This category

National accounts

National accounts are a coherent, consistent and integrated set of macroeconomic accounts, balance sheets and tables based on a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules. National accounts provide a comprehensive accounting framework within which economic data can be compiled and presented in a format that is designed for purposes of economic analysis, decision-taking and policy-making.

The core item is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which can be reached through two main approaches, the expenditure approach and the production approach. The main components of the expenditure approach are household and government consumption, gross fixed capital consumption and exports and imports where the output approach presents the value added by individual industries.
In order to ensure  intertemporal and international comparability the national accounts are  compiled according to international standards. The Icelandic national accounts are compiled according to the European version  of the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA 1993), that is ESA 95. For further information on methods applied see Gross National Income Inventory (ESA95) - 2003.

The national accounts are published on the Statistics Iceland website, in the Statistical Yearbook and in its Statistical Series, both as web publications and on paper. There is unlimited, free of charge access to the website. The first results for each year are published as provisional data in March the following year with revised figures being published as preliminary data in September, both according to the advance release calendar of Statistics Iceland. Quarterly national accounts figures are published according to the advance release calendar in March (previous year, 4th quarter), June (current year, 1st quarter), September (current year, 2nd quarter) and December (current year, 3rd quarter). The findings are released simultaneously to all users on the Statistics Iceland website.

Public finance and sector accounts

Statistics Iceland compiles the annual general government, central government, and local government statistics, on an accrual basis, in the context of the national accounts based on the 1995 ESA and the ESA 95 Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Therefore, the overall structure of the Icelandic government finance statistics in terms of concepts and definitions closely follows international standards and guidelines as recommended in the 1995 ESA and ESA 95 Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. In the field of government finance, these definitions and concepts are broadly
 
similar to those of the IMF’s GFSM 2001. The analytical framework closely follows the framework as required by European regulations. The revenue and expenditure data by economic type and by function can be related to the international standards as described in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 published by the International Monetary Fund. Owing to adherence to international recommendations the data published by Statistics Iceland differ from the official accounts published by the central and local governments´ authorities.
The annual preliminary data for each financial year are published in March of the following year. The data are revised in September. Quarterly data on the main aggregates for central and local governments are published at the end of the next quarter after the reference quarter.

Services:

• For telephone enquiries call +354–528 1100 or by e-mail.

• The Statistics Iceland library gives you information on national accounts and public finances and you can have the relevant statistics photocopied or provided in electronic format.

For further information:

Guðrún Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir head of national accounts and public finance, tel. +354 528 1121