value chains. The data have been published on the days indicated in the release calendar.

The data production of the global value chains topic is based on Eurostat's guidelines and the concepts are comparable with the data of other European statistical offices. The production modes of the European statistical offices are regularly compared coordinated by Eurostat.

The first regulation-based reference period of the topic of global value chains as well as the first published reference period of the statistics is 2021 to 2023.

Some of the questions concern the whole reference period, some only the last year of the reference period.

Data have previously been produced voluntarily in connection with EU-funded projects for the reference periods 2001 to 2006, 2009 to 2011, 2015 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020. The statistical research in the topic has developed along with the voluntary projects and the reference periods of the inquiries, sample sizes and questionnaires could change for each survey. The results for the reference periods 2015 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020 have been published as experimental statistics: Global value chains and international sourcing of activities

The global value chains topic is connected to the statistics on international trade, as well as to the statistics on affiliates and on foreign direct investments. The data are compared as applicable with each other and data on the global value chains topic are produced partly utilising existing data on other topics.

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

Statistics Finland's release calendar: Future publications

Future releases of the statistics can be found on the page of the statistics at: Future publications of the statistics

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.

Data on the statistics on global value chains are published once a year on Statistics Finland's website.

The release is published monthly/annually/quarterly on the home page of the statistics. (linkki tilaston omille sivuille)

The database tables of the statistics can be found in the StatFin database.

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)

Statistics Finland’s official guidelines on the protection of tabulated business data are applied in protecting the data of the statistics on global value chains. As in sample surveys, the basis for publishing the data is to not publish data on the statistical units belonging to the sample. In terms of protection, compliance with the threshold rule is the primary procedure. If the statistics contained data in euros they would also be protected according to the dominance rule. The protected data are suppressed.

The global value chains data are submitted to Statistics Finland's Research Services for research use. The data do not include identifiers. The use of the data for scientific research and statistical surveys is possible only on the basis of a separate licensing decision and in an unidentifiable format.

In the tabulations submitted to Eurostat, sensitive cells are indicated as protected (also secondary protection), in which case Eurostat does not publish these data. However, the data can be used in calculating summary data at the EU level. Protection is indicated in accordance with instructions given by Eurostat.