| Data Sources in the Detailed Bulletin of National Accounts
The detailed national accounts statistics according to the System of National Accounts 2008 are based on the data of the administrative registers of the government entities and the related establishments provided to GASTAT annually in order to calculate its indicators and release it in the detailed national accounts Statistics.
| Objectives
• Composition of integrated economic accounts and consolidated matrices.
• Provision of statistics by current and capital account sequence for institutional sectors in accordance with 2008 SNA.
• Provision of statistics by current and capital account sequence for economic activities in accordance with 2008 SNA.
| Terminology and Concepts Related to the Detailed National Accounts Bulletin
• Gross Output
The value of goods and services produced from producing activity for institutional units that use input during the accounting period. It includes finished, unfinished products and the products produced for own use. The value of output is usually estimated at producer prices, that represents the market value at factory gate.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (By Production Approach)
The total value added of the resident producers at producer price, in which customs fees are added. Or it is the total output, in which total intermediate consumption is deducted, and the net products taxes are added (taxes- subsidies), which are not included in the outputs value.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (By Expenditure Approach)
The total of final expenditure at purchasers price including exports at free on board prices (FOB), from which imports are deducted.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (By Income Approach)
Total compensation of employees, net taxes, operating surplus and depreciation of fixed capital.
• National income
It is the GDP minus the preliminary incomes paid to the unestimated units, plus the preliminary incomes received from the unestimated units. It is equivalent to the total primary income of all sectors in the income primary distribution accounts.
• Intermediate Consumption
It is the value of goods and services that is used as inputs for the production process excluding fixed assets as their consumption is considered as a consumption of the fixed capital. The used goods and services might be totally transformed or consumed in the production process. Some inputs may emerge again after being transformed or merged with the outputs. There are some inputs that can be totally disappeared such as electricity and other similar services.
• Disposable income
It is the national income at market price, plus net current transfers from abroad. It represents the sum balances of the income secondary distribution accounts of all sectors.
• Adjusted disposable income
Disposable income plus or minus social in-kind transfers provided by the government and non-profit institutions to the household sector, which represents the sum balances of in-kind income redistribution accounts of all sectors.
• Compensation of employees
Compensations are the total sums, in cash or in kind, payable amounts by enterprises to employees in return for their work before deducting premiums such as social insurance, taxes, etc.
• Operating Surplus
It is the added value minus the value of employees' compensations, net indirect taxes, and the depreciation of fixed capital.
• Products and imports taxes
The taxes imposed on producers for producing, selling, buying, or using goods and services. These taxes are usually added to production costs, and include customs fees.
• Production subsidies
They include grants payable by the government to the current account of private and public sectors, and grants offered by public authorities to government projects to compensate the loss resulting from a governmental policy aiming to keep price at a certain level. They may be measured as the difference between the target price and the actual market price paid by the purchaser if this difference is covered by the government.
• Net products and imports taxes
They are the value of taxes on products and imports minus the value of production subsidies.
• Depreciation of Fixed Capital
It represents the decrease of the fixed assets value, used in production, during the accounting period as a result of a slump, obsolescence, or any deterioration factor. This depreciation could be deducted from the gross fixed capital formation to get the net fixed capital formation.
• Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
The value of loans multiplied by the difference between the interest rate on reference rate plus the value of deposits multiplied by the difference between the reference rate and the deposit rate.
• Marketable goods and Services
The term refers to the value of goods and services which are sold in the market, or which are primarily manufactured to be sold in the market at a price intended to cover production cost and achieve profits. They include all goods and services domestically produced or imported from abroad, except the direct purchases from abroad by the government and the households.
• Non-marketable goods and Service
The term refers to the value of other goods and services which are offered at a price that does not usually cover production cost (for free or at a nominal price). Most of them consist of the production of government services producers and non-profit institutions serving households.
• Trade margin
A trade margin is the difference between the actual or imputed price by the purchaser for a commodity purchased for resale (either wholesale or retail), and the price that would have to be paid by the distributor for the commodity at the time it is sold or used. The outputs of wholesale and retail trade are measured by the sum of trade margin values realized on the goods purchased for resale.
• Imports of Goods and Services
It is the value of goods that have been transferred from being owned by non- residents to being owned by residents in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the imports include the services provided by nonresidents to residents in Saudi Arabia. The imports include the goods that cross the boards for processing and the goods that are prepared in foreign ports and transported by local transporters and the nonmonetary gold. The import services include tourism and transportation services, communication, insurance, construction, financial services, royalties, licenses fees, personal and cultural services, and non-classified government services.
• Exports of Goods and Services
It is the value of goods that have been transferred from being owned by residents in Saudi Arabia to being owned by non-residents. The exports include exported goods for processing, goods purchased in local ports by non-residents transporters, and nonmonetary gold. Moreover, the exports of services include all services provided to non-residents such as tourism and transportation services, communication, insurance, financial services, royalties, licenses fees, personal, cultural, and recreation services, and government services.
• Government Final Consumption Expenditure
The value of the total goods and services that consumed by the government in the process of producing the government services. It equals the value of the government total production minus the value of the market and non- market sales. The government production value equals the intermediate consumption of goods and services in addition to the value of the compensation of employees, depreciation of fixed capital, and indirect net taxes.
• Households Final Consumption Expenditure
The value of resident households final consumption expenditure on goods (durable and non-durable) and services minus their sales of used goods.
• Final Consumption Expenditure of NPISHs
The value of the NPISHs final consumption expenditure on goods and services that are provided free or at nominal price to households. This equals the value of production minus market and non- market sales.
• Private Final Consumption Expenditure
The value of final consumption expenditures of resident households and the NPISHs.
• Gross Fixed Capital Formation
The sum values of the producers fixed assets minus the value of fixed assets disposed by producers (additions - exclusions) during the accounting period. In addition to additions made to non-productive assets such as land improvement, forest development, implantations and groves…etc. These additions are used for more than one year. They include changes in live-stock such as dairy livestock …etc. They also include transferring (sales and purchases) property costs regarding lands, forests, and mines …etc.
• Change in inventory
The market value of change that occurs during the accounting period of inventory including raw material, product in process, finished products, animals for slaughtering, and purchased goods for resale. This represents the difference in the inventory value at the end and at the beginning of the accounting period.
• Gross Capital Formation
It equals the value of fixed capital formation in addition to the change in inventory.
• Fixed assets
They are productive assets repeatedly or continuously used in production operations for a period of time exceeding one year. The fixed assets do not only include machinery and equipment, but also include different assets such as trees and animals which are repeatedly or continuously used for the production of other products, such as fruits and dairy products. Also, they include intangible assets such as computer software and artwork used in the production.
• Property income
It is the income received by the owner of unproductive financial or tangible asset for providing money or for putting the unproductive tangible asset at the disposal of other institutional unit. The financial instrument usually determines the terms and conditions of property income payment. Property incomes include interests, profit distribution, distributed shares, withdrawal from the income of quasicorporation, revenues of reinvested direct foreign investment, and property income payable to insurance policy holders as well as revenues.
• Shares
The term refers to the value of income payable for shareholders as a result of putting their money at the disposal of companies. It is a type of property income.
• Rental
It is the net rental value payable as a result of the exploitation of agrarian lands for the purpose of agriculture as well as the revenues of in-ground assets. It may be paid in cash or in kind. It is one of the forms of property income.
• Interest
It is a form of property income that is received by the owners of specific types of financial assets such as deposits, securities other than shares, loans and other creditor accounts. The interest is defined as the sum that the debtor is liable to pay to the creditor over a given period of time by virtue of terms and conditions of the financial instrument agreed upon by debtor and creditor, without decreasing the value of the original debt.
• Current transfers
The term refers to the value of transfers made between the dealers in the form of non-capital transfers. These transfers are made from the current income of the payer, and added to the collector's current income and directly affect the level of disposable income and also affect the consumption of goods and services.
• Saving
The difference between receipts and current uses. It represents the total balance of disposable income accounts in all sectors.
| Used Statistical Classifications
The most important classifications on which the detailed national accounts statistics are based on are:
1. National Classification of Economic Activities (ISIC 4)
2. Central Product Classification (CPC2)
3. Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP)
4. Classification of the functions of government (COFOG).
5. Balance of payments manual- 6th edition.
| Data Acquisition
The General Authority for Statistics in coordination with government entities and establishments concerned with the national accounts; obtained the data of the detailed national accounts bulletin from administrative records mentioned in the design stage. Data were kept in the databases in GASTAT, and were audited and reviewed in accordance with a scientific statistical method, following the recognized quality standards in coordination with the issuer of data.
1. Production Approach
A. Non-Financial Corporations
The non-financial projects sector cover all the economic activities according to (ISIC, Rev.4) except for the activities of banking, insurance, and auxiliary financial services.
The production method was used to calculate the added value (production– requirements= added value) of all the activities that compose this sector. Furthermore, the current accounts and capital account of all sub-activities were composed.
Following are the most important activities of this sector:
1- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
This includes plant production, animal production, fishing, and forestry, and logging production... etc. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is the main source of data for this activity, as it provides data on agricultural production and all its different kinds that are derived from the results of censuses and agricultural research conducted by the ministry and the economic research that GASTAT carry out annually. These research provide data on production, intermediate consumption, value added, paid wages, operating surplus, and capital formation, in order to calculate the surplus in the income generation account.
In order to compose the rest of the accounts, a sample were taken from the farms and large agricultural companies. Based on their data, the indicators used to compose the other accounts of these activities were prepared.
2- Mining and quarrying
(A) Crude oil and natural gas
This includes the activity of extracting crude oil and natural gas. Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources is considered the main source of crude oil data which can be obtained from oil companies that work in Saudi Arabia in a monthly or annual basis. Therefore, data on the annual and exported crude oil production‘s quantity and value are provided, in addition to providing data on refined oil and all expenses related to oil production in Saudi Arabia. Hence, the production method is applied to estimate the added value of the oil extraction activity. Moreover, annual reports of oil companies are used to estimate the value of capital formations by type of capital asset, in addition to some information associated with wages, taxes, property incomes, current transfers, and capital transfers in order to compose current accounts and capital account.
(B) Quarrying
This includes the activities of coal, lignite, metal ores mining, in addition to the other activities and services of mining and quarrying. The data were obtained from the results of economic research that GASTAT conducts annually through questionnaires designed for this purpose. These questionnaires provide data on production, requirements, wages, taxes, subsidies, current and capital transfers, and property incomes. The production method was also followed to estimate the added value and compose the current accounts and the capital account.
3- Manufacturing
Manufacturing covers a number of economic activities including:
• Manufacture of food products, soft drinks, and tobacco products.
• Manufacture of textiles and clothes.
• Manufacture of leather and its related products.
• Manufacture of wood, wood products, and foam excluding furniture.
• Manufacture of paper, paper products.
• Manufacture of coke and refined oil products.
• Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products.
• Manufacture of main pharmaceutical products.
• Manufacture of rubber and plastic products.
• Manufacture of non-metals and base metals.
• Manufacture of computers, electronic and visual products.
• Manufacture of furniture.
• Other manufacturing.
The economic research that GASTAT conducts annually are the main source for all manufacturing activities’ data. Data are obtained through questionnaires that are designed for this purpose. They cover all large-sized enterprises through enumeration, and all small and medium-sized enterprises through sampling by administrative regions and economic activity. These questionnaires provide necessary data for composing accounts starting from production account until the capital account, hence, the production method is used to calculate the added value.
4- Electricity, gas, and water
This includes the activities of electricity, gas, steam, air conditioning, water collection, water process, water connection, sewerage, waste collection, process, and disposal…etc. The annual economic research that GATAT conducts, in addition to the final accounts of the Saudi Electricity Company are considered the main source for electricity data. However, the National Gas and Industrialization Company is considered the main source for gas data, whereas the National Water Company is the main source for water production and distribution data.
Through these data, the added value is estimated according to the production method. Then, the other current accounts and the capital account are composed.
5- Construction
This includes the activities of residential and non-residential buildings construction, and the activities of civil engineering such as: (roads pavement, construction of bridges, tunnels, and railways, sewerage, water and wastewater projects, electricity and telephone projects, well drilling and land reform, Air conditioning devices installation, operation of connecting buildings to sewerage, water connection, sanitary instruments and elevators installation…etc.) in addition to the specialized construction activities such as (demolition of buildings, preparation of locations and electrical installations, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning operations…etc.).
However, it is not easy to enumerate and determine the units that work within this activity. It is also hard to assign the major and minor constructions, what is performed outside the establishment, and what is self-performed…etc.
The annual economic research results provide data and indicators that are used to estimate the necessary variables of the national accounts. Other sources are also used such as the consumed construction material…etc. to complete the accounts of this activity.
6- Wholesale and retail
This includes the activities of wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of vehicles and motorcycles. Estimates and accounts of this activity depend on the data of annual economic research conducted by GASTAT in the field of trade statistics. They are distributed through the comprehensive enumeration of large-sized enterprises, and through sampling of small and medium-sized enterprises. The annual surveys provide data on the purchases, sales, wages, requirements, newly purchased fixed assets, all types of expenditure and other revenues necessary for accounts composition.
7- Hotels and restaurants
This includes all activities of accommodation, and food and beverages services. The estimates and compositions of this activity accounts rely on the results of economic research that GASTAT conducts. The questionnaires provide value data on the revenues and expenses of the units working within this activity.
8- Transportation, storage, information, and communication
This includes the activities of land, pipe, air, and sea transport. In addition to the activities of storage, post, cargo, transport logistic services, in addition to the telecommunication activities either pertaining to the public, private, or mixed sectors. It also includes the activities of publishing, computer programming, consultative experience, information services, programming, and radio…etc. it relies on the data of annual economic research in addition to the data of telecommunication activities. The production method is used to estimate the value added in order to compose the accounts as usual.
9- Real-estate and business services
This includes the real-estate activities which are represented in residential rentals, in addition to the activities of business services such as the activities of legal and accounting, research and development, advertising research and market…etc. the residential rentals are estimated based on the available data of the Household Expenditure and Income Survey 2007, taking into consideration the population growth rates. As for the business services, they rely on the results of the annual economic survey.
10- Collective, social, and personal services
The collective, social, and personal services are divided into:
• Education: includes all education services activities.
• Health and social care: includes all health and care activities with residency and collective work without residency.
• Other social and personal services: includes all activities of arts, creativity, entertainment, sports, computer repair, personal and home goods, and membership organizations…etc. The annual economic research are considered the main source of data, as they provide necessary data to compose accounts according to the production method.
B. Financial Corporations
This sector includes all activities of financial services, insurance financing, reinsurance, pension funds, and other supportive activities. This sector also covers the financial intermediation activities. The main sources of data for this activity are the final accounts of the units that work in banking and insurance fields, and the data of the annual economic research that GASTAT conducts. In addition to the actual services of financial intermediation, the method of estimating the financial intermediation services in an indirect way, which is recommended in the system of national accounts 2008, is applied. So, the current accounts and the capital account can be composed based on these data.
C. General Government
The governmental public sector provides goods and services for free or at a nominal price. Therefore, there is no market value for the governmental services production, so production is estimated through expenditure, In other words, total production is equal to total production requirements, plus the compensation of workers and depreciation, and by subtracting the production requirements from the value of production (method of production) you get the total value added, which is equivalent to the compensation of workers plus depreciation, therefore, there is no net surplus for the government sector. Data provided by the budget of Saudi Arabia are used to compose the current accounts and the capital accounts.
D. Households ( Including incorporations enterprise )
From a productive perspective, the household sector’s productive aspect is estimated through the Household Expenditure and Income Survey 2007, to estimate the wages of housekeepers, in addition to the units that work within the different non-institutional economic activities, which are restricted to the units that include less than five workers. Therefore, these units were excluded from the annual economic surveys either they work in financial or non-financial activities, and being added to the household sector.
E. Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households
As mentioned above, the non-profit projects provide goods and service for free or at a nominal price. Therefore, there is no market value for their products, so the production is estimated through expenditure exactly as the governmental sector:
(Requirements+ Compensations of workers+ Depreciation= Production)
And by subtracting the production requirements, we get the added value. The annual economic survey is considered the main source of this sector’s data, as it provides all necessary data to compose the current accounts and the capital account, in addition to the final consumption expenditure after subtracting the marketed and non-marketed sales.
F. Rest of the world
The balance of payments which the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) prepares is the main source for composing the accounts of the rest of the world sector, in addition to other reports issued by the SAMA:
• The external account of goods and services.
• The external account of primary incomes and current transfers.
• Capital operation account (capital account).
2. Expenditure Approach
(A) Household Expenditure (Household Final Consumption Expenditure)
The Survey of Household Expenditure & Income is the main source of data needed to estimate the Household Final Consumption Expenditure taking into account the population growth and price change rates.
(B) General Government Final Consumption Expenditure
The General Government Final Consumption Expenditure is the gross value of government expenditure (inputs + wages + depreciation) less the market and non-market sales. The final accounts prepared by the government agencies are the main source of data.
(C) Gross Fixed Capital Formation
The GAStat surveys that cover all economic activities provide data on the gross fixed capital formation by capital asset. Also, these surveys give data of the general government final accounts on expenditure of the gross fixed capital formation. Questionnaires conducted by the authority provided details of the depreciation (fixed capital depreciation) except for the government which indirectly estimate depreciation in another way.
(D) Exports of Goods and Services
Exports of goods estimated according to data provided by the foreign trade statistics and the export of services estimated according to SAMA's balance of payments.
(E) Imports of Goods and Services
The foreign trade statistics provide necessary data on the imported goods while the imports of services data is estimated from SAMA's balance of payments.
(F) Change in Stock
Data on inventory change can be derived from GAStat's surveys which give detailed information on inventory changes at the sector and economic activity levels. Inventory Change include nothing about the changes taking place in the general government sector.
3. Income Approach
This approach is based on compiling production and the generating income accounts, using the previous sources, data on wages and salaries in addition to the gross and net operating surplus. Thus, the gross and net production factors income can be calculated by addition of generating income accounts of all sectors including the Rest of the World Sector.
| Preparation and Reviewing of Results:
After reviewing and processing the accumulated data of the administrative records, results were calculated, extracted, uploaded, and stored on the database. The final reviewing processes were conducted by specialists in national accounts using modern technologies and software designed for the purposes of reviewing and auditing.
| Data Dissemination:
First: Preparation of Results Designed for Publishing:
At this stage, GASTAT coordinated, organized and reviewed the data of the administrative records contained in the bulletin. Tables and charts of data and indicators were then prepared and processed. Then, the metadata and the methodology were added as seen in this bulletin which was prepared in Arabic and English.
Second: Preparing media material and announcing the bulletin’s release date:
After GASTAT announced the bulletin’s release date on its official website at the beginning of the calendar year, it prepares the required media materials to announce the bulletin’s release on all media outlets, as well as its various social media platforms. The announcement will be made on the date set for publication. The bulletin will be published on the official website in various templates of open data in Excel format to guarantee its circulation and accessibility to all clients and parties interested in the results of the detailed national accounts statistics. The bulletin will be included in the website’s statistics library.
Third: Communicating with clients and providing them with the bulletin:
GASTAT pays great importance to communicating with clients who use its data. Therefore, GASTAT contacts clients upon the release of the Detailed National Accounts Methodology according to the System of National Accounts 2008 to provide them with it. GASTAT also receives questions and enquiries from clients regarding the bulletin and its results through various communication channels. Clients can contact GASTAT to request data. Questions and inquiries are received via:
- GASTAT website: www.stats.gov.sa
- GASTAT email: info@stats.gov.sa
- Client support email cs@stats.gov.sa
- Official visits to GASTAT’s headquarters in Riyadh or one of its branches in the regions of the Kingdom.
- • Official letters.
- Statistical Helpline (920020081)
| Applied Quality Procedures:
The results of the Detailed National Accounts Bulletin is subject to many technical quality procedures to ensure the quality of the data. These include:
1- Review data from administrative records, verify their comprehensiveness and communicate with data providers if clarifications are needed on concerned data.
2- Verify outputs logic by comparing them with historical figures as well as its conformity with the actuality of the National Accounts.
3- The obligation in publishing the results according to the predetermined publication dates.
| Users and Benefits of the Bulletin:
The National Accounts Bulletin benefits decision makers, planners, researchers and all beneficiaries from government agencies, entities and institutions (the most important of which are the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Finance and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority), as well as the private sector, regional and international organizations and bodies (the most important of which are the GCC Statistical Center, Arab Monetary Fund, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Arab League. The results of the Bulletin are used to measure the level of economic development and determine the contribution of the institutional sectors and the various economic activities in the GDP.
Details of the National Accounts Bulletin can be found on GASTAT's official website