Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS-STAT)) On the Problems of Development, Harmonization, Implementation and Usage of Classifications by National Statistical Services of the CIS Countries V.L. Sokolin Chairman of CIS-STAT 7 th SPECA Project Working Group on Statistics August 2012, Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

2 National Classifications Systems National classification systems of the CIS countries include: Nation-wide classifications (i.e. classifications having the status of state standard), creation and maintenance of which are carried out both by national statistical services and branch ministries and agencies; Classifications used in statistical registers of national statistical services (classifications of types of enterprises, kinds of activities, governing bodies, forms of property, organizational and legal forms, administrative-territorial division, countries, currencies, products and other).

3 Classification of Kinds of Economic Activities The first step in the process of creation of national classifications of kinds of economic activities by the CIS countries is the choice between classifications: Developed by UNSD (ISIC and CPC); European classifications (NACE and СРА). Taking into account the fact that in EU classifications the principle of industrial origin of products has provided full identification of codes of activities and products for the first four digits, the preference was given to European classifications.

4 Classification of Kinds of Economic Activities National classifications of kinds of economic activities of the CIS countries (as of 1 August 2012 Application of national classification based on NACE (rev.2) Application of national classification based on NACE (rev.1.1) AzerbaijanBelarus ArmeniaRussia KazakhstanTurkmenistan (NACE, rev. 1) Kyrgyzstan Moldova Tajikistan Uzbekistan Ukraine

5 Classification of Products National classifications of products of the CIS countries (as of 1 August 2012) Application of national classification based on CPA-2008 Application of national classification based on CPA-2002 AzerbaijanBelarus ArmeniaMoldova KazakhstanRussia KyrgyzstanTajikistan UkraineTurkmenistan (CPA-1996) Uzbekistan

6 Problems of Creation and Introduction of Classifications Problems occurred in the course of creation and introduction of international classifications into statistical practice of the CIS countries: methodological: development of keys of conversion from previously functioning to newly introduced classifications; reflection of collecting kinds of activities (space exploration, investment processes, innovation processes), recalculation of time series and other; terminological: inevitable discrepancies in translation caused by linguistic peculiarities of this or other languages or national peculiarities, absence in national languages of many new notions and terms used in international classifications; financial: adoption of state programmes on budget financing of new classifications development and introduction; technical: provision of specialists with technical means; Information: modification of task assignments for the complex of electronic processing of information (КEOI), revision and modification of KEOI, etc.; provision of computerized maintenance of inter-related national classifications; organizational:creation of normative base regulating the order of development, introduction and implementation of national systems of inter-related classifications; establishment of specialized structural units (divisions, services) in national statistical services dealing with classifications, training of specialists; absence of timely translation into Russian and national languages of the last versions of international classifications or their revisions, etc.

7 Problems of Classifications Harmonization Problems occurred in the process of harmonization of national statistical classifications of the CIS countries: Problems connected with some inconformity in international analogues between each other, for example, between NACE, rev.2 and CPA-2008 – with regard to detalization of retail trade into retail trade in non-specialized shops and retail trade in specialized shops; Problems of inconformity of national statistical classifications between each other at the level of last digits of the code, for the reason of national peculiarities of this or other country, for example, in Nation-wide Classification of Kinds of Economic Activities of the Republic of Uzbekistan in class “Breeding of sheep and goats” subclass “Breeding of astrakhan sheep” is given separately for the reason of national peculiarities, and in class “Breeding of other animals” separately given is subclass “Breeding of silkworm”.

8 Thank you for attention