Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

AEO (African Economic Outlook) Country Notes Tables, 2015

Statistical population: CLIs are calculated for 33 OECD countries (Iceland is not included), 6 non-member economies and 8 zone aggregates. A country CLI comprises a set of component series selected from a wide range of key short-term economic indicators.   CLIs, reference series data (see below) and standardised business and consumer confidence indicators are presented in various forms.   Recommended uses and limitations: The composite leading indicator is a times series, formed by aggregating a variety of component indicators which show a reasonably consistent relationship with a reference series (e.g. industrial production IIP up to March 2012 and since then the reference series is GDP) at turning points. The OECD CLI is designed to provide qualitative information on short-term economic movements, especially at the turning points, rather than quantitative measures. Therefore, the main message of CLI movements over time is the increase or decrease, rather than the amplitude of the changes. The OECD’s headline indicator is the amplitude adjusted CLI. In practice, turning points in the de-trended reference series have been found about 4 to 8 months (on average) after the signals of turning points had been detected in the headline CLI.

The OECD Economic Outlook analyses the major economic trends over the coming 2 years. It provides in-depth coverage of the main economic issues and the policy measures required to foster growth in each member country. Forthcoming developments in major non-OECD economies are also evaluated in detail. Each edition of the Outlook provides a unique resource to keep abreast of world economic developments. The OECD Economic Outlook database is a comprehensive and consistent macroeconomic database of the OECD economies, covering expenditures, foreign trade, output, labour markets, interest and exchange rates, balance of payments and government debt. For the non-OECD regions, foreign trade and current account series are available. Variables are defined in such a way that they are as homogenous as possible for the countries covered. Breaks in underlying series are corrected as far as possible. Sources for the historical data are publications of national statistical agencies and OECD data bases such as Quarterly National Accounts, Annual National Accounts, Labour Force Statistics and Main Economic Indicators. The cut-off date for information used in the compilation of the projections was June 1, 2023. The aggregation of world trade takes into account the projections made for the main non-OECD economies. Thus, besides OECD and the OECD euro area, the following regions are available: Dynamic Asian Economies (Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam); Oil Producers (Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan Bahrain, Brunei, Chad, Rep. of Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Venezuela); with the remaining countries in a residual 'Rest of the World' group.

The OECD, in cooperation with the EU, has developed a harmonised definition of urban areas which overcomes previous limitations linked to administrative definitions (OECD, 2012). According to this definition an urban area is a functional economic unit characterised by densely inhabited “city core” and “commuting zone” whose labour market is highly integrated with the core. The Metropolitan database provides indicators of 649 OECD metropolitan areas identified in 33 OECD countries and the functional urban areas of Colombia. Comparable values of population, GDP, employment, and other indicators are presented.

The financial indicators in this dataset are derived from OECD countries’ financial accounts (transactions): they give a picture of the short-term behavior of institutional sectors. They comprise for instance: Net financial transactions of the general government, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which corresponds to the general government deficit; Transactions in financial assets of Households and NPISHs, as a percentage of Households Gross Disposable Income (GDI); Transactions in liabilities of Households and NPISHs, as a percentage of GDI.

This data set combines the different regional publications of Revenue Statistics:Revenue Statistics 2019OECD/ATAF/AUC (2019), Revenue Statistics in Africa 2019OECD et al (2020), Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020 (LAC)Revenue Statistics in Asian and Pacific Economies 2019 Revenue Statistics The annual statistical publications present a unique set of detailed and internationally comparable tax revenue data in a common format. Its approach is based on the well-established methodology of the OECD Revenue Statistics (OECD, 2019), which has become an essential reference. It provides a conceptual framework defining which government receipts should be regarded as taxes and classifies different types of taxes. Comparable tables show revenue data by type of tax in national currency, as a percentage of GDP, and, for the different types of taxes, as a share of total taxation. Comparisons are also made with the averages of the 36 OECD economies, of the 24 LAC countries (two of which are OECD members countries° and of 26 African countries.   The data set does not replace the other publications, and users are advised to consult the regional data sets for country specific information.

Productivity is a key driver of economic growth and changes in living standards. Labour productivity growth implies a higher level of output for unit of labour input (hours worked or persons employed). This can be achieved if more capital is used in production or through improved overall efficiency with which labour and capital are used together, i.e., higher multifactor productivity growth (MFP). Productivity is also a key driver of international competitiveness, e.g. as measured by Unit Labour Costs (ULC).   The OECD Productivity Database aims at providing users with the most comprehensive and the latest productivity estimates. The update cycle is on a rolling basis, i.e. each variable in the dataset is made publicly available as soon as it is updated in the sources databases. However, some time lag may arise which affects individual series and/or countries for two reasons: first, hours worked data from the OECD Employment Outlook are typically updated less frequently than the OECD Annual National Accounts Database; second, source data for capital services are typically available in annual national accounts later than source data for labour productivity and ULCs.   Note to users: The OECD Productivity Database accounts for the methodological changes in national accounts' statistics, such as the implementation of the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA) and the implementation of the international industrial classification ISIC Rev.4. These changes had an impact on output, labour and capital measurement. For Chile, China, Colombia, India, Japan, Turkey and the Russian Federation the indicators are in line with the System of National Accounts 1993 (1993 SNA); for all other countries, the indicators presented are based on the 2008 SNA

Institutional Investors' Assets and Liabilities data are reported by Central Banks, National Statistical Institutes or Supervisory Authorities. The indicators reported here are compiled on the basis of those statistics.   The first set of indicators measure total financial assets (liabilities) held by each institutional investor as a percentage of GDP. Total financial assets (liabilities) is defined as the sum of the following asset (liability) categories: currency and deposits (F2), debt securities (F3), loans (F4), equity and investment fund shares (F5), insurance pension and standardized guarantee schemes (F6), financial derivatives and employee stock options (F7), and other accounts receivable (payable) (F8). The second set of indicators shows the share of each asset (liability) category in the total financial assets (liabilities) of each investor. They help to analyse the investment portfolio composition of the investor as well as financial risks borne by the investor. The third set of indicators shows the sub-sector composition of total financial assets (liabilities) by investor category, by showing the share of each sub-sector in the total financial assets (liabilities) of each investor category.

The Key Economic Indicators (KEI) database contains monthly and quarterly statistics (and associated statistical methodological information) for all OECD member countries and for a selection of non-member countries on a wide variety of economic indicators, namely: quarterly national accounts, industrial production, composite leading indicators, business tendency and consumer opinion surveys, retail trade, consumer and producer prices, hourly earnings, employment/unemployment, interest rates, monetary aggregates, exchange rates, international trade and balance of payments.

The productivity and income estimates presented in this dataset are mainly based on GDP, population and employment data from the OECD Annual National Accounts. Hours worked are sourced from the OECD Annual National Accounts, the OECD Employment Outlook and national sources. The OECD Productivity Database aims at providing users with the most comprehensive and the latest productivity estimates. The update cycle is on a rolling basis, i.e. each variable in the dataset is made publicly available as soon as it is updated in the sources databases. However, timely data issues may arise and affect individual series and/or individual countries. In particular, annual hours worked estimates from the OECD Employment Outlook are typically updated less frequently (once a year, in the summer) than series of hours worked from the OECD Annual National Accounts.

This dataset presents information using an "indicator" approach, focusing on cross-country comparisons. The aim is to make the accounts more accessible and informative, whilst taking the opportunity to present the conceptual underpinning  and comparability issues of each of the indicators presented. The range of indicators is set deliberately wide to reflect the richness of the national accounts dataset and to encourage users of economic statistics to refocus some of the spotlight that is often placed on GDP to other important economic indicators, which may better respond to their needs. Indeed many users themselves have been instrumental in this regard. The report of the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission) is but one notable example. That is not to undermine the importance of GDP, which arguably remains the most important measure of total economic activity, but other measures may better reflect other aspects of the economy. For example, net national income may be a more appropriate measure of income available to citizens in countries with large outflows of property income, and household adjusted disposable income per capita may be a better indicator of the material well-being of citizens. But certainly from a data perspective more can and remains to be done. The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission for example highlights the pressing need for the provision, by official statistics institutes, of more detailed information that better describes the distributional aspects of activity, especially income, and the need to build on the national accounts framework to address issues such as non-market services produced by households or leisure. It is hoped that by producing a publication such as this and thereby raising awareness, the momentum from this and other initiatives will be accelerated. The publication itself will pick up new indicators in the future as they become available at the OECD.

It presents gross capital formation, gross fixed capital formation, changes in inventories and acquisition less disposals of valuables broken down by detailed industries. Gross fixed capital formation is also available broken down by type of assets. It has been prepared from statistics reported to the OECD by Member countries in their answers to annual national accounts questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to collect internationally comparable data according to the 1993 SNA. Unit of measure used - In national currency, in current prices and constant prices (national base year, previous year prices and OECD base year i.e. 2010). Expressed in millions. For the Euro area countries, the data in national currency for all years are calculated using the fixed conversion rates against the euro.

Annual National Accounts>General Government Accounts>750. General Government Debt-Maastricht   Unit of measure used: National currency; current prices. Expressed in millions   Statistical population: Government debt as defined in the Maastricht Treaty (Source : Eurostat). Available for Europeans countries only. In the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Maastricht Treaty, government debt is defined as the debt of the whole general government sector: gross, consolidated and nominal value (face value). It excludes the other accounts payable (AF.7), as well as, if they exist, insurance technical reserve (AF.6).

It presents the three approaches of the GDP: expenditure based, output based and income based. It has been prepared from statistics reported to the OECD by Member countries in their answers to annual national accounts questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to collect internationally comparable data according to the 1993 SNA.

Statistical population: Its presents output, intermediate consumption and the gross value added and its components, in particular compensation of employees and gross operating surplus and mixed income, broken down by detailed industries according to the classification ISIC rev.4. It has been prepared from statistics reported to the OECD by Member countries in their answers to annual national accounts questionnaire. Unit of measure used: In national currency, in current prices and constant prices (national base year, previous year prices and OECD base year i.e. 2010). Expressed in millions. For the Euro area countries, the data in national currency for all years are calculated using the fixed conversion rates against the euro.   Note: 6A. Value added and its components by activity, ISIC rev4

Statistical population: Its presents output, intermediate consumption and the gross value added and its components, in particular compensation of employees and gross operating surplus and mixed income, broken down by detailed industries. It has been prepared from statistics reported to the OECD by Member countries in their answers to annual national accounts questionnaire. Data presented in this table will not be updated after summer 2010. Data reported to the OECD by countries in their answers to the annual national accounts questionnaire are now available on theme Industry and Services, Structural Analysis (STAN) Databases. Unit of measure used: In national currency, in current prices and constant prices (national base year, previous year prices and OECD base year i.e. 2010). Expressed in millions. For the Euro area countries, the data in national currency for all years are calculated using the fixed conversion rates against the euro.

The OECD Weekly Tracker of GDP growth provides a real-time high-frequency indicator of economic activity using machine learning and Google Trends data. It has a wide country coverage of OECD and G20 countries. The Tracker is thus particularly well suited to assessing activity during the turbulent period of the current global pandemic. It applies a machine learning model to a panel of Google Trends data for 46 countries, and aggregates together information about search behaviour related to consumption, labour markets, housing, trade, industrial activity and economic uncertainty.   The Weekly Tracker proxies the percent change in weekly GDP levels from the pre-crisis trend. The pre-crisis trend is taken from OECD forecasts made prior to the crisis (in the November 2019 Economic Outlook). Two other flavours of the Tracker are also available in the datafiles: a Tracker of weekly GDP growth year-on-year (that is, the percent change in weekly GDP from the same week in the past year), and a Tracker of weekly GDP growth year-on-two-year (the percent change in weekly GDP from the same week two years earlier). 

The OECD's quarterly national accounts (QNA) dataset presents data collected from all the OECD member countries and some other major economies on the basis of a standardised questionnaire. It contains a wide selection of generally seasonally adjusted quarterly series most widely used for economic analysis from 1960 or whenever available:

The reference series used in the publication are: GDP for tax reporting years at market prices, national currency Exchange rates national currency per US dollar Population These data are extracted from various datasets managed by OECD directorates. The figures presented here are those used in creating the latest Revenue Statistics publication. These datasets are updated periodically during the year and therefore the figures in the latest versions may differ from those implied in the publication.

This dataset presents reference statistics (GDP, Total Government Expenditure, deflators, etc.) that are used to calculate some of the indicators on educational expenditure included in the indicators dataset.

The Regional database contains annual data from 1995 to the most recent available year (generally 2018 for demographic and labor market data, 2017 for regional accounts, innovation and social statistics). The data collection is undertaken by the Center for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE). Statistics are collected through an annual questionnaire sent to the delegates of the Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), and via downloads from the web-sites of National Statistical Offices and Eurostat

Reference Series - Latin American Countries Source: OECD National Accounts data for Chile and Mexico and official National Accounts data for the other countries

The STAN database for industrial analysis provides analysts and researchers with a comprehensive tool for analysing industrial performance at a relatively detailed level of activity across countries. It includes annual measures of output, labour input, investment which allow users to construct a wide range of indicators and to focus on areas such as productivity growth, competitiveness and general structural change.Through the use of a standard industry list, international comparisons can be made. The industry list, compatible with those used in related OECD databases, provides sufficient detail to highlight technology and digital-intensive sectors. STAN is primarily based on Member countries' annual National Accounts by economic activity tables compiled according to the recommendations of System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008). Previous versions of STAN (from 2000) were based on SNA93 statistics. Missing detail is estimated using other sources of data such as national industrial surveys/censuses. Time series are extended back to the 1970's where possible. This is done using vintage SNA93 or STAN estimates. In STAN, many data points are Secretariat's estimates and are flagged to the attention of users; as such, they do not represent official Member countries' submissions. The current version of STAN is based on the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities, Revision 4 (ISIC Rev. 4). Earlier versions of STAN were based on ISIC Rev. 3 and, prior to 2000, ISIC Rev. 2 (the latter covering the manufacturing sector only). STAN is published on a "rolling basis" with new, or updated, country tables being made available as soon as they are ready.