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Enterprise openings and closures: documentation of statistics

13.7.2023 valid documentation

Basic data of the statistics

Data description

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures describe changes in Finland's stock of enterprises. The number of enterprise openings and closures derives from Statistics Finland's Business Register and the Tax Administration's registration data, and registrations of new enterprises from the business information system maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and the Tax Administration. The data are published quarterly.

Statistical population

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures are based on business data from Statistics Finland’s Business Register and the customer database of the Tax Administration. The population for registrations is all enterprises that produce goods or services for the market and have received a Business ID from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office in the reference period.

Statistical unit

In the statistics on enterprise openings and closures the term enterprise is used as a synonym for the concept legal unit. The name of the statistics has remained unchanged despite the change in the terminology.

According to the definition of Statistics Finland, an enterprise is a unit with decision-making autonomy that produces goods and/or services to be sold on the market. An enterprise is the same as a legal unit (Business ID) if the legal unit is not part of an enterprise group. Otherwise the enterprise is a group or part of it. An enterprise may thus comprise one or more legal units (Business ID).

A legal unit is an entity or an organisation registered for practising business activity. A legal unit is identified with a Business ID. Legal units are such as limited companies, private entrepreneurs, cooperatives, enterprises owned by central or local governments and foundations.
 

Unit of measure

In the statistics on enterprise openings and closures the measurement unit is the number of enterprises.

Base period

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures only contain data on numbers, not index figures.

Reference period

The reference period of the statistics on enterprise openings and closures is a quarter. The data on registrations are published at a one-quarter faster rate than the data on enterprise openings and closures.

Reference area

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures describe enterprises having started and closed down operation in Finland.

Sector coverage

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures cover enterprises that are liable to pay value added tax on business activities or on the transfer of usufruct of immovable property or are acting as employers. Excluded are foundations, voluntary associations, public authorities and religious communities. The statistics include state-owned enterprises but not municipal enterprises.

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.
 

Time coverage

Quarterly data on enterprise openings and closures are available from the statistical reference year 2013 onwards on the home page of the statistics and in Statistics Finland's StatFin database. These data are revised, i.e. the time series of the statistics from the first quarter of 2013 onwards (2013Q1) are formed again in each release.

The StatFin archive database contains data according to the Standard Industrial Classification TOL2008 for the years 2005 to 2013 and data according to the Standard Industrial Classification TOL2002 for the years 2001 to 2009. In addition, the archive database contains a time series on enterprise openings and closures by legal form for the years 1995 to 2013. These tables in the archive database are not revised. 

The registration data are from the 2019 statistical year onwards.
 

Frequency of dissemination

Data from the statistics on enterprise openings and closures are published quarterly. Data on enterprise openings and closures are published four months after the end of the statistical reference period. Annual statistics, which are a compilation of the previously published quarterly data, are published in October of the year following the statistical reference year. The data on registrations are published at a lag of around 50 days.

Concepts

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.

Decedent's estate

A decedent's estate refers to the assets and liabilities of a deceased person prior to the division of the estate. Heirs, meaning parties to the estate, belong to the same legal form.

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 company

A limited company can be founded by one or more natural or legal persons. The share capital of a private limited company must be at least EUR 2,500 and that of a public limited company EUR 80,000. The shareholders are not personally responsible for the company's liabilities. A limited company is entered into the Trade Register.

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.

Stock of enterprises

Stock of enterprises refers to cross-sectional data on the total number of active enterprise at a given point in time. The number of enterprises is influenced by fluctuations in the availability of information about enterprise start-ups and closures. The data are published in the Business Register statistics on enterprise start-ups and closures.

Classifications

Px code list of municipalities and regional divisions based on municipalities 2023
Px code list of standard industrial classification (TOL 2008))

Accuracy, reliability and timeliness

Overall accuracy

Data on enterprise openings and closures are updated over time. In the first release, the number of enterprise openings is usually lower than in reality. If the enterprise entered as closed activates again less than 18 months after the closing date, the closing data are removed. For this reason, the number of enterprise closures in the first publication is usually higher than the actual number. Changes in the number of registrations are minor.

Timeliness

Data are published quarterly in the statistics on enterprise openings and closures. Data on enterprise openings and closures are published four months after the end of the statistical reference period. Annual statistics, which are a compilation of the previously published quarterly data, are published in October of the year following the statistical reference year.
Registrations are published approximately 50 days from the end of the reference period.
 

Punctuality

The data of the statistics on enterprise openings and closures are published on the days indicated in the release calendar.

Comparability

Comparability - geographical

The data of the statistics on enterprise openings and closures cover the whole of Finland.

Comparability - over time

In the statistics on enterprise openings and closures, the classification of enterprises by legal form was revised for the year 2013 and newer years than that. The most visible change is that the category "32 Mutual insurance company" was removed. The cases recorded in this category mainly moved to "53 Mutual indemnity insurance association". In addition, there was some shift from the category "11 Natural person" to the category "12 Decedent's estate, heirs”.  The revisions became available for the first time in connection with the 25 July 2019 release.
 
The numbers of enterprise closures and the size data of the enterprise stock were not published for the last three quarters of 2017. The reason for this was the revisions in the source data, as a result of which unusually large fluctuations occurred in these quarters as regards closures.

The time series of the statistics on enterprise openings and closures were also broken as Statistics Finland's business statistics system was renewed. The new system was introduced starting from the statistical reference year 2013. In connection with the renewal, the formation of data on enterprise closures was revised, for example. The renewals also have an effect on classifying data, such as legal form, municipality of domicile and industry.

The basis for the statistics on enterprise openings and closures has changed starting from the 05/2007 release. Previously, the data of the statistics were derived based on the opening and closing data entered in the Business Register. In the new method, the data are produced based on the Tax Administration's registration data concerning enterprises. In addition, the target population of the statistics has expanded. Previously, the target group included enterprises that were employers or liable to pay value added tax on business activity. The new target group also includes enterprises liable to pay value added tax on the transfer of usufruct of immovable property. The extension of the target group is most clearly visible in the industry category “L. Real estate activities”.

The time series of enterprise openings and closures according to the previously published statistics ends for enterprise openings in the second quarter of 2006 and for enterprise closures in the first quarter of 2006. The time series according to the Standard Industrial Classification TOL2008 start from 2005. These old time series are also still available on the home page of the statistics.
 

Coherence - cross domain

The data “Enterprise stock” in the statistics on enterprise openings and closures and the data “Number of enterprises” in the structural business and financial statement statistics do not fully correspond with one another.

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 whose operating time in the statistical reference year and turnover or number of employees exceed certain lower limits. The practices of structural business and financial statement statistics are described in more detail on the home page of the statistics https://stat.fi/en/statistics/yrti.
 

Source data and data collections

Source data

The data sources for the statistics on enterprise openings and closures are Statistics Finland’s Business Register and the data on enterprises’ registrations obtained from the Tax Administration. 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.

Principles and outlines

Contact organisation

Statistics Finland

Contact organisation unit

Economic Statistics

Legal acts and other agreements

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.  
Registerations comply with the following regulations:

  • Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197

Further information: Statistical legislation 

Confidentiality - policy

The data protection of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed in accordance with the requirements of the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018). The data materials are protected at all stages of processing with the necessary physical and technical solutions. Statistics Finland has compiled detailed directions and instructions for confidential processing of the data. Employees have access only to the data essential for their duties. The premises where unit-level data are processed are not accessible to outsiders. Members of the personnel have signed a pledge of secrecy upon entering the service. Violation of data protection is punishable. 

Further information: Data protection | Statistics Finland (stat.fi) 

Confidentiality - data treatment

The data published in the statistics on enterprise openings and closures are not data subject to the encryption rules.

Release policy

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 are public after they have been updated in the web service. 

Further information: Publication principles for statistics at Statistics Finland 

Data sharing

Data from the statistics on enterprise openings and closures are published quarterly on the home page of the statistics and in the StatFin database.

Other

Data on enterprise openings and closures are also available free of charge or as a chargeable information service.
For more information about the service, see http://www.stat.fi/tup/yritysrekisteri/yhteystiedot_en.html.
 

Accessibility and clarity

Statistical data are published as database tables in the StatFin database. The database is the primary publishing site of data, and new data are updated first there. When releasing statistical data, existing database tables can be updated with new data or completely new database tables can be published.   

In addition to statistical data published in the StatFin database, a release on the key data is usually published in the web service. If the release contains data concerning several reference periods (e.g. monthly and annual data), a review bringing together these data is published in the web service. Database tables updated at the time of publication are listed both in the release and in the review. In some cases, statistical data can also be published as mere database releases in the StatFin database. No release or review is published in connection with these database releases. 

Releases and database tables are published in three languages, in Finnish, Swedish and English. The language versions of releases may have more limited content than in Finnish.   

Information about changes in the publication schedules of releases and database tables and about corrections are given as change releases in the web service. 

Data revision - policy

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. 

Quality assessment

The statistics on enterprise openings and closures are based on cross-sectional data of the compilation period from Statistics Finland’s Business Register and the Tax Administration's registration data concerning enterprises. Changes in the data systems or database maintenance can have an effect on the data of the statistics and comparability of time series.

Quality assurance

Quality management requires comprehensive guidance of activities. The quality management framework of the field of statistics is the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP). The frameworks complement each other. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are also compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. 

Further information: Quality management | Statistics Finland (stat.fi) 

User access

Data are released to all users at the same time. Statistical data may only be handled 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 separately stated in connection with the product, data or service concerned, Statistics Finland is the producer of the data and the owner of the copyright. The terms of use for statistical data. 

Statistical experts

Service email
rakenne.tilastot@stat.fi
Mira Kuussaari
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