Methodology 

The Statistics on companies and establishments offer an accurate account of the number of companies with economic activities in Catalonia, understood to be companies with some kind of establishment in Catalonia. It also reports on the number of companies with head offices in Catalonia, and establishments located in Catalonia. Idescat produces annual tables that describe these statistics based on the INE's Central Business Register (DIRCE).

1. Central Business Register (DIRCE)

According to Community regulations for the development of company registers for statistical purposes, all companies have to be registered that exercise an economic activity that contributes to the gross domestic product (GNP) and its local units. In accordance with this requirement, the INE compiles and systemises in the Central Business Register the basic information (identification, location in the territory and classification by dimension and sector of economic activity) on the companies and establishments located in Spain, on the basis of administrative sources and statistical files, complemented with information originating from the INE's own operations. The main aims of this register include the provision of frameworks for conducting surveys by sampling and for it to be the source of structural statistics on the different units it is made up of.

The DIRCE's main sources are:

• of taxation origin: business tax (IAE), personal income tax payments (RTP), value added tax (IVA), corporation tax (IS), income tax (IRPF)
• of social origin: records of Social Security payments, self-employed workers
• of legal origin: trade register, public companies of general state intervention
• statistics: current statistical operations

As a consequence of the limitations of these sources, the DIRCE covers all economic activities apart from fishing and agriculture production, Central, regional and local administration's administrative services (including Social Security), the activities of property owners' associations and domestic services. In more precise terms, it does not cover the following divisions of the CCAE-2009:

• 01–03 (Agricultural, livestock and fishing),
• 84 (Public administration, defence and compulsory Social Security) and
• 97–99 (Domestic activities and extra-territorial organisations)

The date of reference for the data is January 1 of the corresponding year, as almost all of the information originates from active inscriptions or declarations made on that date.

Until 2018 most statistical offices in the European Union identified the company statistical unit with the legal unit (in the case of Spain, by means of the tax ID number, but the progressive complexity of the internal operations of groups of companies led to the European Statistical System considering improving the way of reflecting the activity of these groups in the official company statistics.

The new concept of company statistical unit, applied since reference year 2019, is better suited to the definition in Regulation (EEC) 696/93 of the Council, in that it improves its comparability with other countries in the European union.

The application of the new concept has the following impact:

1. The change does not affect companies that do not belong to groups of companies (the vast majority in Catalonia) because a statistical company remains equivalent to a legal unit.
2. In the groups of companies the legal units have been grouped together in keeping with different criteria related to the organisational structure, decision-making autonomy and market orientation. Ultimately, the economic factors of the units are prioritised (which was not the case with the traditional definition, which was more geared towards the legal aspects).

The adaptation of the new definition of a company as a statistical unit means that the data for 2019 reference year are not comparable with those of previous years. However, the data on establishments are not affected and the series initiated in 2008 is maintained with the CCAE-2009 change.

The new company concept involves reducing the number of statistical units because a company may comprise several legal units (unlike the previous concept). In terms of the number of salaried employees, the new concept leads to an increase of companies in the tranche with 250 or more employees and a reduction in the smaller strata. By sectors of activity, the most significant relative reductions are recorded in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, electric power, gas, steam and air conditioning, property promotion and accommodation services.

This reduction in the number of statistical units resulting from the new definition does not mean that the evolution of the number of companies has been negative with respect to 2018, as the comparison in homogeneous terms (in other words, using the former definition of a company) puts the growth of companies with establishments in Catalonia at 2.1% and that of companies with head offices in Catalonia at 2%.

To obtain further details of the new definition of a company as a statistical unit, you can access the document Delineación de empresas complejas en el INE.

The new definition of economically active company, after Regulation 2019/2152 on European business statistics (EBS) and Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 came into force, affects the calculation of the number of companies and establishments; therefore, the data are not comparable with those of previous years.

2. Statistical unit

Two types of activity are recorded

• Company. This is defined as the smallest combination of legal units constituting an organisational unit for the production of goods or services, one having certain autonomy in terms of decision-making, principally for allocating the resources it has at its disposal.
• Establishment. This is defined as a company (or part of one) located in a specific geographical location at which economic activities are conducted on behalf of the company..

The entry into force of Regulation 2019/2152 on European business statistics (EBS) and Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 adds the delimitation of active statistical units in the data as of 1 January 2023, and only the units that are economically active are counted.

A statistical unit is considered to have been active if, during the reference period, it has had a positive net turnover, effective production or employees, or if it has made investments.

Establishments are considered economically active if they belong to economically active companies.

Therefore, from 1 January 2023, there is a break in time series, compared to previous years, in the concepts of statistical companies, legal units and establishments.

3. Classification variables

Number of wage-earning employees

This is chiefly obtained by means of the different economic surveys that are conducted habitually by the INE and other bodies. In other cases, the information originates from the number of wage-earners registered for Social Security or the information provided by the tax office on the number of payments made.

Legal condition of the company

This is obtained on the basis of the first character in the tax identification number (NIF). The modalities presented are grouped into:

• individual persons
• public limited companies
• limited liability companies
• other legal forms (includes general partnerships, limited partnerships, community properties, cooperatives, associations, autonomous entities and religious organisations and institutions)

Main economic activity

Each unit is classified in accordance with CCAE-2009. The results of these statistics are presented on two levels of sectorial disaggregation: the most detailed sectorisation, 252 branches of activity, coinciding with the groups (3 digits) proposed by CCAE-2009, while the more aggregated sectorisation is reduced to 38 sectors.

Correspondence between these sectors and CCAE-2009

	CCAE-2009
Industry
Mining industries	05–09
Food, beverages and tobacco	10–12
Textiles, dressmaking, leatherwork and footwear	13–15
Wood and cork industries, exc. furniture; basket making	16
Paper, graphic arts and recorded media	17–18
Oil refinery, chemical industry and pharmaceutics	19–21
Manufacture of rubber products and plastic materials	22
Other non-metallic mineral products	23
Metallurgy and metallic products	24–25
Computer, electronic, optic and electric products	26–27
Manufacture of machinery n.e.c.	28
Manufacture of transport materials	29–30
Furniture and miscellaneous manufacturing industries	31–32
Repair and installation of machinery and equipment	33
Electric, gas and steam energy and air conditioning	35
Water, sanitation and waste management	36–39
Construction
Property promotion	411
Construction of buildings	412
Construction of civil engineering projects	42
Specialised construction activities	43
Services
Sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	45
Wholesale and intermediate trade, except motor vehicles	46
Retail, except motor vehicles and motorcycles	47
Land transport, transport in water pipes	49
Maritime and air transport, storage and mail	50–53
Accommodation services	55
Food and beverage services	56
Information and communications	58–63
Financial and insurance activities	64–66
Property activities	68
Legal, advisory and business management activities	69–70
Specialist services and R+D	71–72
Advertising and other professional and technical activities	73–75
Administrative services and auxiliary services	77–82
Education	85
Health activities and social services	86–88
Artistic, leisure and entertainment activities	90–93
Other services	94–96

n.e.c.: Not elsewhere classified.

Correspondence between the sectors of the historic series (years 2000 to 2009) with the CCAE-93 Rev.1 can be consulted in 4. Historic series.

The Statistics on companies and establishments tabulate both the group of companies that has some kind of establishment in Catalonia, and that of companies with their head offices in Catalonia, which is a subgroup of the former. They also include tables that account for the number of establishments located in Catalonia.

Four tables are presented for each of the groups of companies: two using the aggregated sectorisation, 38 sectors, and two using the more detailed one. Each sectorisation is cross-compared, in turn, with the number of wage-earners (6 intervals) in the company in the first table and the legal condition (4 modalities), in the second. So we have, in one table, the distribution of the companies in each sector or branch according to the number of wage-earners in the company, and in the other table, according to the legal condition of the company.

The establishments are also tabulated using the two aforementioned sectorisations, but these are only cross-compared with the establishment's number of wage-earning employees.

It is important to note that in these statistics, when companies are classified by sector or activity branches and the number of wage-earners, in both cases a reference is made to the companies as a whole unlike what is done with the establishments, which are classified according to the establishments' sector or activity branches and the establishments' number of wage-earners.

4. Historic series

This statistic records two series breaks:

Series from 2008 (CCAE-2009). Legal units

The change in the concept of a company introduced into the data as of 1 January 2019 entails a break in the series that began in 2008 with the introduction of the Catalan Classification of Economic Activities 2009 (CCAE-2009). To reflect the scope of the change in the definition, these series includes data from 2019 calculated, as in the rest of the years of the series, with the old definition of a company, which coincided with the legal unit.

The definition of an establishment is not affected by the change in that of a company. Therefore, the series of data on establishments initiated in 2008 reference year do not record this break.

Series from 2000 to 2009 (CCAE-93 Rev.1). Legal unit

Until 2007, the main activity sector of companies and establishments in the DIRCE was classified using the CCAE-93 Rev.1. In 2008 and 2009, the results of these statistics were presented using the aforementioned classification and also the new CCAE-2009. From 2010 the activity sector will only be coded using the CCAE-2009.

The historic series (years 2000 to 2009 with CCAE-93 Rev.1) cover all economic activities apart from fishing and agriculture production, central, regional and local administration's administrative services (including Social Security), the activities of property owners' associations and domestic services. In more precise terms, it does not cover the following divisions of the CCAE-93 Rev.1:

• 01–05 (Agricultural, livestock and fishing),
• 75 (Public administration, defence and compulsory Social Security) and
• 95–99 (Domestic activities and extra-territorial organisations)

The activities not covered by the historic series are practically identical to those not covered by the series initiated in 2008 reference year. The only differences correspond to a very limited number of activities, which under the new classification, CCAE-2009, are included in the researched sectors while in the former they appeared in the uncovered sectors, or vice versa. For example, companies in the sector "Gardening activities", according to the CCAE-2009 belong to the service sector (class 8130), and are therefore included in the statistics, while according to the CCAE-93 Rev.1 they formed part of agriculture (class 0141), and consequently, these companies were not included in the results of the old series.

The historic series also offered two levels of sectorial breakdown: the most detailed breakdown, with 210 activity branches, coincides with the Groups (3 digits) of the CCAE-93 Rev.1, while the aggregated sectorisation is reduced to 35 sectors.

The branches that appear in some tables with an N in the third digit of the CCAE-93 Rev.1 group denote non-classifiable companies or establishments, which could not be classified in the corresponding group due to an incomplete codification, for which reason they have been assigned to the immediately higher level (division).