1. United Nations Statistics Division
Do current issues require a revision of ISIC?
United Nations Statistics Division
EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL CLASSIFICATIONS
6-8 September 2017, New York

2. Monitoring of ISIC Rev.4
The Classifications Registry that is maintained by UNSD has been used as a tool to record issues with our classifications, based on questions from users
Based on questions received in the Classifications Hotline
These questions can take the form of simple clarifications, more complex interpretations or even proposals for changes
Questions are recorded according to type, origin and include the answers provided at the time
Other fora/forums are also monitored for critical issues
VCF used to be important

3. Monitoring of ISIC Rev.4
In total, 362 issues have been recorded related to ISIC Rev.4
For a new revision, all those issues are worth considering
However,
Most point to issues that have been misinterpreted or where an explanation was not found by the user
They may be useful for evaluating current formulations in ISIC, but do not identify actual problems
Even among those items, those that require a clarification in the ISIC text are a minority

4. Monitoring of ISIC Rev.4
The majority of issues fall into the following categories:
Interpretation difficulties due lack of knowledge/understanding of ISIC concepts or application rules
Uncertainty due to misinterpretation of the ISIC text (explanatory notes)
Uncertainty due to missing explicit reference to e.g. new activities, new products (but also common activities)
But do not require/trigger a structural change
Uncertainty due to unclear boundaries, e.g. manufacturing vs. wholesale/retail
None of them are strong enough to warrant a revision/update
But (some) could be considered if one takes place

5. Monitoring of ISIC Rev.4
More critical issues have also been identified in EG discussions and/or workshops
Some of them affect ISIC concepts and the ISIC structure
Not all of them have a consensus
So far, none of them was considered strong enough to warrant a revision/update
But would be considered if one takes place

6. Identified issues
Some issues have been identified that point to errors or shortcomings in the ISIC explanatory notes
Some have been corrected already
E.g. Silk screen printing, some typos
Others should be corrected if a revision/update takes place
E.g. Editing of notes for divisions 05 and 86
Welding
Use of “coin-operated”
Cargo handling boundaries
Other may need clarification
E.g. “wild” growing products issue

7. Identified issues
Another set of issues has been identified that may have structural impacts
Key examples are:
Treatment of factoryless goods producers
Combining of all telecom industries
Review of retail sales vs Internet sales
Treatment of service intermediaries
Sugarcane (perennial or not)
Subdivision of classes for emerging industries
Few examples
Need verification of their actual importance
No big change from issues identified at the EG 2013 meeting

8. Next steps
There is a fair number of issues that should be addressed if a revision takes place
However, so far neither one is strong enough yet to force a revision or update
Considering the huge amount of resources (human and financial) that is required in a revision or update process, even the combination of these issues may not justify a revision or update
ISIC Rev.4 still seems adequate to reliably describe current economic structures
The EG may wish to evaluate this need and develop a timeline based on expected availability of information

9. Thank you