What is ISIC?

ISIC is the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, the classification of economic activities maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division. The United Nations Statistics Division states that ISIC consists of a coherent and consistent classification structure of economic activities, based on internationally agreed concepts, definitions, principles and classification rules, and that it provides a framework within which economic data can be collected and reported for economic analysis, decision taking and policy making. ISIC is the international standard. NACE is the European version derived from it. National classifications are, in many cases, derived from ISIC in turn.

What does ISIC classify?

ISIC classifies economic activities, not products, not occupations, and not businesses as legal persons. The United Nations Statistics Division states that ISIC is intended to be a standard classification of productive activities, whose main purpose is to provide a set of activity categories that can be used for the collection and presentation of statistics according to such activities, so that entities can be classified according to the economic activity they carry out. An economic activity, in the sense used by both ISIC and NACE, takes place when resources such as capital goods, labour, manufacturing techniques or intermediary products are combined to produce specific goods or services. The activity is therefore characterised by an input, a production process, and an output. ISIC categories group activities that are similar in that sense, so that statistics about them can be compared across countries.

How long has ISIC been in use?

ISIC has been in use since the original version was adopted in 1948 (FIXED, as stated by the United Nations Statistics Division). Since that adoption, the Division states, the majority of countries around the world have used ISIC as their national activity classification, or have developed national classifications derived from ISIC. ISIC has therefore provided guidance to countries in developing national activity classifications, and has become an important tool for comparing statistical data on economic activities at the international level. The history matters because it explains why ISIC, rather than any regional classification, is the reference point for international comparison. A statistic compiled on a national classification can be compared internationally only where the relationship between the national classification and ISIC is stated, and ISIC is the classification that provides that common reference.

Where is ISIC used?

The United Nations Statistics Division states that wide use has been made of ISIC, both nationally and internationally, in classifying data according to kind of economic activity in the fields of economic and social statistics, such as statistics on national accounts, demography of enterprises, and employment. It also states that ISIC is increasingly used for non statistical purposes. That last point needs care. Increasing use for non statistical purposes does not change the nature of ISIC as a statistical classification, and it does not make an ISIC code a licence, a tax category, or a finding about a specific business. A non statistical use of a code, such as a grouping in a commercial dataset, should still be checked against the ISIC category meaning and the version used, and it should never be quoted as if the United Nations had classified the business concerned.

Element	ISIC, as stated by the United Nations Statistics Division
Full name	International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities
Custodian	United Nations Statistics Division
First version adopted	1948 (FIXED)
Purpose	Standard classification of productive activities, for collection and presentation of statistics
Use	National and international, in economic and social statistics

The table records only what the Division states on its ISIC page. It does not add a structure count for ISIC in general, because the structure differs by revision, and the revision must be named before any count is given. The structure counts for ISIC Rev. 5 are given in a separate guide in this cluster, with the revision named.

What is the relationship between ISIC and NACE, in one sentence?

NACE is derived from ISIC, it is more detailed than ISIC at lower levels, and it has exactly the same items as ISIC at the highest levels, as Eurostat states in its NACE background article and as the Central Statistics Office states on its NACE page. That sentence is the whole relationship at the top level. The detail below it, including the structure counts for each revision, the correspondence tables between the two classifications, and the version history of each, is covered in the other guides in this cluster, one question at a time. A reader who needs only the relationship should use that sentence, with the revision of each classification named alongside it, and should not add alignment claims that have not been verified.

What does ISIC not do?

ISIC does not determine the code for any reader, and it does not decide tax, licensing, funding, collective agreement or social security questions. It is a statistical classification, and its categories describe activities for the collection and presentation of statistics. The entry for a specific business is confirmed with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record, in the national or European classification that the register uses. The meaning of an ISIC category is confirmed with the United Nations Statistics Division publication for the revision in use. The two confirmations are different, and they go to different holders.

Confirm the ISIC revision and category with the United Nations Statistics Division, and confirm a business entry with the institute or register that holds the record. ”