Long abstract

About Statistics Publications & Documents Information by Country

This publication is the result of a joint effort between the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) and the Organisation for Economic Co­operation and Development (OECD).

It provides a unique source of information for comparative analysis on national methodologies used in measuring the increasingly important area of trade in services. The information is based on the results of the Methodological Soundness Questionnaire, which was launched in 2003 amongst 36 countries (EU and OECD member states) in various parts of the world. The design of this questionnaire was based on the structure and recommendations of the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual (fifth edition) and of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. The results provide useful insights into some of the methodological problems countries face and how they deal with these.

This publication is mainly intended for national Balance of Payments compilers and international organizations active in the collection of statistical data on services. It may also provide valuable input for specialised end­users, who may wish to understand better the ethodological underpinnings of trade in services data such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Trade Organization (WTO/OMC), the World Tourism Organization (WTO/OMT) and the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

This report summarises the country responses to the Eurostat­-OECD Methodological Soundness Questionnaire 2003 (MSQ). The questionnaire was designed to address the current lack of available comparative information on national methodological practices with respect to statistics on international trade in services. It represents a potentially very useful means to identify and compare national practices and eventually to help spread good practice in the measurement of trade in services in the Balance of Payments. This questionnaire was constructed in reference to the recommendations of the new Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services and in particular the implementation of the Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBoPS) classification.