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The System of National Accounts (SNA)

About the SNA

The System of National Accounts (SNA) is the internationally agreed standard set of recommendations on how to compile measures of economic activity. The SNA describes a coherent, consistent and integrated set of macroeconomic accounts in the context of a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules.

In addition, the SNA provides an overview of economic processes, recording how production is distributed among consumers, businesses, government and foreign nations. It shows how income originating in production, modified by taxes and transfers, flows to these groups and how they allocate these flows to consumption, saving and investment. Consequently, the national accounts are one of the building blocks of macroeconomic statistics forming a basis for economic analysis and policy formulation.

The SNA is intended for use by all countries, having been designed to accommodate the needs of countries at different stages of economic development. It also provides an overarching framework for standards in other domains of economic statistics, facilitating the integration of these statistical systems to achieve consistency with the national accounts.

 
Towards the 2025 SNA
Information on the updating of the System of National Accounts 2008
 
 
 
System of National Accounts 2008 - 2008 SNA
Final version of the 2008 SNA in PDF format
 
 
 
Historic Versions of the SNA
Historic timeline of development of the SNA from its origin in 1947 until today
 
 
 
Relevant and Supporting Publications

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