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The time series have been revised

The data published now include the following revisions of the time series from the year 1975.

Imports of services

Statistics Finland has made an upward revision of imports of services starting from the year 2000 based on updated figures on services imports. The annual revision is at most EUR 2 billion upwards. The revision also entails certain changes in the figures for imports of services at constant prices starting from the year 1975.

The increase in the value of imports results in an increase in the supply side of the economy. Because of the time-consuming process involved in balancing the supply and use tables, no attempt to rebalance the supply and use sides has been made at this stage. The increase in imports of services has instead been recorded as a statistical discrepancy.

Balanced figures will be published in 2009 together with other adjustments that influence the balancing process. Till then the total value of imports in the supply and use tables will diverge by statistical discrepancy from the revised value of imports. For example, due to the correction of imports of services the value of imports in the supply table for 2005 (Table 1.4) is EUR 1,860 million smaller than the revised value of imports (Table 1.1)

Reinvested property income of investment funds

Property incomes (interest and dividends) of investment funds are recorded as fund owners' income even if the income is reinvested on behalf of the owners instead of being distributed to them as profit shares. This corresponds to a situation where the amount of property income to be reinvested is distributed to the owners, who immediately reinvest it in the fund. The same principle applies to reinvested earnings on direct investments. Interest incomes are included starting from the year 1998 and dividends from 2001.

This revision increases the property incomes of nearly all domestic sectors as well as of the sector "rest of the world". The revision also increases the property expenditure of the sector "rest of the world". The households sector's property income and disposable income for 2006 increase by approximately EUR 300 million. The revision also increases the surplus of the general government (employment pension schemes in particular); the increase for the year 2006 is more than EUR 400 million.

Overall, the effects of the revision are relatively minor before 2004 and only marginal before the year 2000. The revision means that the national income of Finland increased by a good EUR 400 million in 2006.

At present reinvested property incomes of investment funds are not recorded in the balance of payments statistics, which means that the current account balance in national accounts differs from Bank of Finland's current account statistics.

Terms of trade effect

The terms of trade effect at reference year prices has been calculated using the new Eurostat method.

Exports and imports of construction services

Exports and imports of construction services from 1986 to 2003 are recorded (under the item "withdrawals from the income of quasi-corporations") as property incomes and expenditure of the non-financial corporations sector and the sector "rest of the world". The same method of recording is already being applied to data from 2004 onwards. The change affects both the current account and the national income. At its highest the effect is about EUR 400 million.

Forestry industry fixed capital consumption

An error in the item "forestry industry fixed capital consumption" from 1975 to 1996 has now been corrected. The annual effect of the correction is less than EUR 100 million. The correction affects the level of disposable income and saving of the non-financial corporations and households sectors as well as the net national income of the total economy.

General government expenditure by function

Figures for other social security funds' expenditure by function from 1990 to 1999 have changed as a result of a reallocation by function of the figures for interest paid and intermediate consumption. The changes are less than EUR 100 million per year.

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Last updated 12.2.2008