1. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Construction statistics, part 1 1 Business statistics and registers

2. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Demarcation of the domain In the ISIC, the construction sector is represented by section F It has the following divisions: – Construction of buildings – Civil engineering – Specialized construction activities 2

3. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Demarcation of construction Construction includes general construction and specialized construction activities for buildings and civil engineering works 3 It includes new work, repair, additions and alterations, the erection of prefabricated buildings or structures on the site and also construction of a temporary nature.

4. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Construction of buildings Division 41 - Construction of buildings includes general construction of buildings of all kinds It includes new work, repair, additions and alterations Excluded are e.g.: -Manufacture of building materials -Erecting or installing industrial equipment -Architectural and engineering activities -Project management for constructions -Landscape planning and design 4

5. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Civil engineering Civil engineering includes general construction for civil engineering objects It includes new work, repair, additions and alterations Included is the construction of heavy constructions such as motorways, streets, bridges, tunnels, railways, airfields, harbors and other water projects etc. 5

6. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Specialized construction activities Specialized construction activities include demolition and site preparation, electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities, building completion and finishing and other specialized construction activities These activities are usually specialized in one aspect common to different structures Specialized construction activities are mostly carried out under subcontract, but especially in repair construction it is done directly for the owner of the property 6

7. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Special features of the construction industry Construction activity and organization differs from other industries Some of the special features of this industry are: There may be wide geographical dispersion of construction activities, even for the same enterprise The level of activity tends to vary both with the season and with the weather A large part of production consists of individual "made to measure" products Although the duration of work at a particular construction site is of limited duration, it nevertheless tends to be longer than the accounting period for a statistical inquiry. In most countries, construction work is carried out by a wide variety of agents 7

8. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Subcontracting and informal production Subcontracting is prevalent in construction The basic distinction is between main contractors, undertaking the work for the investor, and subcontractors There is, however, a variety of possible arrangements An enterprise does not necessarily always play the same role in construction projects; it may act as the main contractor in one project and as a subcontractor in another Care is required to avoid both double-counting and omissions A significant proportion of construction activity may be performed by production units of the informal sector 8

9. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Approaches to construction surveys There are different approaches to construction surveys Which of these approaches is the best for a country depends on needs, resources and statistical infrastructure A fully developed system may include: Establishment sample surveys on the basis of a statistical business register Annual comprehensive industry surveys An ongoing household survey measuring small-scale construction activities Administrative sources, particularly building permits 9

10. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Sampling for construction surveys Construction surveys whose scope is the whole of construction activity will have to use a combination of: Register-based coverage Area sampling coverage of construction projects not covered by register units and of own-account construction by households 10

11. Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Administrative sources Many countries have a system of building permits for work above a certain value This enables estimates of future building activity, an important leading economic indicator The system also provides a sampling framework for quarterly building activity surveys Ideally this system includes construction of new buildings, but also renovation etc. Value data of production in construction are derived by aggregation of the estimated value of building work Civil engineering works are normally excluded from the collection 11