1. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
ECONOMIC AND ACTIVITY CLASSIFICATIONS
Title of course
Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI,
COFOG, COPP
Marie-Madeleine Fuger (INSEE -France-)
Gheorghe Constantinescu (INSSE -Romania-)

2. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Context
The 1993 SYSTEM OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS includes, Chapter XVIII, the
"Functional classifications“.
“Functional classifications” are primarily designed to classify transactions
which result in - “payables” - money paid or due for:
▪ the acquisition of current and capital goods;
▪ the acquisition of labour and other services;
▪ the acquisition of financial assets;
▪ the extinction of financial liabilities.
In 1993 SNA, the terms “purpose” and “function” are used interchangeably,
conveying the same meaning: “socio-economic objectives” that institutional
units aim to achieve through various kinds of outlays.
“Functional classifications” are needed to identify expenditures that respond
to social and economic concerns.

3. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Functional classifications
The 1993 SNA includes four classifications of expenditure according to purpose,
as follows:
♦ Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose - COICOP;
♦ Classification of the Purposes of Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households - COPNI;
♦ Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG;
♦ Classification of the Outlays of Producers According to Purpose - COPP.
Each classification has three levels of detail:
Division (or two-digit level) ;
Group (or three-digit level) ;
Class (or four-digit level)

4. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Functional classifications
The four classifications (COICOP, COPNI, COFOF, COPP) are designed to classify
transactions undertaken by:
- households;
- nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs);
- government;
- producers.
COICOP is used to classify the individual consumption expenditures of
households, NPISHs and general government;
COFOG and COPNI are used to classify a range of transactions made by general
government and NPISHs respectively;
COPP is used to classify intermediate consumption and capital outlays of
companies.

5. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
COICOP – Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose is one of the
“functional" classifications of the National Accounts System (SNA).
Scope
It is used to classify transactions made between producers and the
institutional sector of households. COICOP identifies objects or objectives for
which these transactions are made.
It allows to know the expenses which households dedicate to food, to
health, to education etc.
Structure
14 Divisions Groups Classes - most classes comprise either goods or services;
- classes are specified as comprising „durables“,
„semi-durables“, „non-durables“ or „services“.

6. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
COICOP is essentially divided into three parts:
Divisions 01 to 12 Individual consumption expenditure of households
Division Individual consumption expenditure of NPISHs
NOTE: All consumption expenditures of NPISHs are also
treated, by convention, as being for the benefit of
individual households;
Division Individual consumption expenditure of general government
NOTE: Some of the consumption expenditures of general
government are defined as individual;
Divisions 13 and 14 were introduced in COICOP in order to obtain an specific
aggregate of 1993 SNA, named “actual final consumption of households ”
or “actual individual consumption ”.

7. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Uses of the classification
- National Accounts;
- Household budget surveys – COICOP-HBS;
- Consumer price indices – COICOP- HICP;
- International comparisons of gross domestic product (GDP).
Units of classification
Classification Unit: Transactions
Divisions 01-12, the units of classification are: expenditures for the acquisition
of consumption goods and services;
Division 13, the units of classification are: individual outlays of NPISHs;
Division 14, the units of classification are: expenses of general government.

8. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
COPNI – Classification of the Purposes of Non-Profit Institutions Serving
Households is one of the “functional" classifications of the National
Accounts System (SNA).
Scope
It is used to classify expenditures of NPISHs by purpose. COPNI serves to
classify a whole series of operations (the spending of final consumption, the
intermediate consumption, gross fixed capital formation, capital transfers
and current transfers) made by non-profit institutions serving households.
Structure
9 Divisions Groups Classes
Uses of the classification
- National Accounts - the aggregate - “actual final consumption of households”;
- COPNI can be used to facilitate international comparisons of the activities
of NPISHs.

9. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Units of classification
- In principle, COPNI classifies individual outlays of NPISHs according to the
purpose they serve;
- In practice, the NPISHs themselves will usually constitute the units of
classification.

10. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
COFOG – Classification of the Functions of Government is one of the
“functional" classifications of the National Accounts System (SNA).
Scope
It is used to classify the government expenditures according to the purpose
for which the funds are used. COFOG distributes the expenses of general
government in ten categories according to their purpose.
Structure
10 Divisions Groups Classes
Uses of the classification
- A major use of COFOG is to identify consumption expenditures that benefit
individual households and that are transferred to Division 14 of COICOP;
- COFOG is used for making intercountry comparisons of the extent to which
governments are involved in economic and social functions.

11. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Units of classification
Classification Unit: Transactions
- in theory: individual transactions of government
- in practice: units => outlays
First, the COFOG codes are assigned to the government units (agencies,
offices, programme units, ministries and similar units of government);
Second, all outlays, made by a unit, will be coded to the COFOG code
assigned to that unit.

12. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
COPP – Classification of the Outlays of Producers According to Purpose is one of
the “functional" classifications of the National Accounts System (SNA).
Scope
It is used to classify the intermediate consumption and the capital
expenditures of companies.
Structure
6 Divisions Groups Classes
Uses of the classification
- COPP can inform about the "outsourcing" of activities of companies
- provide information regarding companies trend to buy ostside services of
catering, cleaning, transport, internal control and others than them produced
themselves previously.

13. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
Units of classification
Classification Unit: Transactions
- In principle, COPP classifies outlays of enterprises by purpose;
- Outlays of enterprises by purpose may be divided into:
▪ current expenditures - outlays on intermediate goods and services;
▪ capital expenditures - investment in produced fixed assets;
- investment in non-produced fixed assets;
- outlays of enterprises, for instance, to develop
software, to construct roads or to carry out
major repairs or improvement of capital goods.

14. Classifications by purposes: COICOP, COPNI, COFOG, COPP
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