How do you read an includes list?

An includes list states the activities covered by a category, often with examples, and it is read as part of the definition of that category, together with the description, the includes also list, and the excludes list. An includes list is therefore not a complete list of every activity in the category, and it is not a list of examples that can be extended by analogy. It is the annotation that states what the category includes, and it must be read with the exclusions that bound it, and with the cross references that point to neighbouring categories.

What is the verified example for class 01.11?

The note for class 01.11, for growing of cereals, other than rice, leguminous crops and oil seeds, states in its description that the class includes all forms of growing of cereals, leguminous crops and oil seeds, and that growing of those plants for seed production is further included. The includes list then states, with the words for example, the growing of cereals, including wheat, grain maize, sorghum, barley, rye, oats, millet, and pseudocereals, including quinoa, amaranth and chia; the growing of leguminous crops, including beans, broad beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, lentils, lupines, peas and pigeon peas; and the growing of oil seeds, including soya beans, groundnuts, castor beans, linseed, mustard seed, niger seed, rapeseed, safflower seed, sesame seed and sunflower seed. Eurostat states those inclusions in the note for class 01.11 in Part 3 of the manual.

The example shows three features of an includes list. First, the list is introduced by a general statement, all forms of growing of the named crop groups, and the examples illustrate the general statement. Second, the examples are introduced by the words for example, which signal that the list of examples is illustrative of the general statement, not a closed list of every crop. Third, a further inclusion is stated in the description, growing for seed production, which a reader who reads only the examples would miss. The general statement, the examples, and the further inclusion must be read together, as the definition of the class.

Element in the note for class 01.11	What Eurostat states
Description	Includes all forms of growing of cereals, leguminous crops and oil seeds, including growing for seed production
Includes, cereals	Wheat, grain maize, sorghum, barley, rye, oats, millet, pseudocereals such as quinoa, amaranth, chia
Includes, leguminous crops	Beans, broad beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, lentils, lupines, peas, pigeon peas
Includes, oil seeds	Soya beans, groundnuts, castor beans, linseed, mustard seed, niger seed, rapeseed, safflower seed, sesame seed, sunflower seed

How are examples in an includes list used?

A further point on examples is the use of the words such as, including, and for example in the notes. Those words signal illustration, not exhaustion. A list introduced by those words does not claim to name every activity in the category. A reader who treats an illustrative list as exhaustive will conclude that an unlisted activity is excluded, when the general statement may include it, and the excludes list may not exclude it. The correct reading is to start with the general statement, check the examples for illustration, and then check the excludes list for the boundary. An activity that falls inside the general statement and outside the exclusions is inside the category, as defined by the note, even if it is not named in the examples.

What must be checked after the includes list?

After the includes list, the includes also list and the excludes list must be checked, in that order, before the note is treated as understood. The includes also list states additional activities covered by the category, beyond the main includes list, and the excludes list states activities not covered, with cross references. The manual states the three annotations together, and a note that is read without one of them is incomplete. The parent note must also be checked, where the boundary is unclear, because the parent note states the broader scope and may contain an exclusion that applies to the whole division or section. The index entry for the activity, where one exists, must be checked as well, because the index is an integral part of the notes, and it may list the activity under the class, confirming the reading of the includes list.

The version of the note must also be checked. The descriptions and annotations in the manual belong to the 2025 edition (FIXED) of the manual, while the index is disseminated online and is designed to evolve. A note quoted from the manual must carry the edition, and an index entry quoted from ShowVoc must carry the date or version consulted. A note from an earlier version must not be quoted as the current note, because the inclusions and exclusions may have changed in the update, even where the heading stayed the same.

What does an includes list not do?

An includes list does not assign a code to a unit, and it does not confirm an entry. It states what a category includes, for statistical purposes. Whether an activity is the principal activity of a unit, and which class is assigned to the unit in a register, are questions for the classification rules and for the institute or register that holds the record. A reader who finds an activity in an includes list has found a category that covers the activity. That reader has not determined the principal activity of a unit that carries out several activities, and must not present the category as the unit’s code. The includes list is a definition used in the assignment. The assignment is a separate step.

Read the general statement, read the examples as illustrations, check the excludes list for the boundary, and confirm any entry with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record.